Tollywood Heroines Are Breaking Free from the Usual
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| Images Courtesy: IMDB |
If you look at Telugu cinema over the years, heroines were
mostly written in one track, the bubbly girl, the love interest, or the
glamorous presence beside the hero. The story was almost never about them. But
things are changing now. Slowly, but clearly.
We’ve had strong women in Tollywood before. Think of Savitri
or Vijayashanti. Savitri carried films on her own in the 50s and 60s.
Vijayashanti in the 80s and 90s was even called “Lady Amitabh” because she led
action films, not just romantic dramas. That DNA is there in Telugu cinema, but
for a long gap, it got buried under hero-centric storytelling.
It was Anushka Shetty who brought it back in a big way.
Arundhati (2009) was a turning point. A proper box office blockbuster with a
heroine as the star. Later, Bhaagamathie (2018) proved it wasn’t a one-time
thing.
Samantha too changed the way people looked at her with Oh!Baby (2019) and later Yashoda (2022). She showed she can hold a film on her
shoulders without a big male star driving it.
Then there’s Keerthy Suresh with Mahanati (2018). That was
not just a hit. It’s a milestone. A National Award-winning biopic that made
people across India take Telugu cinema’s storytelling about women seriously
again.
Even senior actresses are part of this wave. Nayanthara,
more active in Tamil, still commands respect in Telugu and consistently chooses
roles with strength. Trisha’s comeback with 96 (though Tamil) got big love in
Telugu as well, reminding everyone what a strong female performance can do.
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| Images Courtesy: IMDB |
And the new generation is stepping up too. Mrunal Thakur in Sita Ramam (2022) wasn’t just a love interest. Her role was the emotional anchor of the film. Rashmika Mandanna, while being part of mass films like Pushpa, is slowly looking at roles that give her more meat too. Even someone like Anupama Parameswaran choosing a project like Paradha shows that mid-tier heroines are also trying to break the mold.
Why does this matter? Because for years, producers assumed
only a male star can bring in openings. But these films proved that if the
story is strong and the heroine is written well, audiences are ready to accept
it. And not just accept, they celebrate it.
Tollywood is still hero-driven, no doubt. But today, heroines are no longer just there to fill songs and romance. They’re shaping stories, pulling crowds, and in some cases, carrying entire films. It may have taken decades, but finally, Telugu cinema is giving women the space to be game changers again.
