Every once in a while, a film comes along that shines a spotlight on up-and-comers and turns them into talk of the town. The latest to do that is Modha Rathri, which brought well-deserved attention to its cast and crew, from director Raja Karuppasamy to editor Ashok Arjunan, and actors Rishikanth, Abdool Lee, Sumithra Devi, and Varshini Karmegham. Even though her first big-screen appearance was for Dragon (2025), Varshini has made quite an impression with Modha Rathri, playing the young bridesmaid Ramya. But the road to the big screen was riddled with multiple obstacles for the young actor. “I have no connections in the film industry. Every chance I got, I earned it through auditions,” says Varshini, who reveals she worked as a Data Analyst for a year before making the jump to search for acting opportunities. “After I quit my job, I didn’t know how I was going to get into films; I didn’t know if I was going to get any acting chances. I just knew I had it in me,” she says.

Apart from such conviction and self-belief, any aspiring actor needs a strong self-image, and for that, you need to know exactly what you don’t want to be. “I was very clear about not wanting to be a social media influencer. I understand how it helps actors showcase talents, but I wanted to take a different approach because I believed you don’t need social media to become an actor. I must have posted maybe four scene-recreation reels but nothing more. I focused most of my efforts working in short films and trying out auditions,” says Varshini, who reveals how her short film experiences helped her acting chances. “My character in Modha Rathri is supposed to speak in a Tirunelveli accent. Luckily, I had already learned how to speak in Tirunelveli Tamil while working in a short film called Meendum Mazhai."

Social media has a way of becoming an integral part of an actor's identity, and yet, Varshini tries to ensure it doesn't. “When I was just starting out, I had lost acting opportunities because I only had a thousand followers,” says Varshini, who currently has a follower count of around 55,000. “During such times, I realised that if they really thought I fit the role, the numbers shouldn’t have mattered. I also realised that people who come to you with well-written roles do not care about your follower counts, which is what happened with Modha Rathri."

The short film experience has also helped the actor understand the technicalities of filmmaking. “Actors need to learn about the different types of lenses, and why a particular scene needs to be shot in a particular way as well. Short films helped me learn all of that. Jumping into bigger productions like Vadhandhi season 2 and Modha Rathri helped me improve my skills as an actor. For example, I realised how impactful a dialogue delivery can be when I take calculated pauses.” On the topic of actors and filmmaking, Varshini recounts one of the early recognitions for Modha Rathri from inside the film industry. “Simbu sir (Silambarasan TR) called the team, and we were on speaker. He appreciated every single aspect of the film. If he spoke about four things, three of them would be about the editing,” Varshini bounces off due acknowledgement to the film’s editor, Ashok Arjunan. She then adds, “Even though Simbu sir didn’t remember my name, he specifically pointed out one of my scenes and said, ‘andha ponnu nalla panniruntha’ which made me happy.”

Even though Varshini’s dream was always to become an actor, she confesses that she is enamoured by the art of direction. “I would love to become a director someday,” says the actor, who also bemoans the lack of well-written women characters in Tamil cinema. “I was fortunate to be part of projects like Vadhandhi season 2 and Modha Rathri, which have well-written women. However, I wish Tamil cinema explored the vast complexity of women. I wish we spoke about their grey shades as well and how, sometimes, circumstances bring them out. For example, I loved Samantha’s character in Super Deluxe and TJ Bhanu’s role in Vaazhl. Those are the kinds of characters I wish to see more in Tamil cinema, and would love to be a part of, “ concludes Varshini, who will next be sharing screen space with Dinesh in a film directed by Maya-fame Ashwin Saravanan.