JOIN USIs the Kannada screen ready for women superstars?
For the longest time, Tamil cinema fans referred only to one actor as ‘superstar,’ and that was Rajinikanth. Silambarasan gave up the titles of ‘little superstar’ and ‘young superstar’ when they failed to create any buzz. The last decade, however, has produced a remarkable change, and women actors are being recognised as superstars.
Essaying a variety of roles, Nayanthara shattered the glass ceiling to be called the ‘lady superstar’. Today, she is said to be the highest-paid female south Indian actor, with a whopping remuneration of Rs 6 crore a film.
Before the Nayanthara wave, the Telugu industry witnessed a similar phenomenon when Anushka Shetty’s ‘Arundhati’ (2009) broke box-office records. Her ‘Bhaagamathie’ (2018) became the first female-driven film to cross the Rs 50 crore mark. If you go further back in history, the Malayalis embraced Manju Warrier as their superstar in the late ‘90s. Though there isn’t a female numero uno, the Malayalam industry is praised for writing solid female roles.
Many recent studies have shown that Hollywood has had women-led films (‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Lady Bird’, ‘Moana’) that have outperformed films anchored by male stars. Nobody has recreated Sridevi’s magic in Bollywood but the likes of Kangana Ranaut, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Taapsee Pannu have delivered Rs 100 crore hits multiple times.
Such a trend is not seen in the Kannada film industry and raises a question: where is the ‘lady superstar’ of Sandalwood? While the industry has produced small women-oriented gems, it otherwise pigeonholes heroines as mere objects in big-budget commercial films. Even this year, many ambitious projects are lined-up but all of them are hero-centric.
Budget problem
“I have a bound script of a female-lead film with the sensibility of the ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘Kill Bill’ series. It’s a big spectacle with car chases and fights. I met a couple of producers who asked me to change the idea into a male-centric film,” reveals Adarsh Eshwarappa, director of women-oriented films ‘Shuddhi’ and ‘Bhinna’.
“It’s difficult to get good budget in Kannada for a big-scale female-lead film. I am just waiting for the Covid situation to get better so that I can spread my wings and go around and see if I can do the film elsewhere,” he says.
Actors
National award-winning director Mansore, who showcased powerful stories of women in ‘Nathicharami’ (2018) and ‘Act 1978’ (2020), urges Kannada heroines to take risks. “Their obvious first aim is to strengthen their career. So they prefer being part of male star-vehicles that give them decent visibility. That’s what even Nayanthara and Anushka did. But at one point, the two started collaborating with young filmmakers and chose refreshing scripts. Our women actors must also do that,” he says.
Mansore has announced ‘Abbakka’, a historical drama on the 16th century Tuluva queen of Karavalli. “The film needs a hefty budget because you have to recreate the era. Also, it requires a popular female face that will convince a production house to bankroll it,” he says.
After Malashree, who outdid male stars with great consistency in the ‘90s, Kannada cinema has had talented actors who showed potential of tasting such success but fell short for varying reasons.
Ramya had gained immense mass appeal when she decided to foray into politics. Radhika Pandit’s complete talent was left unexplored when she decided to take a post-pregnancy sabbatical. Hariprriya is a powerhouse performer but many of her off-beat films have failed.
Gifted performers will branch out if they don’t receive meaty roles at home. Shraddha Srinath, Sruthi Hariharan, and Rashmika Mandanna have excelled in other languages after making their debut in Kannada.
Fresh movement
Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar of PRK Productions says more women should enter films, especially in technical departments. “It makes a difference,” says Ashwini, who produced ‘Law’ which had debutant Ragini Prajwal in the lead.
She is now planning a film with a young female director. “She looks promising and we hope things fall into place.”
Malashree phenomenon
Kalpana and Manjula were Kannada cinema’s first female superstars before Malashree’s arrival, explains film historian K Puttaswamy.
“Kalpana excelled in emotionally-charged roles. She starred with less-known heroes yet delivered hits. Manjula’s success was a strange development initially. A woman using profanity on screen was new for fans but her terrific acting won their hearts,” he says.
“Malashree’s films partly questioned patriarchy. Women empowerment was slowly gaining emphasis then so her films suited the era. Though she fit perfectly into the action-heroine image, she was also a fine actor who had mastered different dance forms. She was a complete package before her career succumbed to stereotypical roles,” he says.