‘Family should back Niharika’

Tollywood has always welcomed sons of superstars, directors and producers with much fanfare, but when it comes to daughters, the enthusiasm appears to be low-spirited. The visible gender inequality projected by fans even for actresses from big film families is a worrying trend.

The recent target of professional ostracism is Nagababu’s daughter Niharika, who is also Chiranjeevi’s niece. After the announcement of her launch in movies a few days ago, Niharika’s family has been under immense pressure from fans “of the mega family” who reportedly met Nagababu and requested him to persuade his daughter to not pursue a career in acting.

A source tells us that Nagababu explained to the fans that his daughter will only act in “decent roles” and there is nothing wrong in pursuing an acting career, but the fans refused to consider.

Why the bias?
This is not the first time fans are opposing to the filmy career of a star daughter. Earlier, Krishna Ghattamaneni’s daughter Manjula too had to give up her Tollywood dreams due to the pressure from her dad’s fans. Krishna even openly admitted that his daughter’s launch was dropped owing to his fans’ opposition.

But actor Mohanbabu’s daughter Manchu Lakshmi, a successful actress in Telugu, says she has not faced any such opposition. “Everyone accepted me with open arms. The family just needs to stand up for a girl who wants to be an actress,” she said. Talking about Niharika’s case, she says, “This is insane. In the beginning, Telugu actresses like Jayaprada, Sridevi, Waheeda Rehman and Rekha were prominent stars. And now, we are paying crores to the non-Telugu actresses. Why can’t our girls do the same,” asks Manchu Lakshmi.

Only in Tollywood?
The discrimination is actually seen only within the Telugu industry. In Tamil cinema, or even Bollywood, many star-daughters such as Shruti Haasan (Kamal Haasan’s daughter), Varalakshmi (Sarath Kumar’s daughter), Aishwarya (Arjun’s daughter), Sonam Kapoor (Anil Kapoor’s daughter) and Athiya Shetty (Suniel Shetty’s daughter) were free to choose their paths.

“Many of our T’wood families have huge fan followings and they are all part of the family. In Niharika’s case, fans actually met Nagababu and he has clarified his stance about his daughter. The fans are ok now,” says Madhura Sridhar, who is introducing Niharika with his film.

But Will Chiranjeevi bless Niharika?
Any hurdles can be faced if the family supports the actress, says director Nandini Reddy. “When I heard about Niharika’s entry, I was happy that by taking such a decision, she could inspire many others to come forward. But the fans have a patriarchal attitude... and not all fans belong to this category. It is the parents who have to stand up for her. They are not under any pressure as they know very much about their daughter,” she says. However, what transpires within the family will be clear if Chiranjeevi comes all out to bless Niharika at the launch of her debut movie, around Dasara. His absence would certainly mean he is unhappy with the turn of events. “Chiranjeevi always comes for the launch of all actors from his family. So, now, everyone is curious,” a source adds.