Finding her feet

Her enthusiasm, positive energy and vibrant, quick responses are infectious. A perfect blend of height and good looks, Vara Lakshmi Sarat Kumar, a graduate in micro biology with masters in management is awaiting her debut release Poda Podi with Simbhu. She expresses her eagerness and willingness to act in Telugu films, “My mom is from the Telugu industry so why wouldn't I work there,” quips the debutante and daughter of Tamil actors Sarat Kumar and Radhika.

Unlike regular actors she hasn't banked on her parents' reputation or taken her place for granted. She worked her way to make her entry and all the decisions were the result of her choices alone. Extremely independent and sure of herself, she has learnt acting, yoga, and dance and is in no hurry to grab attention.

She avers, “If you are passionate about something it will definitely come to you, provided you put in the time and effort. Everyone wants to be a numero uno but it doesn't matter to me. All I want is to be appreciated for my work. I want to be happy with what I am doing. Yes, ultimately I am aiming at working with Mani Sir but my dad isn't recommending me. I bank on my own potential. We are all self-made people and we don't drop names on the sets.”

Was acting on her agenda since childhood? Not really, she explains. “I wanted to be in the forensic sciences and that is why I had taken up micro-biology. Dancing too is my main line of work and I enjoy it very much, it's good fun and I picked up dance forms easily. I am into Bharatanatyam, Latin American, Pop, Salsa and just about everything. I then went to Anupam Kher's acting institute and Anupam Kher told my dad that I had talent and I can act. Dad said okay but otherwise he was pretty much against me joining films. We were very down to earth kids and he never took us to any film functions.”

Ask her if there is any anxiety now that her film is nearing completion, she says, “I never felt nervous. It was happy energy and I actually enjoyed working in the film. I have already signed my second film. There is a lot of hard work that goes into acting. My respect for actors went up when I joined the acting school. Apart from losing my inhibitions I realised it is a tough job and it isn't glamorous as it looks like. Most importantly you should enjoy your work or you will not get it right. Not even one shot.”

She adds that her father hasn't yet seen the film but he has heard a lot of good things about her and is quite proud of her. On her part she is happy that she has given it her best shot, “I'm not mature enough as an actor to do it all in one film.” Tell her that her name is too traditional for the films, she agrees and signs off, “No one ever calls me Vara Lakshmi. I am Varu for all. I keep asking my parents why they named me Vara Lakshmi. I'm just the opposite; my mom says I'm such a tomboy.”

y.s.c.