Evaru talks about the stigma faced by rape victims: Regina

Venkat Ramji’s debut film Evaru starring Adivi Sesh, Regina Cassandra and Naveen Chandra promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. but there’s more to the film than the sharp twists and turns, reckons Regina, who who plays Sameera, a rape victim who’s accused of murder. “For me, one of the highlights of this film is the fact that it talks about the stigma faced by survivors of rape. Yes, it also answers the question of whether it was a cold-blooded murder, why my character was raped and so on. But it’s the stigma that she faces for being raped, and how conveniently people shift the blame on to the victim that will stay with the audience. You will feel for Sameera as she battles hard to clear her name,” shares Regina.

Sameera is described by director Ramji as “a woman from a good family who has struggled throughout her life, but still manages to take care of herself”. And Regina says playing such a role was mentally challenging. “Sameera is a strong, fierce personality who won’t stop until she has her way. But when she gets raped, she decides to use her privilege and power in society to be the voice for many women and families who go through this,” says Regina.

The Awe actress says she was heavily involved in designing her look for the film and even suggested how her character should be portrayed in the film. “When Ramji narrated the story to me, I had a vision of how Sameera would be. I wanted her to have short hair as I felt that would be the right look for the character. Ramji was sceptical at first, but once we began shooting, he was happy with my choice,” she says, adding, “Since the story is told from a woman’s perspective, the inputs of assistant directors Divya and Manisha proved to be vital. Ramji penned the story beautifully, but a woman’s touch was also needed to make it work.”

Agreeing, filmmaker Ramji says Regina has given one of her best performances till date in Evaru. “Regina shot in biting cold for 12 hours straight for a rain scene in Connoor. The scene required her to be soaking wet all day long and it was not easy to pull off. The commitment shown by all the actors will reflect on screen,” Ramji reckons.

Admitting that she didn’t mind the making that extra effort, Regina adds, “The scenes involving me and the other two lead actors Adivi Sesh and Naveen Chandra were both physically and mentally challenging. The fact that I got to play such an intense character with several layers that would be revealed through the course of the film, made all the effort worth it.”

Produced by PVP under PVP Cinema, Evaru is releasing tomorrow.


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