Raveena Tandon is making a return to Tamil cinema after 24 years (her last Kollywood outing was Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan in 2001) with Lawyer, starring Vijay Antony. In a chat with us, the actress shares that she is excited to work in Tamil again after all these years and delving into how she picks her films, says, “Obviously, the role should be good. And you have to have faith in your director. So, it's a combination of everything.” Excerpts:

The actress reveals that she has always loved filming in the South and adds, “I was wondering why I get less work in the South. Whether it's Tamil, Telugu or Kannada cinema, just being down south is an enjoyable treat. I love the kind of work done here, and I want to work here more often. I'm also a fan of South Indian food. Even in the ’90s, I used to go back to Mumbai after filming here and tell people that it’s so refreshing in the South because everyone's so focused. The films made here are deeply rooted in the culture, traditions, and rituals of the place they are set in. Therefore, people can identify with films on a mass level.”

Now that she is back on a Tamil film set, Raveena informs us that she is “refreshing and polishing my Tamil again”. She elaborates, “Once I go back to Mumbai, I forget the language because no one talks in Tamil there. So now, I'm catching up with Tamil words again. Everyone here gets surprised when I speak the language and ask me, ‘Oh, you remember Tamil?’ I say, 'Yeah, it's all coming back to me.’ Tamil is a beautiful language. The actual ethos of India comes from all our indigenous languages.”

Raveena tells us that she currently doesn't have any aspirations and is rather going with the flow. “It's great to work with young blood because they've got fresh and innovative ideas. Working with them keeps you updated, and you also get to enjoy different working styles. I keep hearing of such superb new directors, music composers, and talent coming up from the South, and that is always very tempting. I want to work with many directors from the South. I also want to do a film with my Hyderabad gang again,” states the actress.

Raveena has a rather interesting take on essaying grey characters. “I enjoy playing grey characters. You might watch a character and think that they are grey, but in their mind, they are only doing what they think is right for them. For example, in KGF - Chapter 2 (2022), my character (Ramika Sen) was not grey. She was doing what was right for her country. It's our perception that makes us think who's a grey character and who's not,” she shares.

Elaborating on her experience working on Lawyer, Raveena reveals, “Although I have played a lawyer in Patna Shukla (2024), my character in Lawyer will be completely different. When I heard the film's plot from director Joshua (Sethuraman), I loved it. We are now shooting at such a pace that I feel two films can be made here in the time they shoot one in Mumbai or anywhere else in the world. And I'm thoroughly enjoying it because I hate wasting time. Wastage of time is wastage of the producer's money. I like it when the whole team is out there and working hard with josh.”

Quiz her about KGF - Chapter 3 — the third film in the action franchise, starring Yash — and she says, “I think the makers wanted to give the franchise a break because they didn't want the third film to come out very soon. They wanted to give it a little time so that people's curiosity would increase. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that a third film happens.”

Raveena Tandon is all set to make her return to Tamil cinema after 24 years with Vijay Antony’s new courtroom drama, Lawyer. This will be the third Tamil film for the actress, who had previously acted in Arjun Sarja’s Saadhu (1994) and Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan (2001).

The film’s director, Joshua Sethuraman, tells us, “I loved Raveena ma’am’s performance in Shool (1999), and we needed an actor with her dynamic presence for our film. She and Vijay Anyony sir will have equally important roles in this film.”

Elaborating on how he approached the actress for this role, the director says, “After Gentlewoman came on OTT, many from Bollywood called me. Since I studied at FTII, I have friends who are working in Bollywood, and that’s how I reached out to her. I told her that she’d get an idea of my work once she sees Gentlewoman, my debut film. After she saw it, I immediately narrated this film’s story and she was also interested.”

Joshua shares that there won’t be any love angle in Lawyer and adds, “It’s a slice-of-life story of a first-generation lawyer. It focuses on the struggles of a law school graduate, played by Vijay Antony, and issues of the working class.”

The director claims that his film will show how a real courtroom functions. “Usually, courtroom dramas deal with criminal cases, but this film deals with a civil case. It discusses a working-class issue taken up in a labour court. The courtrooms showcased in Indian movies are far removed from reality. Films like Visaaranai showcased how the police system functions, but I haven’t seen many films showcasing the proper functioning of a court,” he says.

Apart from playing the protagonist, Vijay Antony will also be bankrolling and composing music for the film. Joshua shares, “He contacted me after seeing Gentlewoman and said that he liked my perspective and wanted to work together.

Reflecting on his experience helming a two-heroine subject as his debut project, he says, “A lot of trade people asked us, ‘Who will come for a two-heroine film when no one even comes for a hero’s films.’ But the film got 50 per cent profit even though many other films released along with it.”