This year will be truly memorable for discerning audience, they are on the way to usher in a change in the mindset of Telugu movie producers and directors. If we had Anushka and Ramya Krishna getting equal footage in Baahubali, the icing on the cake is Ninnu Kori and Fidaa.
We finally saw relative newcomers being offered meaty roles, on par or better than what has been written for the hero. Two non-Telugu actors Nivetha Thomas and Sai Pallavi are being lauded for their natural flair in acting. They have their own style of acting, their Telugu — whatever the slang — is near perfect and they believed in the characters written by their directors. We also have Esha Rebba who is very good in her craft, has done Ami Tumi, Maya Mall and her next release is Darsakudu. She had proved her mettle in Antaka Mundu Aa Taruvata a couple of years back.
The character artistes have been on a roll too. If Nadiya can pull off Attarintiki Daredi and A..Aa, Jayasudha was one of the pillars of Shatamanam Bhavati. An equally good role is being spoken about for Bhumika Chawla in Nani starrer MCA.
Win win situation
Some popular production houses are reportedly coming up with women-centric roles and surprisingly mid-range heroes are more than happy allowing their female co-stars to bask in the limelight.
Earlier woman centric stories were seen as the last resort subjects for actors who were past their prime; , not so any more. Girls would be warned not to do subjects that revolved around them lest they hurt the ego of heroes and their fans. Now, even heroes have realized that people want fresh stories, what matters is business, a hit. Being part of a successful project is all that matters.
Talent acknowledged
If Samantha stole the show from Naga Chaitanya in Ye Maya Chesave, and she was the hero in A…Aa, Tamanna nailed it in 100 Percent Love. Tapsee chose Anando Brahma as her return project post Pink.
It is immensely gratifying experience for heroines too when they are asked to do much more than gyrate to dance numbers. No wonder we hear Rakul Preet Singh say that she called the director and requested him to cast her in Ra Randoi Veduka Choodam after knowing the girl has a great role in the film.
We know what Nenu Sailaja did for Keerti Suresh, having delivered a couple of hits in a bi-lingual market and worked with star heroes, she bagged a bio-pic on Savitri. At a slightly smaller scale, the tremendous potential of television anchors Rashmi (Guntur Talkies) and Niharika (Oka Manasu) was recognised; we have to wait and watch to see if their careers take off.
There is an argument that actors like Sai Pallavi and Nivetha fit into certain kind of roles and come with their own set of limitations. Though they have bagged splendid characters early in their career, the bar has been raised rather fast; anything less important in substance might disappoint their admirers. They too might be in a quandary on whether to take up a certain role or not. They cannot afford to be choosy lest they run the risk of becoming inconspicuous.
Nayantara still enjoys a Kahani in Telugu and balances meaningful roles with glamorous ones; making her one of the highest paid heroines in the South. We will soon have our desi version of Queen by Kajal and there is Bhagamati for Anushka who has already hit it off as a strong performer. These are the stories that will give the actors their place under the sun.
Risks involved
Despite the silver lining, there are cases such as this; a director had written a beautiful role for Niharika, but none of the heroes approached by the production house agreed to be a part of it as she had a lion’s share in the story. Finally, the director abandoned the story.
Her brother Varun Tej, despite not having a major role in Fidaa, held his own. He showed his vulnerable side and was not afraid to cry, ditto with Nani in Ninnu Kori. Once you reach the star league, it is considered a sacrilege if a hero cries. Hopefully all this should change.
Finally a director says, “For every girl, her ultimate dream is to work with a star hero. No matter how small her role is, she knows for sure that a place in the star film will set her career on fire and people will deluge her with big ticket films. She might do a small or a mid range movie with a terrific character written for her but the reach will be limited. So she will have to strike balance.”
Let’s hope the dream run for women continues.