Varsha Bharath on Bad Girl producer Vetrimaraan: ‘I don’t think anyone else would have encouraged such a personal mode of storytelling’

Debutant director Varsha Bharath talks about the making of the Tamil film Bad Girl and her experience working with filmmaker Vetrimaaran.

By: Entertainment Desk
Bangalore | September 8, 2025 08:35 PM IST

Varsha Bharath talks about Bad Girl producer Vetrimaraan.

Varsha Bharath is currently basking in the positive response to her directorial debut, Bad Girl. The film, starring Anjali Sivaraman in the lead role, hit screens on September 5 after facing controversy over its portrayal of a Brahmin girl and being initially denied a censor certificate. Recently, Varsha spoke about how she stayed resilient despite the hurdles she faced while making Bad Girl.

In an interview with Sudhir Sreenivasan, Varsha said, “I found it very cathartic to write this story. I wasn’t really thinking about all of these things. Of course, having a filmmaker (Vetrimaraan) as my producer really helped. I don’t think anyone else would have encouraged such a personal mode of storytelling.”

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Varsha Bharath also shared her apprehensions about how Bad Girl could have turned out with the wrong producer. “I don’t think anybody would have guided someone on something that was not just made, necessarily, only for entertainment. But also for engagement. We did not want it to be the kind of film with the girl kissing the boy in the climax and a happy ending. Hence, Bad Girl happened. This is not a conventional chick flick that way.”

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Bad Girl, also starring Shanthipriya, Saranya Ravichandran, and Hridhu Haroon, is produced by Vetrimaaran and Anurag Kashyap. The film follows a young woman who claims her agency and shapes her own destiny.

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