Regena Cassandra says Vidaamuyarchi is not 'leave your brains at home' film, laments commercial films becoming violent

Regena Cassandra talks about her new film, Vidaamuyarchi, and the changing landscape of commercial cinema in India.

Regena Cassandra is back in a mass entertainer after a while. The actor has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi cinema, and while she started her Telugu career with entertainers, Regina took on slightly more nuanced projects in recent years. With her most recent release, Vidaamuyarchi, she says she has attempted to balance both. In an exclusive chat with HT, Regena talks about the Ajith-starrer and how OTT has changed Indian cinema. (

Regena Cassandra in a still from Vidaamuyarchi.

On Vidaamuyarchi

"This is not your run of the mill commercial film," Regena says about Vidaamuyarchi, adding, "It's massy, and yet there's a certain tone to the film that that appeals to everyone else as well. It's not just one of those 'leave your brains at home and just come and have fun' film. Of course there is fun, for sure, but there's a lot more to this."

The film marked Ajith's comeback to the big screen after two years. "It's been a while since we've seen him on screen. And it's a lot of things coming together. It's Ajit sir, Trisha, and the whole setup," says Regena on what prompted her to take this film.

On the changes in commercial cinema

The actor says that the return to commercial cinema took time because of how the genre itself has changed over the years. "I'm always looking to get good roles. That is irrespective of, what kind of projects I'm doing or what I'm looking at. But if you follow my Telugu career, it has been mostly commercial firms since the beginning of my career. Now, the format of commercial films has also changed over time. There's a lot more action involved, a lot more violence in films and you don't see the women creating that vibe and trying to douse the fire, basically," explains Regena.

Regena says that the one change in commercial cinema has been the emergence of supporting characters from the shadows. "What has happened that suddenly we're going back to what we were doing earlier, which we're making stories and characters and then adding the commercial aspect to it. I think it has to be with the filmmakers. And it's not all films, but you can see that it's getting there," she says. The actor credits this change to the OTT boom in the country.

Vidaamuyarchi stars Ajith, Trisha Krishnan, and Arjun Sarja apart from Regena. Directed by Magizh Thirumeni, the film opened to positive reviews, but has done lukewarm business at the box office. Since its release on February 6, Vidaamuyarchi has earned just over ₹100 crore at the box office.