But despite progression, we still go two steps behind when we have lazily-written roles given to actresses, whose roles never go beyond their beauty or physical attributes. Where they serve as the love interest in the hero’s lives, with their characters remaining unnecessary, a real travesty considering actresses are just as capable as that of actors.
From playing the same role again and again, to roles that are easy to get rid off, here’s a look at 6 actresses whose roles were so meaningless that even if they were missing, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference!
Nenjil Thunivirunthaal – Mehreen Pirzada
Mehreen Pirzada had five releases in 2017 and not one of them was something that you could recollect that easily. Reason being, all her roles were so similarly put – the pretty fair skinned girl who amounts to nothing more than the hero’s love interest. Starring in Suseenthiran’s drama Nenjil Thunivirunthaal, given the posters and promos, many expected a lot from the film and some significance to her role. Sadly, the filmmaker erased most of her bits in the film, practically making her role almost non-existing. Why rope her in if her role is nothing more than a prop that will eventually get deleted?
Thaana Serndha Koottam – Keerthy Suresh
Vignesh Shivn’s Thaana Serndha Koottam was a hilarious ride melded with drama and made with a lot of intelligence and heart even though it was a remake of an already popular Hindi film. The film had Suriya Sivakumar in the lead role who took jabs at all his haters and played a role where he appeared to have so much fun. The film had created quite a hype right before its release because people were in awe of the Suriya-Keerthy Suresh pair. The result? A character that, as usual, does not go beyond playing the love interest. Keerthy played a role that she had been offered in the past, where the hero’s real purpose was well-etched while hers was to simply pout and smile and give coy looks to the hero. Sure, the film had a strong character like Ramya Krishnan but it also unnecessarily roped in a love-angle in the hero’s life.
Mersal – Samantha Akkineni
It’s clear that Samantha Akkineni has a LOT of fans, what with her emerging as a fashionista and being cute and bubbly always. But we all know she’s more than that, even though it’s something that filmmakers never seem to agree. The actress has clocked in eight years in the industry, with her popularity increasing each year, and yet, we see her doing the same old thing she started out – being cute and adorable. Forget meaningful dialogues, we wish writers could give some credibility to her characters on screen. In Mersal, her role practically had very little to do and was superficial at best, regarded as just another heroine paired with the mighty superstar Vijay. While she has done better with Mahanati and Irumbu Thirai, we can only hope she gets better-written roles in the future.
Nayanthara – Velaikkaran
Velaikkaran is full of good intentions, a film that did well purely because of its heartfelt story delving into exploitation, food adulteration, and corporates. Sivakarthikeyan, too, earned applause for a rather serious performance. Nayanthara, who featured in the film, had a rather negligible role in the film. Her role had potential and yet she was mostly viewed as the love interest of the hero, with the film modelled and centring on the hero and his life. Nayanthara has the status of ‘Lady Superstar’ in the industry and even she gets lazily written roles.
Tamannaah – Sketch
What was the point in Sketch? It’s hard to say. The film was criticised by many for being a story that tries too hard. And Tamannaah’s role is said to be quite forgetful. Apart from being the fair-skinned lead heroine who falls in love with the rugged hero, nothing else was written for her, with her character merely flitting in and out of the screen.
Rakul Preet – SPYder
Rakul Preet played the female lead in Mahesh Babu’s debut Tamil film SPYder. A lot of hype and statements later, yet again, she played a role that was so forgetful, it’s difficult to recollect what her role was. The film mostly focused on Mahesh Babu’s role as the smart and suave Intelligence Bureau Officer and how he singlehandedly takes on the villain and rescues many. It’s a role that had him kick butts, give sermon-like dialogues, and generally look confident all the time. The actress, however, had a role as his love interest and depicted as a silly girl with dreams of studying abroad that never pans out.