Jyothika has done what many heroines have failed to do in the past and that is to make a successful comeback and that too as a leading lady. Her '36 Vayadhinile' has exceeded all expectations to become a super hit, proving to one and all that her huge fan following is intact even after eight long years. We at Indiaglitz caught up with Jyothika where she opens up about her film, family and much more.

You have made the Biggest comeback in Indian Cinema. Your thoughts on that?

It is a surprising and a very warm welcome. We expected to get a nice review for '36 Vayadhinile' but overwhelmed by this huge response. The audiences are open to all kinds of films and it is we who make the rules of what films to make and it is nice to break the rules. '36 Vayadhinile' has proved that anything that touches people and connects to them will win.

What about the opening?

Even some big films fail to get an opening and films with good content do not run, but all we knew is that we have made a good film and due to the media being so open nowadays we had a feedback that people are waiting for this film and we did expect a small opening but such a warm welcome as this we honestly did not expect.

Women centric films do not fare well at the B.O. Your take?

Oh no I can say that at least for the past eight to nine years there has not been a woman centric film made. So we do not know how people will receive them.

Suriya's part in this?

Of course Suriya's huge backing made a lot of difference because he sat with us worked on the film's content and packaging. Suriya and I used to watch a lot of small Hindi films in which big stars participated and the thought to do the same in Tamil Cinema occurred to us and that is why 2D was started so that we can make quality films without putting much thought on the revenue. Suriya believed in this project and put in a lot of money right from buying the remake rights to paying the cast and crew and then splurging money on publicity. God is with us and 2D is serious about making good films and you can expect a lot of small films to come from 2D.

How did you work in '36 Vayadhinile'?

I was very well paid (laughs). It was very convenient as I took all of my Sundays off. Rosshann Andrews is a workaholic and so we finished our work fast without interfering with my kids schedule. Of course other than 2D no other banner could have made this possible.

When did you decide to make a comeback?

Actually, it could have been a year later also as my son is still very young and there is no necessity for me to make a comeback. When I saw How old are You?' it shook me up. I saw myself in the same boat, as I also got married and am sitting at home (even though I did do a few commercials). As a woman I realized that what I am doing is also not right. There is of course a need to be there for children as a mother, but at the same time as a woman I needed to follow my heart and this film made me stand up and it is worth leaving the kids home and making a comeback and it was.

Viji's dialogues?

Viji is the Midas with the golden touch and he has been a part of two of my best films Mozhi' and '36 Vayadhinile' and he has added such a great value to the film and I even wonder how a man can write these. In fact, it is a cute little film made by men for women.

Rosshann did the original and was he confident of it working in Tamil?

Oh yes, he was very confident. He believes in good film making and does not bother about other factors. I have been a part of commercial cinema for the past so many years and I myself told Rosshann that he needs to add something in the second half. But he was quite firm and said no and stuck to his guns. He believed in good cinema and that brought this film alive.

Will men like '36 Vayadhinile'?

This film is the point of view of one particular family and there are pros and cons and some men may not like it. There are people like Suriya who keep women up there and in the middle and lower middle class there are husbands who even beat up their wives. In that sense the husband's character I feel is told in a nice ways when in real life there are even worse husbands.

When you quit eight years back you were at the peak and did you feel bad?

I was mentally prepared when I quit and there are certain things that should happen in a woman's life which you should never let go. I was twenty seven when I quit and I found the right man I wanted to marry and we planned to have a kid immediately and then there was no time for me to think as my family took precedence over everything else. Even when the film was made and was released I did not think about being away, but once I got this reception and affection I realized what I had missed. It was actually not a conscious decision to quit films after marriage, but Suriya was making some very big films and I had two kids back to back and bringing them up was my priority and now that I am free I decided.

Tell us about the character Vasanthi…

Vasanthi is Jyothika and Jyothika is Vasanthi. We grow and evolve with cinema. For heroes in the industry, they grow and mature from the age of twenty to sixty. But for heroines when they grow and come to the age when they mature and understand cinema better it is time for them to quit. Rosshann gave me a free hand in the comedy scenes, but held me back in scenes where composure was necessary. So the character Vasanthi is basically me and is very close to my real life character and mellowing down was added by Rosshann. This is the first film I mugged my dialogues and went to the sets with passion to work. In my old films I required a lot of prompting as I was just learning the language. Actually, I tried to dub in my own voice, but when I said (laughs) Tamil Selvan it sounded more like Mumbai Selvan so we didn't do it as this is too big a film to play around with. Rosshan is a big fan of S.J.Surya and Ku