Varsha Vasudev is relieved and happy that her directorial debut, Chinna Chinna Aasai, has found its audience. She is basking in the warmth and love pouring in during theatre visits. “I could witness some pure emotions, happy tears and heartwarming reactions,” says Varsha, adding, “I found many Leelas,” referring to the character, played by yesteryear actor Madhoo (Madhubala).

The movie is a poignant story about companionship and understanding between two strangers, Leela, a widow from Thanjavur, and Madhavan, a Malayali retired teacher and single father, who meet in the spiritualscape of Varanasi.

The 34 year old, whose tryst with direction happened with the much-appreciated short film Ente Narayanikku, a touching story set against the lockdown phase, says that the film was not a planned one. It started with a stopover at Varanasi on a whim in 2023, while returning from a six-month stay at Himachal, one of her favourite travel destinations.

“I always thought of Varanasi as a crowded place, while I always prefer a peaceful ambience. There was a plan to visit it someday but I wanted it to happen organically. Finally when it happened, the city changed me. It was December, the best time to be in Varanasi. I felt some magic sitting by the ghats at night, watching the Ganga. Manikarnika Ghat, where cremations take place, deeply moved me. Thoughts about the transience of life changed something within me.”

She felt like creating something and wrote a story. “Then I thought of capturing the feel of the place visually and that later became my script and the film. Actually I already had a story set in Himachal. But I changed the plan because of Varanasi.”

Lived experiences

But why this story? “Since my narrative is set in Varanasi, I wanted it to have depth and maturity. My characters had to be those who have lived life enough. That was when I found a lot of lonely souls sitting by the ghats. So I arrived at the story about a woman who is lonely and meets a stranger who makes her happy by listening to her. Sometimes you find comfort in a stranger, especially while travelling. I call it the intimacy of understanding.”

It is this understanding that Varsha weaves into the life of Leela and Madhavan. Leela is separated from her travel group and also loses all her belongings. Madhavan is a frequent visitor to Varanasi to meet his daughter who is learning Kathak. “I wrote their back story and placed them in the ghats of Varanasi. And it is there that their relationship develops through conversations. People I saw and incidents I witnessed have made it into the story.”

Varsha stresses that she never thought of Indrans and Madhubala as an odd or unique combo. “I wrote my Madhavan maashu (teacher) keeping Indrans sir in mind. I needed that innocence for my maashu.” Madhubala came into the picture when she thought about the heroines of her favourite director, Mani Ratnam. That’s how the Roja heroine was finalised and the movie was named Chinna Chinna Aasai, after the evergreen song from the film. “I selected two actors who suited my characters. I looked at the bond between two people and not whether they would make a good pair on screen.”

The actors who go beyond

She calls them the two strong pillars of her film. “Since the shoot was non-linear, I just had to remind them certain things about their characters. Other than that it was all them. Indrans sir went beyond what I had written. There were many such scenes. Like the fleet of emotions on his face when he gives her jasmine. Madhoo ma’am also elevated my script in many scenes. It is a privilege for a filmmaker when your actors take a scene to the next level. The best thing for me is that I got two amazing performers.”

Varsha goes on to thank her team. First, the producer Abhijith Babuji, her batchmate from college. “After Ente Narayanikku, he had told me that he is ready to produce a small script. He came on board also because he has a special connect with Varanasi.”

The 28-day shoot posed several challenges. The place was crowded due to Kumbh Mela and expenses shot off on all fronts. “But I received tremendous support from the people who even came forward for crowd control. Even though we had minimum facilities for everyone, no one complained, including my actors. They are all so grounded - Vishnu [Agasthya], Aparna [Balamurali], Jaffer [Sadiq] etc. I was in a comfortable space, with everyone helping me out — producer, DOP (Faiz Siddik) , editor (Reckson Joseph) etc. I was enjoying the warmth of friendship.”

More than just business

Did she take a risk with such a subject for her debut? “I am a spiritual person, so too my producer. We both believe that there is more to cinema than business. Lot of good things have happened in this project and we knew it had its magic to hold people’s attention. I am aware that the script is not perfect, but I knew some magic was happening. Even though the release got delayed, now I feel that this is the right time. I knew that there is an audience for such films. People are already saying that it might do well on OTT. But then we can’t predict the Malayali audience. They will accept any work that has a minimum guarantee and if they are convinced about the craft involved.”

Varsha adds that she would not have made this film in any language other than Malayalam. “We have such discerning audience as well as critics.”

An engineer-turned-filmmaker, Varsha says that cinema made her happy during her growing up years although she never watched many films. “I fell in love with the medium; first I was enamoured by the actors and later the writers and directors. I wanted to write a film. To start with, while pursuing engineering in Thiruvananthapuram, I used to send my CV to all television channels seeking an opportunity to work!”

While working with an IT firm in Kozhikode, she bagged an opportunity to work with a private channel and thanks to a few acquaintances, she got a chance to assist in one schedule of the movie Goodalochana. Alongside she worked as show producer with various television channels.

“Then Ente Narayanikku happened. And now it is just cinema. I can’t think of a life outside of it.”