Vasundhara interview: On turning author and disappointments with the Tamil film industry

Vasundhara Kashyap interview

| Video Credit:
The Hindu

“Writing is almost as difficult as being on a diet,” laughs Vasundhara.

Familiar with fans of Tamil cinema, thanks to her performances in films like ThenmerkuParuvakaatru,Thalaikoothal and Kanguva, among others, Vasundhara recently forayed into writing. She has debuted as an author with The Accused (Westland), a mystery that features Inspector Rajesh trying to crack his first murder case.

“When we are constantly exposed to news, we start posting our theories on it. When you say something often enough, it becomes the truth. The idea of The Accused stemmed from that; how people make assumptions about a suspect even before the investigation kicks in,” she explains about her debut novel.

Her tryst with words started many years ago, when as a young girl, she used to receive books as gifts. “My family was into reading. I used to get a lot of books as gifts, and really got into it,” she says, recalling the many days that went into sinking her thoughts into the Secret Seven and Famous Five novels.

When she was 13, she wrote a sci-fi novel, something she reveals with much hesitation. “I always wanted to be an author or a journalist.”

A day on the sets

Life had other plans, because when she was in Class XII, popular Tamil director Saran spotted her photograph somewhere and cast her in a small role in the Arya-starrer Vattaram (2006). “It was a rather inaccurate representation of how the film industry was… because it was such a safe and friendly set. They treated me like a kid who had to be protected. Based on that experience, I fell in love with the film industry,” she recalls.

One thing led to another, and soon, Vasundhara found herself in the thick of the film industry, with films like Peranmai and Thenmerku Paruvakaatru, among others. Despite more than 15 years in the industry, she feels she has not got the kind of opportunities she ought to have. “It’s probably because I wear my heart on my sleeve, and that’s not a good thing in the film industry. Over time, I’ve learnt to never tell people what I genuinely feel about them.”

It is ironic, because Vasundhara is a Tamilian who can speak the local language fluently, a quality that should have worked in her favour and fetched her big-ticket projects. Unfortunately, that has not happened. “It is disappointing,” she rues, “We take great pride in our language. I wish we had pride in our people as well. A lot of success also depends on how much you socialise, how much luck favours you and being at the right place at the right time.”

She still is in love with her job. Which explains her choice to do guest appearances in a couple of upcoming films, apart from a project titled Kali. Also lined up is a yet-to-be-titled Telugu film with Priyadarshi, directed by Sunil.

When she is not on set or preparing for her next acting gig, Vasundhara likes to work on her painting and writing. She has taken dance lessons but unfortunately, “I’m not getting it and my masters are getting tired,” she laughs, adding: “The reason I keep telling filmmakers to give me villain roles is that they do not require me to dance.”