Where’s the girl next door?

Today, Kollywood heroines have to be bold and brazen, and the definition of the term ‘traditional heroine’ has changed. Actresses who were once afraid of doing bare-it-all scenes, are becoming more daring as they know that talent alone is not enough to reach the top.

Many actresses are dumping their Ms- Goody-Two-Shoes image and joining the glam bandwagon, contradicting what they once stood for. Actresses like Vijayalakshmi and Meenakshi, the proverbial demure girls next-door, are realising that glamour will take them places.

Bhavana had made it clear that shedding inhibitions in front of the camera was the virtue of the less talented. But after doing half a dozen films in Tamil, she is now cooling her heels in a newly-built bungalow in Trichur with no offers coming from Chennai. Even a casual suggestion to do a bold scene would give the lady goose bumps.

Look what happened to Ms Squeaky Clean Sneha after she changed her soft touch-me-not image and transformed herself into a sex-bomb in Lawrence’s Pandi. The film did very well in B and C stations and Sneha started her second innings as a sultry siren with offers coming her way.

The new girl, Parvathy Menon has not got a single offer after her critically acclaimed realistic portrayal sans make-up in Sasi’s Poo. The role models for the new breed of actresses are Nayanthara and Namitha. Nayanthara’s famous bikini-act and Namitha’s Amazonian sexy looks have become a rage with our audiences. The trade says that their films had a good opening, which made them demand huge salaries. The transformation of the Tamil commercial cinema heroines from plain Janes to divas has also changed story telling and the way heroines are depicted in our films. Says a leading director, who has of late gone for glamorous heroines, “Today heroines are mere eye candy, and most of them are there for item numbers and flaunting sexy attires. Please don’t blame us; everybody including the media promotes only glam girls.”

Pinky Sarkar from Kolkata, oops Meenakshi, as she’s better known, was the cynosure of all eyes at the audio launch of TN-07-AL-4777 on Friday. She came dressed in a purple off-shoulder frock, with an ample skin-show. Lensmen went berserk trying to photograph the glam girl at her sexiest. Says Meenakshi, “What’s wrong in looking glamorous? That’s what my role demands.” She is doing what Sameera Reddy did in Taxi No 9211. Meenakshi has also just done an item song with Vishal in Thoranai, and is also negotiating more glam roles.

The message is loud and clear — those who have inhibitions can stay at home, as the bold and daring look is the in-thing in Kollywood. As such there is an acute shortage of glamour heroines in Kollywood, and those who succeed here can look to Bollywood for even more glamorous roles. Says one actress, “Asin refused to show her belly button in Tamil songs, but she is more than willing to flaunt it for a Bollywood film. Watch Ghajani promo songs and see for yourself.”

With new girls storming the industry and competition hotting up, those who want to be in the race have to be daring.