“The petition was my mum’s idea. I remember I saw a character put a petition in a cartoon and I joked with my mom that, ‘Maybe I should start a petition about OMG 2,’ and she said that it was actually a very good idea,” Varma shares, adding, “Then, I wrote a paragraph outlining the cause of my petition. So far, I have got 900 signatures. If the Censor Board accepts this, which I hope they do, there would be a change in the rating.”

The 16-year-old tells us that after filing the petition, he has received a supportive reaction till now with over 1300 signatures so far. “On social media, everyone texts me about agreeing with my petition and the film’s message of sex education.”

“I am really happy the film is doing so well. I wanted to be an actor all my life, so finally now having a film that people are appreciating so much and giving so much love is a big thing,” the actor exclaims. He expressed gratitude for the audience’s reception and mentions, “I haven’t watched the film yet, but a lot of people are praising my performance, so that’s happy to hear. If I can’t enjoy my own work, at least someone else will.”

Despite the film’s triumph, Varma reveals his disappointment about the certification constraints imposed by the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). “I feel extremely disappointed and upset, because every aspiring actor dreams of seeing themselves on the big screen. Not being able to do that in my first film has pissed me off,” he admits. He also criticises the board’s decision, stating, “I am also angry at the Censor Board, because the film was made for teenagers and on an important subject, so restricting the target audience negates the motive of making the movie.”

Elaborating on the film’s significance, Varma emphasises, “Everyone should watch this film, and I am saying this from an educational point of view. It addresses an important issue, so I really hope the Censor Board takes this into consideration.”

Talking about how the debut film came across, he shares, “The film had very open auditions. My parents got one of the casting calls and the audition and briefing was done on zoom calls after that. I was really happy and excited that I was selected out of 200 kids.” Varma also expresses a deep-rooted desire for meaningful projects. “I don’t want to do acting just for the sake of doing acting, I want to do projects that make meaningful cinema. I want to entertain and teach people a valuable lesson in my future projects,” he ends.