I’m glad I will finally have a Kannada film on my roster: Varsha Bollamma

After a decade of performances across Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Varsha Bollamma is finally stepping into her home turf. The Virajpet-born actor, who grew up in Bengaluru and proudly identifies as Kodava, will make her Kannada debut in director PC Shekhar’s upcoming film Mahaan. “Since my debut a decade ago, I’ve done films across the South — except in my own language, Kannada,” she says, explaining that while offers came her way earlier, the roles “were insignificant” compared to the strong characters she was landing elsewhere. This project, with its farmers’ theme and a well-crafted part, felt like the right moment to bring her back to her roots. Excerpts:‘I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY FILMMAKERS IN MY OWN LANGUAGE DIDN’T OFFER ME A PROJECT’Varsha says she often wondered why her first Kannada project took so long to arrive. “I always wondered why filmmakers in my own language didn’t offer me a project. At a time when I was landing strong characters elsewhere in the South, I wasn’t happy just being arm candy for a few minutes in Kannada cinema. But of course, as a girl raised in Bengaluru, who always listens to Kannada music while driving, I secretly wished one of those songs would someday be mine,” she says.‘WHEN I DEBUTED, THE TERM ‘FEMALE-CENTRIC FILM’ WAS MET WITH SCEPTICISM’Looking back on her decade in the industry, Varsha has witnessed a clear shift in how women are written for the screen. “Back when I debuted, unless you had proved yourself, women didn’t get well-written roles. I’m happy to say that has changed. I remember when the term ‘female-centric film’ carried scepticism. Today, thanks to OTT, women are pushing boundaries and living out their dreams. It will only get better from here, with so many female leads now drawing audiences to theatres with their names,” she says.‘NO MATTER HOW MANY FILMS I DO OUTSIDE, BENGALURU WILL ALWAYS BE HOME’She also takes pride in the growing presence of talent from her home region. “I’m so happy to see so many girls from Coorg making an impact in the industry. I’m thrilled for Rashmika; she and I are in touch, and I love how she’s headlining such big films. Likewise, many others from Coorg have made it big in modelling and movies, proving that coming from a small town doesn’t mean you can’t dream big. Coorg folks are known for their free spirit and broad outlook, and our community has always been encouraging of talent. At the same time, no matter how many films I do outside, Bengaluru is home — and I’m glad I will now finally have Kannada films on my roster.”