Tollywood’s leading men have rediscovered the old ways of showcasing grace and masculinity with their panche and powerful dialogues. Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Daggubati Rana and Naga Chaitanya have all been seen sporting the panche kattu with great elan. In a sense, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are bringing the state’s traditional attire back in vogue.
The teaser of Daggubati Rana’s upcoming film Nene Raju Nene Mantri shows the poised actor mouthing a powerful dialogue in a panche kattu whilst being taken to the gallows. Speaking about the attire, the film’s director, Teja, says, “I am a big fan of MGR, so I ensured that my protagonist sports all white clothes in the film. Culturally, if anyone wanted to show heroism, they showed people lifting their lungis and settling scores. I felt that Rana’s heroism could be clearly made visible through the panche kattu look and did an encore. And, the response to the trailer and Rana’s look has been amazing.” Rana adds, “Since my role in the political-thriller looks rustic, I thought my character would look authentic with a panche. I sported a panche for the first time and I actually find it very cool and comfortable. In fact, lifting the panche was the traditional style of heroism. I later even wore a lungi a few times when I visited my friends in Mumbai and they were surprised to see me in that avatar!”
Allu Arjun
Daggubati Rana
Naga Chaitanya
Talking about how the panche draping style has changed over time, Kishore Kumar Paradasany (Dolly), who directed Katamarayudu starring Pawan Kalyan, says, “I think today, the pattern of wearing a panche or dhoti differs from what it was in the past. It has graduated to a completely new level of fusion, giving us the contemporary hero appeal. Moreover, Kalyan garu is a man of traditions and follows our lifestyle to the T. Once again, he showcased his fondness for Telugu culture by sporting ethnic wear.
Since the story is set in a village backdrop, we ensured that Pawan looks truly elegant in the panche kattu, which exhibits his style and grace.”
Allu Arjun’s bare chest, vibhudhi on the forehead and a red dhoti with shades on is a powerful picture to remember from Duvvada Jagannadham. Perhaps no Tollywood actor could have carried off the panche kattu look with as much aplomb as he did. The stylish star not only wore the dhoti perfectly, but also performed some really complex stunts, which became the talk of the glitterati.
“Since I play a Brahmin character, it was obvious that I would wear a panche. But we wanted it to look different yet stylish and pleasing to the eye. We tried several patterns and eventually zeroed in on this drape,” Allu Arjun explains. “Director Harish Shankar and the team also came up with the idea of doing a few action scenes in the attire. We believed that it would be unique since not many actors have tried it. People said I looked nice in the attire,” he adds.
And who would have thought that Naga Chaitanya would pull of an extremely rustic role in Premam and walk home with all the awards? He was also seen sporting the panche with utter sophistication for his role.
“If you look at my character from the college episode, I play a brat. I am someone who is pretty rustic. So, when I am involved in an action scene, I obviously need to flaunt my local power, and I believe there’s no better way than showcasing it in a panche kattu. I was pretty comfortable wearing it and have worn it in the past too. In fact, the best response I got for the film was for that scene,” the actor says.
