Kollywood goes glamorous

The roles of heroines in Tamil cinema are getting more glamorous due to the influence of Bollywood.
With mainstream Hindi cinema turning daringly young and films like Race, Fashion, Dostana, Bachne Ae Haseeno and Golmaal Returns doing well in Tamil Nadu, the heroines of these films ���������������������������Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra ���������������������������have become pin-up girls in village saloons and wayside tea shops in the state.
This has kick-started a makeover for Kollywood���������������������������s commercial cinema heroines, who have now begun to flaunt their sex appeal, blending western attitude with desi style.
Says Lakshmi Rai, ���������������������������Today���������������������������s films are catering to the most powerful consumer segment ��������������������������� youth audiences, who can make or break a film, as the opening depends on them. They���������������������������re exposed to the latest in movies. So, it is but natural that the heroines from south too are looking glamorous.���������������������������
Suddenly, for Kollywood girls, skin is in. If Priyanka Chopra was seen in a bikini in Dostana, Lakshmi Rai too will be seen sporting a bikini top in Mutthirai. And, she is not alone. Trisha wore for the first time an itsy-bitsy frock in Sarvvam while Nayanthara was seen in a micro-mini in Villu. Pin-up princess Shriya Saran, taking a leaf out of Kareena Kapoor���������������������������s Tashan wardrobe, has been spotted in a one-piece swimsuit in Thoranai and returns dancing with a towel in Kanthasamy. Not lagging behind are Reema Sen, in a very glamorous jumpsuit in Aayirathil Oruvan, and Sneha, in a daring outfit on the beaches for Goa!
Says Reema Sen, ���������������������������Let���������������������������s face it. Glamour has always been commercial cinema���������������������������s biggest USP. Today, the page three culture has created a blue- print for film directors, who are aiming at the disc-hopping, upwardly mobile, global yuppies. Even IPL cricket broadcast is now being sold using glamorous ladies. As far as the recent new look of Kollywood heroines is concerned, there is definitely a Bollywood influence.���������������������������
One of the most stylish directors in Tamil cinema, Vishnu Vardhan, who understands the pulse of today���������������������������s young viewers adds, ���������������������������In many ways, it is a typical example of modern-day cinema, where look and style are important. Today, in Bollywood, the guys show off their bronzed bodies, while the girls are ultra glamorous, sporting the latest in fashion. Tamil cinema is becoming popular in the international market, competing against Hollywood and Bollywood. So, our films have to be as good looking as theirs.���������������������������
All this has resulted in the biggest-ever influx of fair skinned, upcountry girls from distant places like Surat, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Kolkata. In the last one year alone, nearly 32 heroines were introduced. Very few have managed to survive in the industry where you need the right attitude with style.
Says Meenakshi, one of the few survivors who, after playing an innocent small town girl in Karupusamy Kuthalikathar, has transformed into an oomph girl with Rajathi Raja, ���������������������������It is refreshing to do what the audiences want, as showbiz is all about glamour and glitz.���������������������������
Meanwhile, most of the senior actresses are resigned to their fate, as they know the shelf life of a glamour girl is limited to a few months, before newer girls take over.
And believe it or not, for the first time, the buxom, slightly plump look which Tamil cinema was famous for is out. A thin, lean look is the new mantra. Koena Mitra, after her sizzling item number in Ayan, has signed two more big films in Kollywood!
As SJ Suryah puts it, ���������������������������At the end of the day, it is eye candy and sex-appeal packaged with entertainment that sell best in Kollywood.���������������������������