PremiumBad Girl director Varsha Bharath Interview: 'Everybody should be critical of their own surroundings at one point'
Varsha Bharath discusses mixed reactions to Bad Girl, the importance of normalizing imperfection, the ongoing struggle for women filmmakers and more.
Last Updated: 10.21 AM, Jan 29, 2025
The teaser of Bad Girl, which released a few days ago, saw social media divided over it. Directed by debutante filmmaker Varsha Bharath, an erstwhile assistant of Vetrimaaran, the coming-of-age drama showcases a teenage girl from a privileged community, who showcases rebellious behaviour and what is considered not timid and coy as one would expect out from a woman in a conventional society.
Asked how she is feeling at the moment, Varsha tells OTTplay, “I am extremely excited, and it’s a fun place to be. It is like constant adrenaline rush. I joined social media only a few days back because I wanted to use every avenue for my film. I have never been on social media, but I felt I would be missing out on action, and right now, I am just figuring out how to use social media apps.”
‘Social media is a scary place for women like me’
The director also goes on to talk about the mixed reactions pouring on social media apps about Bad Girl. “My immediate circle has been showing overwhelming support and how fresh the story is. I am just new to social media, and all I can see positive things. I have not experienced the negativity just yet, but I know it is out there,” Varsha adds.
The debutante reveals she was away from social media all this while given how people project only the perfect and flawless self of them, and that can make someone feel inferior. “I think social media is a place that makes everyone look like an actress or model. I am a very impressionable girl, and if I happen to see it a few times, I will begin to feel inferior. Hence, I stayed away from it. Even now, I am using it only for my film. Social media is a scary place for women like me. There are some who handle it very much, and do not get sucked into it. But I am not one among them.”
Is that also the reason why Varsha crafted her protagonist who is traditionally not considered perfect. With acne on her face, and defying the norms of what physical beauty is considered, Varsha says, “She is very much a normal person, and we need more examples of women who do not have perfect skin or hair. The pressure is really too much, because my mother had never been to a parlour and yet she had her life and career and never felt pressured. But now, women feel they cannot step out until everything is manicured. Right now, prices are inflating, and beauty products are just too expensive. Even though other metro cities were more fashionable, I felt Chennai was a chill place, but right now, you are not relevant unless you are richly dressed. That is, however, not possible and I want to normalise that.”
‘Bad Girl questions who is a bad girl?’
Bad Girl also is coming at a time when films like All We Imagine as Light, Girls Will Be Girls, and Laapatha Ladies where women are telling the stories of women, are shining. Does that feel liberating? “Liberation is an ongoing process, and women are telling their stories. There have been women filmmakers, but when you have to tell it to a larger market, the girl has to look glamourous and sell to men. We have not seen Tamil ethnicity, or dark-skinned girls. What we show dark-skinned are wheatish by normal standards. There is a distinct difference you can see between the female characters, from the main lead to supporting characters, and the vamp,” she answers.
Talking about the title, Varsha says, “I think it is to ask who is a bad girl, who are we to form juddements on who is good or bad. Even women can do bad things, and just to normalise it.”
Varsha has written multiple scripts, and the idea of Bad Girl came before the COVID lockdown, which the filmmaker used to flesh out and make it into a script. “It was supposed to be an OTT project, but that did not happen. And then Vetri sir came onboard.”
She joined Vetrimaaran after Aadukalam came out in 2011. She joined him for Udhayam NH4, Vada Chennai and Visaranai. “It is usually jamming ideas with the girls I know, other assistant directors. Usually, Vetri sir jams his ideas with me, but he does not have time to jam with me on my ideas. But if I have any doubts, I reach out to him. He is also not the person I can jam, because his ideas are strong but he has always been there for technical advice. He has read multiple versions of the script. I am primarily a writer first, and I need to have my ideas there. He was never involved on that front. He thinks as a director even while producing, but he never talks about sales and commerciality. So, the story is all me.”
The film, which browses on topics like the sexual awakening of a young woman, has been facing some backlash on social media. “Double standards have been always a battle that women filmmakers had to face. Had I swapped my female protagonist with a male, the way things would have been perceived would have been different. It would never be questioned.”
'I can make films only with what I have seen and grown up with'
While questions are raised on why Bad Girl shows the protagonist from a certain community, Varsha says she can make films only with what I have seen and grown up with. Reiterating that does not want to target a certain community, Varsha understands that everybody should be critical of their own surroundings.
Bad Girl is all set to premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam soon, and will be competing for the Tiger Award. Varsha also signs off by saying that they are looking for a good date to release the film soon.
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