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Dial S for success

Confident, young, ambitious... a new breed of South Indian heroines has begun to dominate Tamil cinema. SREEDHAR PILLAI reports

TAKING KODAMBAKKAM BY STORM Gopika

The babes from Bollywood have been given a run for their money. Kollywood this year has witnessed a silent takeover. South Indian girls, some of them with simple, down-to-earth looks, have featured in four of the five superhit Tamil films this year. Kodambakkam has not witnessed anything like this in the last decade.

Meera Jasmine

Says a leading producer and financier: "The takeover by South Indian heroines augurs well for the industry. If heroes cooperate, then girls from the South will make it big as they have the right attitude, a good grasp of the language, understand the culture and are natural performers." What has come as a major boon to producers is that they no longer have to spend Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 75 lakhs on a Bollywood heroine. . A top south Indian actress in Tamil cinema takes home something between Rs. 30 lakhs and Rs. 35 lakhs per film. At the same time, there are many others waiting for a big break and willing to work for Rs. 7 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs!

Asin

Over the years, there have been very few heroine-oriented films in Tamil cinema but a nascent trend seems to indicate that heroines are going to have a meatier role in the future. Many in the trade feel that Asin played a crucial role in the success of "Ghajini", while Gopika was the pivot around which "Thottijaya" revolved. Says Gopika: "I think my core audiences are women who want to see me in family subjects." Their performance helped these films scale new heights. Says director A. R. Murugadoss: "For a commercial cinema to click with today's audience, heroines are crucial and their roles have to be well-etched." In Murugadoss' next film "Stalin" in Telugu, Trisha is reported to have an equally important role as hero Chiranjeevi!

Padmapriya

Today's new breed of heroines is making its presence felt on screen as audiences are willing to accept the unusual. Remember that last year's biggest hit "Kathal" was not only a landmark movie but it made a star out of its heroine Sandhya who is now doing three films. Says the youngest heroine in Tamil: "At 17, I am doing roles that require a lot of maturity and substance. The biggest compliment I get is when people tell me I am a good actress."

Nayantara

The buzz is that Cheran has signed her for "Pokisham", his next film.

Trisha, Asin, Gopika and Nayantara are the girls from the South who rule Tamil cinema. They have oodles of confidence, acting capabilities and the right amount of glamour and attitude to go with the roles they play. And waiting in the wings for the big break are Padmapriya, Meera Jasmine, Pooja, Sandhya, Renuka Menon, Navya Nair, Bhavana and Lakshana. In Tamil cinema, what really matter are hits and once you become part of a hit film then there is no looking back.

Sandhya

The floodgates have opened, as acting as a career has become attractive for girls from educated, elite families. South Indian youth today present a new image — hip, young, ambitious. Trisha, Asin and others fall into this category. Padmapriya, an MBA in Finance after a highflying job with General Electric as a risk consultant, has entered the film industry out of passion for good cinema. Says Padmapriya who is receiving a lot of accolades for her outstanding performance in Cheran's "Thavamai Thavamirundhu": "I wanted to explore new facets of my talent and I think cinema is a powerful medium of self expression." This Bangalore-based girl insists on a bound script and dubbing in her own voice and is all excited about "Pattiyal", her next film, where she plays a girl in love with a Chennai gangster.

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