Jyothika plays a tough-talking headmistress who reforms a poorly managed school in her latest Tamil movie. The title is Raatchasi, and Jyothika is indeed a monster, but of the good kind.
Chaos reigns across the classrooms at the government-run school, and the teachers are both ignorant and disinterested. Rattling off dialogue in formal Tamil and backing up her words with deeds, Geetha Rani gets to work on raising academic standards and helping the impoverished students. Her opponents include the teachers at the school and politicians on the outside. Like Michelle Pfeiffer’s strong-willed teacher from the American film Dangerous Minds (1995), Geetha Rani is no pushover.
Directed and written by first-time filmmaker Gowtham Raj, Raatchasi is scheduled for a release in June. The cast includes Poornima Baghyaraj, Hareesh Paredi and Sathyan.
Raatchasi is the latest movie to feature Jyothika as a strong, author-backed character. She took a break after marrying co-star Suriya in 2006, and returned with a bang in 36 Vayadhinile in 2015. Her recent films include Magalir Mattum (2017) and Naachiyaar (2018).