It is a long-existing notion that Kollywood wants its heroine to be chubby and voluptuous. Even when the size-zero phenomenon was at its peak in the Hindi film industry, it didn’t make much of an impact here. Many heroines who have worked in Bollywood and in Tamil, have expressed that the southern audience like chubby heroines over slim ones!
At a recent event, which was attended by Tamannaah, Amyra Dastur, Shriya Saran and Manju Warrier, Tamannaah was asked about what is expected of heroines in terms of looks in Kollywood. Tamannaah said, “When I entered the south Indian film industry, the first comment I got was ‘konjam put on weight’. So, I had this complex to put on weight. Only recently, I understood that what they really meant was ‘please be voluptuous’. They didn’t want me to look fat but a bit chubby. So, I started to eat properly to look like that.”
The actress then spoke about the obsession in the film industries for fair skin too — “Unfortunately, we have an obsession towards it. Being a fair-skinned person, I can tell you it is clearly not a big deal. In fact, for two films I have worked in, I had to tan myself. Baahubali is one of them. I would ask the ladies to accept themselves the way they are.”
Likewise, Amyra Dastur said, “The first thing I learnt after coming to the south is ‘padding’. They padded me everywhere. I was 20 when I first started acting here. I didn’t even know till then that there are pads for the thighs and other parts of your body!”
DC also got in touch with other actresses and industry experts about Kollywood’s affinity towards chubbiness. Pia Bajpai, who is known for her performance in Goa, revealed, “After my first film, no one told me anything. I don’t remember exactly, but after my third or fourth project, I was asked to gain a little weight — I declined as I had other commitments, including commercials. But I have to say that nowadays, directors, be it in south India or Bollywood, prefer actresses to look rather healthy and good on screen, and nothing else. If you ask me from an actress’ point of view, it boils down to the role you do — for certain characters, you can’t be athletic and have a size zero figure and for other roles, you can’t look fat.”
However, actress Simran, who was a leading heroine, and who is often admired for her fitness, says she was never demanded by anyone to gain weight — “I never faced any such problems. Fortunately, the directors I have worked with were only concentrating on their scripts.”
Simran, adds, “No directors or producers have asked me to put on weight or look voluptuous on screen. Even I was worried how my film would turn out — would it become a blockbuster? Would it earn me a good name? I think heroines of today should think about the script first and then concentrate on who is directing it. Because the captain of the ship is responsible for making a great film.”
CV Kumar, the producer of critically-acclaimed films like Pizza, Attakathi, and Iraivi, and who has turned director with the film Mayavan, feels that the script is the element that should determine the looks of a heroine, not anything else — “I don’t know about the trend, and I really can’t speak for others. We have been only doing script-based movies. So, we have always cast actors based on what the story demands, and that should be the case.”
(With inputs from Balajee CR and Janani K)
