Performers outshine glam- girls with ease
Tollywood is experiencing winds of change — actresses’ skills, not hot bods or sheer glam factor, are stealing the show
Move over B- town hotties, for the industry has been seeing a meteoric rise of a bunch of talented actresses such as Sai Pallavi, Rashmika Mandanna, Keerthy Suresh, Nivedha Thomas, Ritu Varma and Anupama Parameswaran, who’ve ridden on their histrionics skills rather than skin show. The above actresses and many like them have been changing the game in T- town for the last two or three years.
Ace producer Yelamanchili Ravi Shankar, who roped in the talented actress Rashmika Mandanna for his film Dear Comrade, agrees. “It is true that performers have taken centrestage in Telugu mainstream movies. Apart from their acting chops, these young divas fit in perfectly to play romantic interests to new- generation stars, so they have an added edge over others,” admits Ravi Shankar.
“Rashmika, for instance, is a good performer and in Dear Comrade, she carried the authorbacked role of an aspiring cricketer with conviction. Similarly, Keerthy Suresh, Sai Pallavi, Nivedha Thomas and others have also been banking on their histrionic skills to carve a niche for themselves by
portraying girl- next- door and homely roles with aplomb, and they’re all doing well in the industry. No doubt, good looks and talent add to a heady mix.”
Ritu Varma, a talented actress herself who found rave reviews for her role in Pellichooplu, admits that the industry is witnessing a growing comp e t i - tion for
performance- oriented roles. “I agree that divas doing roles with substance are growing by the day, but I am not worried about it because they can’t do my roles and vice versa. Rather, I take it as a new challenge to do more meaty roles,” says the actress. “For instance, even after four years, the audience talks about my character in Pellichooplu. I believe that’s the power and impact of performance- oriented roles. My roles in my upcoming movies with Nani, Sharwanand and Naga Shaurya are also welletched out, so I actually think it’s the right time for talented divas to be in T- town.”
Ritu was also one among those who busted the myth that heroines in commercial Telugu movies needed to shed their clothes to climb the ladder of success. “Winds of change are blowing in Telugu film industry as directors are penning almost parallel roles for actresses. Of course, I am doing commercial movies but skin show is not my cup of tea but that doesn’t mean I have anything against actresses doing it,” says the actress.
AUTHOR- BACKED ROLES
However, the very gifted Sai Pallavi, who rose to fame with Fidaa and who is doing another author- backed role in her upcoming movie Virata Parvam, is very selective about doing commercial movies. Even director Venu Udugula, who cast her in a deglamourised role of a rural woman in his period saga Virata Parvam, seems to observe the talent in the actress. “Sai Pallavi is not in a hurry to make money. She wants to do roles that touch her conscience. She’s a class apart and truly a director’s actor, who likes to get into the skin of the character. She discusses with her director the traits and psyche of the character while sharing her inputs too. Her craze on social media is unmatched and we had difficulty in managing surging crowds while shooting in Kerala, even though she’s done only two or three Malayalam movies — I think it’s the sign of her growing fan base across regions,” he points out.
“Some B- town hotties will have a tough time in the days to come as talented actresses are ruling the roost,” he adds.
Similarly, another young director Sriram Venu shares his praise for actress Nivedha Thomas, who is playing a key
Sai Pallavi is not in a hurry to make money. She wants to do roles that touch her conscience. She’s a class apart and truly a director’s actor, who likes to get into the skin of the character. She discusses with her director the traits and psyche of the character. Her craze on social media is unmatched. We had difficulty in managing surging crowds while shooting in Kerala, even though she’s done only two or three Malayalam movies
— Venu Udugula, director
role in his upcoming movie Vakeel Saab, the remake of Bollywood blockbuster Pink. “We chose Nivedha to reprise the role of Taapsee Pannu, and she lived up to the challenge with her talent. She brings a lot of subtlety to her performance and perfectly fits the bill as a middle- class girl. We made just a few changes to Taapsee’s enchanting role and Nivedha slipped into those shoes with consummate ease,” he concludes.
It’s true that performers have taken centrestage in Telugu mainstream movies. These young actors also fit in perfectly to play romantic interests to new- generation stars, so they have an added edge over others. Rashmika, for instance, is a good performer and in Dear Comrade, she carried the author- backed role of an aspiring cricketer with conviction
— Yelamanchili Ravi Shankar, producer