Keerthy, Sai Pallavi back to enrich roles

After dabbling in Tamil movies, talented divas Keerthy Suresh and Sai Pallavi return to T-town to showcase their talent and enhance their Telugu fan following. Similarly, Nivedha Thomas, who impressed with her subdued performance in 'Ninnu Kori' is playing a classical dancer in 'Brochevarevarura' to give a fillip to female leads. "Keerthy's return augurs well for the industry. Because she raised the bar on performance in Telugu movies with 'Mahanati' and making a comeback with a women-centric movie and also set to romance Nithiin in his upcoming movie," says producer Raj Kandukurri, who claims that Sai Pallavi is also known for her histrionic skills. "Sai Pallavi is one of the few actresses who earned fame and respect riding on her acting skills in films like 'Fidaa'. Now, she is doing a pivotal role in 'Virataparvam 1992' which is touted to be a lady-oriented movie which would justify her immense talent. Also looking to work with her favourite director Sekhar Kammula and set to romance Naga Chaitanya in it," Kandukurri adds.

Even Malayalam actresses like Nivedha Thomas and Anupama Parameswaran are known to do `roles with substance' in Telugu, "Unlike, B-town divas, who don't mind doing glam prop roles, actresses from Malayalam and Tamil industries have a different mindset. They are not money-minded and love to do roles which enable them to showcase their acting chops, rather than doing non-descript stuff," says director Maruthi.

Tasteful producer Damodar Prasad says that new-generation viewers want heroines to play roles that are logical, sensible and reflect women in real society which is a kind of extension of their lives. "Telugu filmmakers should sketch roles that are close to real-life, rather than etching out four songs, four scenes stuff. If filmmakers provide decent 'footage' and 'prominence' to actresses even in star-centric movies, it will be a good development. These divas also established that you can look good even in a chudidar or saree and not just in skimpy outfits. It is true that these divas made waves in Telugu for two years, but later looking to make their mark in other language movies,"

Summing up the trend, Bogavalli Prasad says, "Any performer worth her salt, would like to do roles that have a 'purpose' and 'relevance' in the script than playing a goal-less heroine in a star-studded potboiler." Are Telugu filmmakers listening? ­