An actress need not necessarily represent a woman who is always on top of her game. In fact, as Sai Pallavi points out, there need to be more directors who give women roles that are realistic, normal yet recognizable.
However, there are a handful of good talents who from the very beginning decided to choose roles that are meatier and showcased their talent and skills in good light, thus setting examples and changing the norms of stereotypical roles offered. They made sure that their foundation was strong enough for other directors to approach them only if they have chunky, relevant roles that do not weigh women down in order to portray their “cuteness” or “beauty”. Here’s our pick of four such young, versatile actresses:
1. Parvathi Menon
Give her the role of a tree and she could bring out emotions from that. Parvathi Menon is by far one of the most talented actresses the South Indian cinema has ever seen. Be it in ‘Mariyan’ where she was recognized for her intelligent acting or in ‘Charlie’ where she provided another dimension to women travellers, one could go sit in a Parvathi film and be surprised with every scene. Her way of looking at films and choosing extremely different yet commercial roles stuns the movie buffs even today. For example, ‘Bangalore Days’ had a star cast of some immensely talented stars. However, Parvathi managed to stand out and established her character; creating a world of her own within that cinema – that’s exactly what she is good at – breaking barriers to shine.
2. Nithya Menen
We see a number of actresses doing commercial, masala films which would usually have no story. Ultimately, no story paves the way to no good roles for actresses. However, Nithya Menen isn’t one of them although her genre has been commercial films most of the times. But these commercial films will have a story and she makes sure to get a juicy part for herself. Hence, a commercial film with Nithya Menen in it will give the audience a confidence to watch it and be entertained. Be it her role in ‘Ustad Hotel’, ‘100 days of love’ and even ‘Mersal’ for that matter, she is well recognized, her acting appreciated and she is definitely not there just as a love interest but is weaved into the story.
3. Aishwarya Rajesh
Primarily known to reign Kollywood, the actress has taken up every challenging role in various aspects of South Indian cinema which includes Telugu and Malayalam. The potential of the actress was proved when she performed exceptionally well as the mother of two underprivileged children in the movie ‘Kaaka Muttai’. The actress has been unstoppable since then and has only taken roles till date that make her stand out and prove her talent with prowess and pride. Today, this young lady who kick-started her career doing small budget films will soon be seen in movies directed by Mani Ratnam and Gautham Vasudev Menon – a chance which mostly only experienced actresses receive.
4. Sai Pallavi
How can we forget the actress who broke stereotypes by going with a no-makeup look in her very first film. “Women shouldn’t be just love interests of the actors in a film – they are much more than that,” the ‘Premam’ actress asserted while she received the JFW Award as the Sensation of South Cinema for her excellent portrayals in Premam, Kali and more recently, in the Telugu movie ‘Fidaa’. Sai Pallavi had proved that she is confident in her own skin and does not need to demean herself in order to make the hero fall in love with her onscreen. Yet, she is one of the most loved actresses of this generation and if she is in a film, one goes without a second thought that there will be enough substance in the character that she has chosen to portray. The confidence she has created amongst the audience is so much that the topic of a gender difference never comes up. That’s the kind of change and establishment a woman needs to achieve.
There are a lot of actresses from Nayanthara, Jyothika and Trisha to Anushka Shetty who have just begun to understand the value of grabbing meatier roles with some substance. However, these ladies made sure that they, in fact, began their career with larger roles. That’s what makes them rare and that’s what aspiring actresses today must try to achieve – quality and quantity. It is important to prove to the world that these women who are working hard to be successful actresses are more than just the 5-minute song and glamour dolls who are just there all dolled-up to satisfy their hero. Why glorify an individual when one can be equal and together put up a fantastic movie?