Stars in Kannada films are accustomed to being given glorious titles by their fans
Radhika Pandit
They may not possess ‘actual power’, or they might not be ‘real challenging stars’ nor they are real life ‘queens’ or ‘princesses’ but such titles are a common feature down South. The South Indian industry is abundant with stars whose names are prefixed with such titles, given to them by their fans as a sign of affection towards them. Late thespian Dr Rajkumar was honoured with dozens of such honorary titles both by the government and most importantly by his fans. Bengaluru Chronicle tracks the superlative trend in the industry which is practised in Sandalwood.
An actress with one such title was a rare phenomena in the past. There was Kalpana who was known as Minugu Tare (Shining Star). Ramya, who has recently taken to politics, is known as the ‘Sandalwood Queen’. She had made her debut alongside Puneeth Rajkumar who himself is known as ‘Power Star’, a title which was given to him by his elder brother Dr Shivarajkumar, who is known as ‘Hat Trick Hero’ for giving three back-to-back hits with his debut, now he is also known as ‘Century Star’ after he completed his 100th movie.
Ragini Dwivedi who is on a high with her back-to-back successes and several projects in her kitty, says, “It is a fantastic feeling when fans and followers call me ‘Mass Queen’ or ‘Action Queen’. It is a special gesture for an actress, and I believe that the titles comes with a sense of responsibility to entertain the audience.”
Radhika Pandit, who is fondly known as ‘Sandalwood Princess’ says, “Its nice when your admirers address you in an exclusive manner. In fact I did not known that I was being called the ‘Sandalwood Princess’. It definitely feels good, but more than such titles it is their love and affection behind such titles that makes me happy.”
The Aisu of Cheluvina Chittara, Amulya states that she has never requested anyone to address her with a specific title. “I do feel good, as the fans express their love through such gestures. I never insist any producer or fans on calling me by a particular title. In fact while I was promoting for Shravani Subramanya, I was called as the ‘Golden Queen’ and later as the ‘Bubbly Queen’,” she smiles.
Even directors do get their superlatives, but not all of them do. Indrajit Lankesh who is know as ‘Star Director’ says that if such titles are given by fans and film personalities, it is a nice feeling but in recent times actors who are barely a few films old project themselves as stars with a prefix attached which is going a bit too far. “My Aishwarya producer gave me the title of ‘Star Director’. Sometimes I feel embarrassed but when fans recognise me as a director who introduces stars to films I feel good.”
Actor Prem says, “I did many romantic and love based movies when I entered the industry. So Kasturi Kannada Dr Raj Abhimanigala Sanga has given me the ‘Lovely Star’ title.” What’s in a title you may ask? Well, plenty to go by if you are a part of Sandalwood!
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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