With 37-year-old glam diva Shruti Haasan scoring another hit film ‘Salaar, it seems that 30-plus divas are having a gala time in Tollywood in 2023. After Anushka Shetty returned with a bang with ‘Miss Shetty Mister Polishetty’, Kajal Agarwal tasted success with ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’. The craze for Samantha hasn’t subsided in Tollywood with plenty of offers, while Tamaannah tasted success with special number ‘Kaavaalaa' in blockbuster ‘Jailer’. "I think a few of them will be ruling the roost for a few more years considering their charm and popularity," says producer Vishnu Induri.
Even though these actresses have crossed their prime age and running above 30 years, he explains, “Frankly, I don't think age is a factor for talented and experienced actresses. They are doing varied roles and trying out something different amidst their commercial movies and sustaining their rankings." He claims that glam divas would be part of big ticket entertainers for a long time in Tollywood.
Recently, 39-year-old Anushka returned with a breezy entertainer 'Miss Shetty Mister Polishetty' to avoid being typecast as a heroine who loves to be flag-bearer of lady-oriented films. "'Anushka has transcended varied barriers with her immense talent and she has proved her mettle in both star studded movies like 'Baahubali' and lady-oriented film 'Rudramadevi' Even other senior actresses are still in the reckoning by doing films with big stars like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and others," says director Hemanth Madhukar, who urges talented divas to explore both star-driven and women-oriented movies. "They have to strike a proper balance between these two genres and extend their careers since they have gained their own fan following," he adds.
However, with young heroes reluctant to share screen space with senior heroines and few divas like Priyamani Anjali, Trisha and Tamannaah have moved to digital space. "Digital platforms are on par with the big screen in terms of good content and reach, so actresses taking up roles in the digital arena is a welcome sign. They can also do roles of varied shades and showcase their versatility since commercial movies restrict their talent. OTTs are independent of cinema and carving a niche for themselves. No doubt, actresses are catching up with it and enhancing their brand equity and also fan base," points out Vishnu.
Although Kajal Aggarwal is moving towards women-oriented movies with 'Satyabhama', producer Vishnu says female-centric movies are finding it hard to get financers. "Firstly, there are very few producers who like to bet their money on actresses and on the other hand, even a few divas are unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of carrying the film on their shoulders and they prefer to work with big stars. Just doing female-centric movies would cut down their film count so its better to mix it up," he concludes.
