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is no Tamil cinema without them!! |
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You are sure not to miss them if you
are a keen watcher of Tamil cinema.
They set alight the screen with their
impeccable chemistry with the heroes.
They have that X factor which makes
them the darling of the fans. Yes,
we are referring to the steady horde
of Malayalee girls who are the ruling
goddesses of Tamil cinema. Nayantara,
Meera Jasmine, Asin and Gopika immediately
come to mind in any list of top ten
heroines. |
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Kushboo
the first in the Mumbai brigade
Tamil cinema has always depended on
heroines from outside the state. Most
yesteryear stars like Savitri, Sarojadevi,
Sowkar Janaki, Padmini, Banumathi
etc. were non-Tamils. The trend continued
with Sridevi, Jayapradha, Nadhiya
and so on. They were agile learners
and performed their roles with great
élan. No wonder they are the
evergreen favorites. It was the arrival
of Kushboo which brought in the wave
of the Mumbai brigade. Kushboo reached
such heights that fans even built
a temple in her honour. Why, even
the international beauty queens Sushmita
Sen and Aishwarya Rai tested their
box office fortunes by debuting in
Tamil. There has been a strong line
of Mumbai or Delhi girls like Nagma,
Jothika, Simran, Shilpa Shetty, Sonia
Agarwal and the current hottie Namitha.
But, the pitch seems to have tilted
in favor of our ‘chera nannattu
ilam pengal’ in the past two
years. |
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How
Diana became Nayantara
Diana graduated in commerce and was
set on a career in chartered accountancy
when she took up modeling for local
textile and jewelry stores. She caught
the eye of veteran film maker, Satyan
Antikad, who christened her Nayantara
and cast her in Manasinnakkare. The
film became a big hit. Kollywood was
the next logical step and she was
roped in for Ayya opposite a much
senior Sarathkumar. Her subtle performance
made her the choice for the role opposite
superstar Rajinikanth in Chandramukhi.
That turned out to be quite a watershed
in her career. From a mere Rs. 1 lakh
her going rate now is Rs 40 to 50
lakhs. Besides working in Tamil, she
has also stepped into Telugu where
her recent film, Lakshmi was a superhit.
She has a flexible approach to doing
glam roles. She does not mind them
as long as dictated by the script.
See Kalvanin kadhali. |
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Entry
of Asin Joseph Thottumkal
Asin Joseph Thottumkal also entered
films through the modeling route but
made a splash debut in Tamil with
M Kumaran, S/o. Mahalakshmi. Interestingly,
another Malayalee Nadhiya, also made
her comeback in that film. Asin’s
string of successes include Gajini,
Sivakasi and Maja. It is reported
that she has an impressive list of
brand endorsement contracts in her
kitty as well. Fairever cream, Colgate,
Mirinda….the list goes on. She
will soon work in the Hindi version
of Ghajini opposite Aamir Khan. |
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While
Nayan and Asin are the glam girls, Meera
Jasmine and Gopika are the homely look heroines.
Meera Jasmine won our hearts with Run and
Kasturiman. Her bubbly performance in Sandakkozhi
has proved her versatility. Gopika made
her debut in Cheran’s Autograph and
her subsequent films like Ponniyin Selvan
and Thotti Jaya have done moderately well.
Navya Nair and Renuka Menon have a couple
of films to their credit and waiting in
the wings for that big break. Bhavana is
already making waves. Yet another Malabar
girl Mamta Mohandas has just now entered
through Sivapathigaram. |
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How
they differ
What is the reason for the dizzying climb
of these beauties? First and foremost, their
families are progressive enough to accept
acting in films as a respectable career
option. Second, their impeccable professional
attitude. Says a veteran in the industry,
”The Mumbai girls neither talk nor
understand our language. Besides, they are
derisive of other unit members and remain
aloof. These girls are humble and respect
everyone from the director to the lowest
unit hand.” A noted producer commented,
”These actresses understand our difficulties
and do not make unreasonable demands. For
a Mumbai actress, I would have to shell
business class air fare for at least four
members who accompany her and put them up
in 5-star hotels. Malayalee actresses do
not mind taking an A/C two-tier on an overnight
train. They stay in 3-star hotels and agree
to minimal comforts. Besides, getting a
dubbing artiste is cheaper for these girls
as compared to the Mumbai ones.” |
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That
brings us to the important question of ethnicity.
Fans can relate to them more easily as compared
to the Mumbai imports. Director A.R. Murugadoss
says, ”Finding dubbing artistes is
easier. In fact, for Ghajini, Asin was so
impressed on seeing the rushes that she
agreed to dub for herself and took time
off to complete it. Such flexibility is
a great plus for these girls.”
Trisha Krishnan is the only Tamil girl who
can be counted as competition to them. Folks
get set for some scorching images of these
girls from God’s Own country. |
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