Varalaxmi Sarathkumar reveals she faced childhood abuse, slams writer’s ‘insensitive’ rape remark over S Saraswathi script dispute

Shortly after the film’s release, Burra took to social media and posted a message that did not name the film directly but was widely understood to be about S. Saraswathi. In his post, he wrote that the project began with his story but turned into something entirely different. He claimed the entire narrative was changed without his knowledge, that the soul of the original was lost, and that what he had written was never meant to be a revenge drama.

What drew the sharpest attention, however, was his choice of words. Burra used the word “rape” to describe how his story had been treated, saying the original idea had been severely distorted. The comment spread quickly across social media and sparked debate about creative rights in the film industry.

Varalaxmi responded at the film’s success meet the following day. She expressed discomfort with the language used, pointing out that the film itself deals with sensitive subject matter, and that using such a term publicly to describe a creative disagreement was inappropriate and insensitive.

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On the substance of the dispute, she was equally direct. “I have respect for senior writer Saimadhav Burra. He works on big films. But I didn’t steal his script or deny him credit. We bought the story point from him, paid him, and credited him in the film. Regarding his allegation that we changed the story, we didn’t actually use his script. We only took one point and developed the story in our own way. He had written this story many years ago, and no one showed interest because the second half felt outdated,” she said.

She also noted that Burra did not participate in story discussions during the film’s development, as he was occupied with other commitments at the time and could not attend the sessions where the screenplay was shaped. She also addressed why the story had sat unused for so long: “The script remained with him for nearly six years. If it was such a powerful story, one might wonder why it wasn’t made earlier,” she remarked.

Burra had separately alleged that Varalaxmi spoke about the story in several interviews and promotional events without referring to him as the writer, a claim she pushed back on by pointing out that he received a proper story credit in the film’s titles.

The actor disclosed that she was sexually abused when she was a child. She spoke about how, growing up, conversations around good touch and bad touch were considered off-limits in most households, something parents simply did not bring up with their children. It was only after she received sex education, she said, that she understood what had happened to her was wrong. She used that moment to make a direct appeal: talk to children about it, because that is the only way to identify who the predators are.

S. Saraswathi follows a nurse named Laxmi who approaches a reputed lawyer after her daughter goes missing, alleging that the school principal and two others raped and murdered the child.