Dark is the new shade in Tollywood Town

After Tamil superstars such as Rajnikanth, Vikram and Surya, it’s now the turn of reigning Telugu stars to don roles with ‘negative shades’ to showcase their hitherto unknown side. Breaking a new ground is none-other-than crazy star Jr NTR who is reportedly essaying a dark role in his upcoming film `Jai Lava Kusa’.

NTR had sought the assistance of a Hollywood technician to work on his ‘menacing look’ to send shivers down the spine of his opponents in this big-ticket flick. “It seems Telugu stars are in a mood to try something different. NTR is capable of slipping into the skin of the character in any kind of role he takes up. If he is portraying three roles, then one role is bound to be in multiple-shades.

Eventually, the different role would become a much-awaited one and heighten the excitement and hype around the film,’ says famous writer Gopimohan, who had scripted a dual role for NTR in ‘Adhurs’. Meanwhile, another gen x star Rana Daggubati delivered a knock-out performance as the ruthless Bhallaladeva in the ‘Baahubali’ franchise and came out with flying colours. In doing so, he became the first new generation star to taste success in a baddy role.

“Most Telugu stars would love to don a negative role for a change to showcase their acting chops. Thanks to director Rajamouli's vision and presentation, the role fetched me a larger-than-life image in a short span,” said Rana. However, films of Tamil stars Suriya (`24)’ and Vikram (`Inkokkadu’) which were released in Telugu couldn't taste similar success; barring Rajnikanth’s ruthless act in the phenomenal hit `Robot'.

“Actually, Rajnikanth was a baddie-turned-hero and known for a few powerful negative roles in the past. So viewers could connect to his menacing performance in ‘Robot’, whereas it was a challenge for Suriya and Vikram to strike a chord with Telugu viewers in new avatars. Even though, Suriya as a callous business tycoon who kills his own brother for a watch with ‘time-machine’ features and Vikram’s gay character in `Inkokkadu’ won critical acclaim, they couldn’t exactly set box-office on fire,” says director Samudra.

However, a top producer on condition of anonymity says, “Telugu stars should refrain from doing negative roles as it will affect their image. While Tamil viewers tend to accept their stars in any performance-oriented role, Telugu viewers can’t digest their favourite heroes doing anything other than good-hearted saviour roles, so it’s better to avoid such risks since the stakes are very high on big Telugu star films,’ he concludes.

By BVS Prakash