Urvashi takes a brief time to warm up to the fact that Magalir Mattum (1994) has completed 25 years since its release. “It feels as if we were shooting yesterday,” she laughs. When Urvashi got a call from Kamal Haasan’s office, she was super excited. “He (‘Crazy’ Mohan) narrated the script, but didn’t reveal my character. Instead, he said: ‘Kamal sir asked you to choose the one you’d be interested’,” remembers Urvashi. Though all the characters were well-written and had equal scope, she was initially drawn to Paapamma (played by Rohini) as it was something she hadn’t done before. “I liked Paapamma’s rawness that stems from her family situation. But I settled for Janaki because she’s a character that audiences relate to.”
That was during the first day of the shoot, but Urvashi was far from being nervous. Having worked with Kamal Haasan and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao in Michael Madhana Kama Rajan , she understood how the duo operated. Recalling the shoot, she says that a new office-setup was created at Chandamama Building, where they had to rehearse a couple of scenes amidst Haasan. “That was the only time he (Haasan) visited the sets,” she says. Urvashi firmly believes that the film wouldn’t have worked without her friends, Revathi and Rohini, who, according to the actress, deliberately underplayed their characters just to elevate Janaki’s performance. “The beauty is that none of us had any ego issues. Since all of us were friends, we had a ball during the making. They could have easily changed or said ‘no’ to some scenes. But they didn’t. This shows their self-confidence. In fact, I missed them while shooting for the new Magalir Mattum (2017),” she says, adding that they embarked on a journey that continues till date.
Years of memories flash in her mind, admits Urvashi, who finds it hard to think of scenes that they had most fun while shooting. “Be it the
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- Loosely inspired by the English film 9 to 5 , Kamal Haasan produced Magalir Mattum under his banner RaajKamal Films International.
- The film was shot in Hindi titled Ladies Only , with Randhir Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Shilpa Shirodkar and Heera Rajagopal.
- Urvashi awaits the release of a Magalir Mattum kind of a venture, in which she's acting with Suhasini, Khushboo and Radhika.
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The protagonists of
Urvashi did have a bittersweet experience with lyricist Vaali, who had written the song ‘Karavada maadu moonu, kaala maadu onnu’ in the film. “I found the words, ‘karavada maadu’ a little degrading. The news reached Vaali and he called me to explain why he wrote those words, and I was somehow convinced.” Following the release of Magalir Mattum , Urvashi says she got a call from Vaali, who informed her about a popular song that featured in Kadhalan . “He told me that the song was ‘Take it easy Urvashi’, she adds.
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What makes it relatable even today? “It told the sufferings through comedy. Had it been a serious film, people may have rejected it.” The film ends on a positive note, reaffirming faith in times of trouble. From 1994 to 2019, have things finally changed for women? “Definitely. Which is why women are boldly coming out with #MeToo stories. Perhaps films like Magalir Mattum paved the way for such movements.” Though the film was populated by female characters, Kamal Haasan makes a cameo appearance toward the end. “Initially, the script had a female character. But we all wanted Kamal sir to play that role,” she says.
Even after all these years, Urvashi aspires to do a sequel, in which all characters are well-settled. “I’m curious to know if they will have the same spirit,” she smiles.