Varahi Mallipamula is debuting as a producer, actor, and writer with the film Impure. The film began with the amount that her mother had saved for her wedding. Born in Kakinada and raised in Pennsylvania, Varahi now lives in New York and has a double major in Engineering and Journalism from Penn State. Despite working in tech to support herself, she continued pursuing filmmaking, writing the first draft of Impure six years ago and working on it during nights and weekends.
Impure revolves around a woman whose wedding gets cancelled after her in-laws discover that she is not a virgin. Varahi ensured Telugu actress Yasha Muthuluri played the lead, as she felt women-centric films are difficult to sell to producers. Inspired by Samantha and Nandini Reddy breaking similar barriers with Maa Inti Bangaaram, Varahi decided to self-distribute the film in theatres.
First-time director Nishanthi Evani has helmed the project, while Grammy-nominated artists Raja Kumari and Karan Pandav have composed the music. Cinematographer Gnanasekhar VS explored native Telugu locations through an artistic lens, elevating the film’s production value. Impure had its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in LA, followed by an East Coast premiere at Cinema Village in New York, where audiences appreciated its scale.
The film is set for a limited theatrical release across India on October 2. Varahi requested people to watch her indie film as it offers a change from all the bloodshed films about one man killing dozens of people, while presenting a new perspective on women’s and men’s problems.