Actresses like Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah Bhatia, Taapsee Pannu and Rakul Preet Singh, all enjoy immense stardom in Tollywood. And interestingly, they all manage an alternative career in Bollywood too. While Kajal, Tamaannah and Rakul have cleverly ventured into the other industries without letting go of their foothold in Telugu cinema, Ileana slowly distanced herself from Tollywood films. Now, despite her expressing several times that she would like to act in Telugu films, the filmmakers here don’t seem to be very interested and unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to be fairing too well up north either!
Talking about her strategy, Rakul Preet says, “Each one has their own reasons, but for me, it’s the story that matters and not the language. We actors always try to experiment and look at a film as a whole.” She adds that her heart belongs to Hyderabad. “Today, everyone knows me because of Tollywood, so Hyderabad is my home,” says the actress, who has big upcoming projects in Telugu including SPYder, opposite Mahesh Babu.
Even Kajal and Tamannaah are concentrating more on the Southern industry. Though they often do Hindi films, they never completely leave Tollywood. The latest sensation, Pooja Hegde, too, started her career down South before bagging Mohenjo Daro opposite Hrithik Roshan. Although the film didn’t do well at the box office, the actress bagged Duvvada Jagannadham and became a sensation here. The actress has now not only signed her next Tollywood film, but also has a few more offers in the pipeline.
Interestingly, today, an actress’ career span is not very long and not many get a second chance. “During our time, we didn’t go to any acting school as we learnt everything through films. Even if we failed in our first film, we got second chances and learnt with every new film. But now, actresses prepare themselves in advance and learn acting, swimming, horse riding and other things, and want to show their best in their debut film itself. Though they are very hard working and talented, I don’t know why they are unable to sustain,” says yesteryear actress Sridevi, whohas a career spanning a few decades, both in South Indian cinema and Bollywood.
Actress Tamannah did a few Hindi films, but her career did not take off like her South career did. The actress was clever enough to be in touch with the Telugu industry, alongside doing a few Hindi films. Same is the case with Kajal Aggarwal, who is busy in Telugu and Tamil languages while doing Hindi films too. “I try to strike a balance between Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films and can do only around five films a year. And so, I balance. If I do two films in Telugu, I try to balance it out in other languages as well. I am not going away from any language, just that I am trying to my best everywhere,” reasoned Kajal in an earlier interview. The actress is now busy with a few Telugu and Tamil films.
“When we want a female lead opposite a big star, we go for an established actress because it’s easy for us and they also have a connect with the audience. Secondly, we consider her performance and talent, even if her earlier film didn’t do well,” says Tagore Madhu, one of the leading producers. He adds that if actresses take a long break, it is not that easy for them to make a comeback.
“We need a lot of actresses here and one can see fresh talent in many films. If an actress is not available, they usually go for someone else and seldom wait. It’s always a competition and only the people who work hard survive,” he says. Unlike Ileana, however, the present actresses are not leaving Tollywood completely as their main focus seems cinema down South. It’s just that they are trying to grab Hindi films whenever a good opportunity comes by.
