Happy Women's Day: From Anushka and Samantha to Keerthy and Sai Pallavi, bankable leading ladies of Tollywood

Like every year, the entire world will be celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. The special occasion is dedicated to honouring the achievements of women in the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. Collectively founded by females, the day also brings attention to gender parity and women's rights all across the globe. When it comes to showbiz business, times have certainly in Indian cinema, particularly down south. Without relying only on male leads, several filmmakers are offering author-backed roles and substantial characters to talented actresses who can extract considerable footfalls into the theaters with their emoting skills, glamour and screen-presence. On Women’s Day 2020, check out the top 6 bankable leading ladies of Telugu cinema.

Though the tag of a ‘Superstar’ is pretty rare for an actress in Indian cinema, Mangalore-born Anushka Shetty has achieved it after a decade of commitment, hard work and dedication in the Telugu film industry. Considered as one among the few actors who can carry the entire film on their shoulders, Anushka’s trademark quality is to extract massive footfalls into the theatre without depending on a bankable male lead.

After positioning herself as a successful commercial heroine, the 38-year-old altered her direction and balanced her repertoire by opting for content-driven and female-centric flicks like Vedam, Nanna, Bhaagamathie and Size Zero. After portraying the iconic role of Devasena in the Baahubali franchise, Sweety became a nationwide phenomenon and turned into a pan-Indian actress. At present, she is gearing up for the release of Nishabdham.

Barring her debut ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’, Samantha played the run-of-the-mill heroine in most of her initial films which include Brindavanam, Dookudu and Attarintiki Daredi. However, amid these commercial potboilers, she silenced her critics by effectively portraying author-backed roles in films like Eega, Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu and Manam. After walking down the aisle with Naga Chaitanya, the 32-year-old actress altered her strategy by showing affinity towards content-driven subjects. Following impressive performances in films like Rangasthalam, Mahanati and U Turn, Sam acquired back-to-back success with Super Deluxe, Majili and Oh! Baby. After wrapping up the second season of ‘The Family Man’ and enjoying the critical acclaim for ‘Jaanu’, Samantha Akkineni has recently signed Vignesh Shivan’s Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal starring Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara.

Keerthy Suresh bagged glowing praises for her brilliant portrayal as Savitri in the yesteryear heroine’s biopic titled Mahanati. The Nag Ashwin directorial also fetched her, the Best Actress trophy at the 66th National Film awards. Presently busy with a pipeline of big-ticket films in Telugu and Tamil, the 27-year-old beauty will be next seen in the female-centric project titled Miss India. Directed by debutante Narendra Nath, the film will hit the theaters on April 17. Besides playing the leading lady in Rajinikanth’s Annaatthe and Nithiin’s Rang De, she is also essaying the role of a sharpshooter in Nagesh Kukunoor’s sports-drama ‘Good Luck Sakhi’.

In less than five years since her impressive debut in Malayalam blockbuster Premam, Sai Pallavi created a niche for herself in South cinema by portraying author-backed roles in content-driven films. Surprising everyone by taking a long break to pursue her MBBS, she returned to the glamour arena with Sekhar Kammula’s Telugu film Fidaa in 2017 and bagged glowing praises for her brilliant portrayal as Bhanumati. Besides romancing Naga Chaitanya in Sekhar Kammula’s Love Story, the 27-year-old actress is essaying the role of a jilted lover in Venu Udugula’s period-drama Virata Parvam 1992. She is also one among the very few actresses to reject endorsement deals worth crores of rupees owing to ethical values.

Tamannaah is one among the few actresses who succeeded in striking the right chord with the pan-Indian audience. Since her debut film in 2005, the 30-year-old diva has been constantly busy with films across multiple languages. After returning to glory with ‘F2 – Fun & Frustration’ and delivering a terrific performance in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, she sizzled opposite Mahesh Babu for the special number ‘Daang Daang’ in Sarileru Neekevvaru. Currently, the alluring beauty is playing a Kabaddi coach in Gopichand’s upcoming sports-drama Seetimaar.

Stepping foot into the showbiz world as a total stranger, Kajal Aggarwal overcame several obstacles and language barriers to become one among the reigning actresses in Tamil and Telugu cinema. Recently, she became the first South Indian actress to be immortalised as a wax statue at the popular Madame Tussauds museum in Singapore. Besides reprising Kangana Ranaut’s role in the Tamil remake of Queen titled Paris Paris, the Punjabi bombshell is busy with big-ticket films which include Indian 2, Mumbai Saga and an international project with Manchu Vishnu titled as Mosagallu. She is also teaming up with Malayalam heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan for a romantic thriller.