Flop divas trying their luck in B-town

Despite making a big splash with 'Arjun Reddy,' pretty damsel Shalini Pandey failed to get good offers in T-town and now she is B-town bound. She is paired opposite hotshot Ranveer Singh in 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar.'

"I've been blessed with this huge chance to show my mettle in the Hindi film industry. I'm also very fortunate to be sharing screen space with Ranveer Singh, who is one of the biggest superstars of our generation.

I'm thrilled about being paired opposite to him," she had said. "No doubt, Shalini is over the moon since getting a Hindi offer opposite Ranveer Singh is truly big. But we have to see how she will manage to gain a foothold in competitive B-town.

She has to do more glamourous roles and be media-savvy to help her way up," says Hindi filmmaker Rensil D Silva. Similarly, another young diva Esha Rebba, who couldn't make an impact in Telugu with films like 'Bandipotu,' 'Ami Thumi' and 'Raagala 24 Ghantalu,' is also trying her luck in B-town and agreed to woo Harshavardan Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor's brother, in a Hindi movie to be directed by Raj Singh Choudary.

"Hindi filmmakers are signing up new-age southern divas since they come on board with some acting experience, much better over a newcomer or a model-turned-actress," adds D Silva, who admits that the north-south divide is slowly blurring and more actors can arrive in Mumbai to test their fortunes.

However, actress Regina Cassandra, who did a bold role in 'Ek Ladiki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga,' with Sonam Kapoor and justified 'same-sex' romance on screen couldn't attract more offers.

"Regina is pretty looking girl and talented too, but she didn't get the mileage as Anil and Sonam Kapoor hijacked the promotions and left Regina high and dry," says producer Bandla Ganesh.

Whereas, established Telugu actresses had 'mixed' luck in B-town. Only Rakul Preet Singh is still holding the fort and delivered hits like 'De De Pyar De' and 'Marjavaan' to keep her stocks soaring, although her other film 'Simla Mirchi' is stuck in cans.

"Rakul is slowly understanding the equations in B-town and making her moves, than signing more films. She is nicely balancing her career with Telugu and Tamil offers," says director Rahul Ravindra.

However, Shruti Haasan, Tamannaah, Kajal and Ileana couldn't make an impact beyond a point and are returning to their home turf-Telugu movies.

"It is better for these experienced divas to work with big stars in Telugu or Tamil, than doing movies with second-rung heroes in Hindi. They are benefited in terms of remuneration as well.

Drawing between Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore, over Rs 25 per film in Bollywood." concludes producer Bandla Ganesh.