Maa Inti Bangaram, Samantha and Nandini Reddy Inspired Me to Take Impure to Theaters: Varahi
Varahi Mallipamula is debuting as a producer, actor and writer with the film Impure, which began with her mother’s wedding savings.
“My mother saw me struggle for years, pitching, doing stand-up and theater, having movie projects come close but never come to full fruition. My mother spent a lot on my sister’s wedding, so she said she would give me that money if I wanted to invest in a movie instead. I accepted the offer, but that money was not enough to make a complete movie. We borrowed a lot more, and I flew from New York to hire cast and crew.”
Born in Kakinada, Varahi grew up in Pennsylvania and now lives in New York, with a double major in Engineering and Journalism from Penn State. She worked in tech to survive in cities like New York, LA and London, but never let go of her filmmaking dreams. She wrote the first script six years ago, working her day job and writing nights and weekends.
Impure is a movie about a woman whose wedding gets cancelled because her in-laws find out she’s not a virgin.
Varahi made a movie about a woman’s cancelled wedding using her wedding savings.
The Telugu industry often casts North Indian women in Telugu roles, and women-centric films are a hard sell to producers. Varahi ensured Yasha Muthuluri, a Telugu woman, played the lead.
She said, “My belief in cinema has been strong from a very young age, but it is not easy to convince producers to take up a women-centric film. I wrote the first draft of the script and pitched it for years and many expressed their doubts. Finally, Samantha and Nandini Reddy broke those notions and proved that a woman-centric film can be celebrated worldwide. They gave me the inspiration to self-distribute Impure in theaters.”
As a first-time filmmaker, Varahi took a chance on Nishanthi Evani, who acted in LBW, worked on Nandini Reddy’s Maa Inti Bangaram, and is now making her directorial debut.
On the music, Varahi said, “Raja Kumari composed songs for our film with Karan Pandav, and they are both Grammy-nominated artists. I want people to learn the hook step from the omg song, and I hope it catches on.”
Cinematographer Gnanasekhar VS explored native Telugu locations through an artistic lens which truly elevated our production value.
She concluded, “I would request people to watch our indie film as it gives them a change from all the bloodshed films of one man killing dozens. Our film offers a new perspective on women’s and men’s problems. Sai Krishna did a brilliant job as an aspiring actor, and I am sure the people who watch Impure love it.”
Impure had its world premiere at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in LA, followed by an East Coast premiere at the historic Cinema Village in New York. Audiences were pleasantly surprised that debutant filmmakers could pull off a project that looks like a multimillion-dollar movie. It releases in Limited theaters in Pan-India on October 2.
She added, “I hope Indian audiences receive Impure with open arms, the way they received Maa Inti Bangaram.”
