Tollywood gears up for a slew of female-centric films

Tollywood swears by hero-worship to make the cash registers jingle. But suddenly, the industry is waking up to a flurry of new films where the leading ladies are the key of all action. Only a few years ago, the mood was very different among actresses for doing female-centric roles. Actress Nayanthara famously said, ���I don���t like to do women-centric films because it���s too much responsibility on your shoulders.��� Now however, she seems to have had a change of heart.A year after she appeared in Sekhar Kammula���s Anamika, the actress will soon be seen in Ashwin Saravanan���s horror thriller, Mayuri. Anjali is another actress, who���s basking in the glory of her previous horror comedy, Geethanjali���s success. She���s currently acting in a female-oriented film titled Chitrangada. And then, there are a bunch of actresses who seem to be game to shoulder the responsibility of the film.
Anushka
Riding high on the success of Arundhati (2009), Anushka became a flag-bearer of female-oriented films in Telugu. And it���s not without a reason why she plays the sword wielding princess Devasena in Baahubali and Gunasekhar chose her to play the titular role in the biopic Queen Rudhramadevi. ���It was an honour to play Rudhramadevi, and hats off to Gunasekhar for his dedication and all the effort that he has put in,��� she said. And in Prakash Kovelamudi���s forthcoming film Size Zero, she is playing the role of an obese woman.
Lakshmi Manchu
���I don���t want to be a filler in any of my films. So, my focus has always been on finding substantial roles. It���s tough to say ���no��� to offers coming your way, but you have to take a call on what���s important. I���m not here for the short haul, so I tend to be all the more choosy,��� says Lakshmi Manchu. After playing an author-backed role of an ex-model in Chandamama Kathalu, her next film, Dongata, has her playing an actress who gets kidnapped. ���Although it���s not a female-oriented film, director, Vamsi Krishna came up with an interesting characterisation. It���s the most fun film I���ve done till date. Besides, you don���t get a chance to dance with ten heroes in a song so often,��� she says.
Charmme
After acting in a slew of women-centric films, Charmee will soon be seen as a prostitute in Jyothi Lakshmi, directed by Puri Jagannadh. The actress has been on a strict diet and fitness regimen to get into shape for the role, at the behest of Puri. Explaining why he thought Charmee was perfect for the role, the director says, ���Charmme is very talented, hyper and energetic in real life and that���s what I wanted her to do this film. In fact, I have been planning to work with her for a long time now. Five years ago, when I narrated this story to her, she fell in love with it.���
Neha Hinge
Debutante Neha Hinge, who���s playing the lead in Vijayendra Prasad's sci-fi film, is thrilled with the action-packed role. ���You can���t say ���no��� to a role where the heroine is on par with the hero. There are plenty of action sequences in the film and I have always dreamt of doing something like this. Playing a glam doll is fun; however, getting a chance to prove your acting mettle is the real deal,��� says Neha.
Trisha
In her decade-long career, Trisha has played a wide range of films, but a female-oriented film didn���t figure in the list. However, all that is about to change. While she���s playing the lead role in a ���fun-filled��� film, Bhogi, she recently gave her nod to a horror comedy, to be directed by Govi. ���I had no clue that Trisha had already heard 20 scripts in the past few months, before I approached her. She got so excited after I narrated the story that she immediately agreed to do the film and the same night, she tweeted about it,��� says Govi, who���s planning to make the film in multiple languages.