I connect more with women’s stories, says Revathy

Revathy says while she is naturally drawn to stories about women, her work as an actor and a filmmaker always have a common factor: emotions.In all her feature-length directorial movies such as the 2002 National Award-winning “Mitr” and “Phir Milenge” (2004), she has presented women who realise their strength as they navigate an emotionally rich-narrative. Her latest release “Salaam Venky” follows a mother, played by Kajol, who fights for her dying son’s (Vishal Jethwa) right to dignity.’I just connect with women characters and roles because I know I can get their deepest emotions. It is but natural that I get drawn to such characters. Human stories, emotions, and relationships interest me. All my films as a director and an actor have had these.”Somewhere I felt I have lagged behind in the way films are being made or stories are being told. But then whatever it is, human emotion is the same no matter how modern we become. That is my strength,” Revathy, who returned to helming a full-fledged Hindi film after an 18-year hiatus, told PTI in an interview here. Based on the book titled ”The Last Hurrah”, ”Salaam Venky” is inspired by the true story of the young chess player Kolavennu Venkatesh, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). He died in 2004.The DMD is a genetic disorder which causes skeletal and heart muscle weakness that gets worse with time. Venkatesh’s death sparked a debate about euthanasia, commonly known as mercy killing, in India.The 56-year-old director, who had read the book back in 2007, said she felt the story needed to be told for the big screen. She had even penned two-three versions of the adaptation, but things didn’t materialise then. Revathy, however, believes she was meant to narrate this story, penned by Sammeer Arora and Kausar Munir.’The most important thing is the spirit to live life to the fullest and that is what attracted me. And that is what the story is even today. I had a different take on it. The movie has certain fictional elements. Overall, the soul of the film is the same but the structure was different,” she added.