Actresses Can Be Powerful Villains Too, Says Hemanth Madhukar
Telugu actresses such as Anasuya Bharadwaj in the Pushpa franchise and Lakshmi Manchu in Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu have also demonstrated how such characters can expand an actress’s range.
Malayalam actress Swaswika Vijay recently took on a character with negative shades in Irumudi and won appreciation for her performance as a ruthless teacher who sends shivers down the spines of students at her school. Director Hemanth Madhukar believes roles like these can open up exciting possibilities for actresses.
“Why can’t actresses take up roles with dark shades?” asks Hemanth Madhukar, who believes women are equally capable of portraying a wide range of characters. “Swaswika’s character came as a surprise and shocked the audience. That is the difference when a male and female actor portrays such a character, as you least expect a woman to behave in such a way,” he says.
He feels actresses like Ramya Krishnan in Padayappa and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Ponniyin Selvan have already raised the bar for women in negative roles and encouraged younger actresses to explore similar characters.
“When a top actress takes such a role to the next level, more actresses are encouraged to give it a shot. Tamil actresses like Sriya Reddy in Pogaru and also in 'Salaar' and 'OG. Similarly, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar rocked in Telugu films such as Krack and Veera Simha Reddy have shown that women can convincingly play powerful antagonistic roles and hold their own against stars like Ravi Teja and Balakrishna,” he points out.
Although big-star films often continue to favour male villains, filmmakers have occasionally given actresses the opportunity to take on negative roles, and those choices have worked remarkably well.
Telugu actresses such as Anasuya Bharadwaj in the Pushpa franchise and Lakshmi Manchu in Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu have also demonstrated how such characters can expand an actress’s range.
“Playing only romantic leads or feel-good characters can limit an actress’s talent. Grey and dark roles allow women to bring a different perspective to the story. In Pushpa, Anasuya’s dominating character, who controls her husband and also his smuggling business, added a completely different dimension, and the audience lapped it up,” he concludes.
