Testing waters in greener pastures

A host of Bengaluru-based actresses are finding their feet in Telugu film industry while receiving rave reviews for their performances, writes Srivathsan Nadadhur

The consistent exchange of artistic talent among various film industries in the South isn’t a trend that was nurtured overnight. In fact, the roots were sown in the 50s, right since the evolution of Kannada cinema, when several Karnataka-based actors managed to find their feet across Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam industries while the vice-versa had worked well too. From the likes of Saroja Devi to Jayanthi to Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and Manjula in the past, to Prema and Priyamani recently, Karnataka’s home-grown talent has successfully straddled across multiple industries with confidence. It’s worthy to notice that not all the above-mentioned actresses have done this within the same time-frame and the instances of Karnataka-based actors flourishing in other industries have become only few and far between over decades.

Things are however changing for the better and the fortunes are definitely smiling for Bengaluru-based actresses, whose tribe is growing larger by the day in Telugu cinema. Thanks to the new-found popularity for Kannada cinema across the country and Bengaluru being home to diverse artistic talent, the eyes of Telugu filmmakers are increasingly tilted towards the State capital. In fact, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched statement to say that Bengaluru girls are ruling the roost in Telugu cinema now.

Names like Nabha Natesh, Rashmika Mandanna, Shraddha Srinath, Nandita Swetha, Nidhhi Agerwal are only a few among many who are not only earning the big buck in Telugu films but are also enjoying the credibility of being ‘proven performers’. Pranita Subhash and Hari Priya, besides a happening career in Kannada films, have proved to be the dark horses of Telugu cinema, year after year. Their Bengaluru base, of course, hasn’t been the sole reason behind their success.

Rashmika Mandana

Performance-oriented

For instance, Kirrik Party girl Rashmika Mandanna, who’s a hot property in Tollywood, with several new and established directors making a beeline for her dates, has a girl-next-door charm and can pull off roles with a panache that’s unique to her. And she’s been certainly fortunate with her success rate. Among her three Telugu releases, two films Chalo, Geetha Govindam (opposite Vijay Deverakonda) were runaway hits, while her third project Devadas saw her sharing screen space with popular actors like Nagarjuna and Nani. Some of her upcoming releases include Dear Comrade (also alongside Vijay Deverakonda), Bheeshma (opposite Nithin) and an untitled project with Allu Arjun.

Venky Kudumula, the filmmaker who introduced Rashmika to Telugu cinema and has also cast her in his second film Bheeshma says, “I don’t really find region or language as a barrier for actors at all. That’s how art should be. Besides, taking auditions and finding new faces for films has become a strenuous process over the years and that’s why we prefer to cast actors who’ve already proved their worth in any language. I found Rashmika incredibly charming in Kirrik Party and there was no doubt that she could fit my criteria for a female lead in Chalo too. I’ve understood and liked her as a person so much that I’ve moulded the female protagonist’s role according to her body language and mannerisms in my second film Bheeshma.” Nabha Natesh, another actor who has received a warm welcome in Telugu cinema, made several heads turn with a commendable performance in her (Telugu) debut, Nannu Dochukunduvate. While she also acted in Adhugo, a unique film surrounding a piglet, Nabha is awaiting the release of promising films like iSmart Shankar and Disco Raja soon, both helmed by credible directors Puri Jagannadh and VI Anand respectively. The actress, who looks forward to more Telugu offers, quips, “I’ve been invited into the Telugu industry with open arms and have found the working atmosphere equally professional and comfortable here. Being a theatre actor, I always saw myself as someone greedy for strong roles regardless of the language. Like Kannada cinema, even Telugu cinema is undergoing a transitional phase with novel content finding takers. My work in Telugu has landed me a few offers now in Tamil, too. I feel blessed after all.”

Nidhhi Agerwal

An alternate approach

U-Turn actress Shraddha Srinath and Nandita Swetha, however, have taken a slightly different route to enter Telugu films. They chose to balance their careers in Kannada and Tamil cinema, before testing waters in Telugu. Regardless of success or failure of their films in both languages, they had made their mark as quality actors prior to their Telugu debut. Nandita Swetha’s Telugu stint took off well with Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada and so good was her performance, that she’d been offered nine films in the coming year. More impressive has been the fact that she’s well versed with the language now and has dubbed for herself in a handful of Telugu films.

Shraddha, no less, has been the talk of the town in Telugu film circles for her immensely affecting portrayal of Sarah in the cricket-based movie Jersey (starring Nani) recently. And two of her other Telugu films, Jodi and another film with director Ravikanth Perepu, are slated to hit the theatres in the latter half of the year. Jersey’s director Gowtam Tinnanuri in a conversation post the release of his film had said, “Our team was in quest of a solid performer and Shraddha was our unanimous choice. She is an intelligent actor who really understood her part well and came up with a nuanced performance.”

Bengaluru-based Nidhhi Agerwal had forayed into films with Tiger Shroff’s Munna Micheal, but her identity came through much later in Telugu cinema. Acting in two Telugu films, Savyasachi, and Mr Majnu, opposite Naga Chaitanya and Akhil, there was little doubt about the charm she could bring to her portrayals. That helped her land another Telugu film, iSmart Shankar.

The grapevine is buzzing with news that she’s been cast in a project featuring Allu Arjun too. All along, the girl has been balancing her Tollywood fame with her Hind film Ikka.

And that’s not all, city-bred Rukhsar Dhillion, who’s acted in two Telugu films Aakatayi, Krishnarjuna Yuddham (which weren’t successful) is pinning her hopes on another project ABCD to get her Tollywood career going. The news of Akshara Gowda being cast in south star Akkineni Nagarjuna’s Manmadhudu 2 has only provided more validation to this trend. Though there has been a phase where Malayalam-speaking actresses like Nivetha Thomas, Anupama Parameswaran, Anu Emmanuel have found luck in Telugu, the significant presence of Bengaluru actresses in the industry definitely makes a solid case for cinema sans barriers.