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These leading ladies from Telugu are now eyeing Mollywood

Challenging characters, gripping narratives, and wider reach have Tollywood actresses vouching for Malayalam films.

Prakash Pecheti

Published Nov 13, 2023 | 7:00 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 13, 2023 | 7:00 PM

Telugu actresses in Malayalam films

Telugu actresses are now setting foot in Malayalam films. (X)

Tollywood is one of the most happening movie industries down South, with all the hustle and bustle surrounding film stars and their pan-India flicks.

A Telugu actress with overnight stardom might end up signing a few projects in other languages, too.

From newbies to seniors, all leading ladies want to leave a trail behind with their work in as many languages as possible.

While it’s a tradition for Telugu actresses to test the waters in Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi industries, venturing into Malayalam movies is looked down upon due to its limited market space, fewer budget films, and relatively less remuneration.

However, of late, the dynamics in Malayalam cinema have been changing.

Challenging characters, gripping narratives and wider reach — irrespective of region — have the female stars in Tollywood vouching for Malayalam films.

Anushka Shetty

Sweety aka Anushka Shetty is just two steps away from completing two decades of her film career.

Restricting herself to Tamil and Telugu film industries in her 18-year-long career, Anushka is making a long leap into the Mollywood industry with Kathanar–The Wild Sorcerer.

A Malayalam period-fantasy thriller, it is directed and edited by Rojin Thomas and written by R Ramanand.

Kathanar–The Wild Sorcerer is the first of two cinematic parts. This is her Malayalam debut.

Anushka Shetty plays Kalliyankattu Neeli in the horror drama. The movie also stars Jayasurya in the title role.

Kathanar–The Wild Sorcerer is based on the tales of Kadamattathu Kathanar, a Kerala priest.

It is produced by Gokulam Gopalan of Sree Gokulam Movies.

In the film, Neeli is a bloodthirsty ghost with divine beauty who used to terrorise Panchavankadu in the Thiruvananthapuram district.

Inspired by many real-life incidents, the movie might probably bring back the memories of Anushka Shetty’s all-time popular character Arundhati (2009).

Also Read: Iconic roles that catapulted Anushka Shetty to stardom

Tamannah Bhatia

Even though she entered the movie industry a decade and a half ago, Tamannah Bhatia is receiving enchanting roles.

She has been a busy actor working parallelly in movies and web series. In her long film career, Tamannaah acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Marathi languages.

And now, she has set foot in Mollywood with the film Bandra (2023).

Tamannaah Bhatia played the character of Tara Janaki in the movie, which is about the story of an aspiring filmmaker named Sakshi who investigates the suicide of the famous Bollywood actress Tara Janaki.

During her investigation, she discovers details about Tara’s relationship with Alan Alexander Dominic, a businessperson and former gangster in the Ernakulam district of Kerala.

Though Tamannaah Bhatia started her career at a young age, making her acting debut with a Bollywood film in 2005, the actress took 18 years to debut in Mollywood with Bandra, which was released last week.

Also Read: ‘Bandra’ lacks a strong script to win hearts

Krithi Shetty

The Uppena (2021) actor made rapid strides in the Telugu film industry with back-to-back movies after her debut flick with Vaishnav Tej.

The romantic drama, directed by Buchi Babu Sana, not only garnered widespread acclaim for her role as Bebamma but also won a National Award for Best Telugu Film in the regional category.

Krithi Shetty is all set to try her luck in Mollywood now.

She has teamed up with Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas for the upcoming film ARM-Ajayante Randam Moshanam, directed by Jithin Lal.

The movie also features Aishwarya Rajesh and Surabhi Lakshmi. It is a period-action adventure flick.

Also Read: Malayalam film ‘Valatty’ tops Google’s Most Searched Adventure Movie list

Pranitha Subhash

This Atharintiki Daaredi (2013) actress, who appeared in character roles in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films, is now making her Malayalam debut.

D 148, now titled Thankamani, features Pranitha Subhash as the female lead alongside Dileep.

It also casts Neeta Pillai, Shine Tom Chacko, Ajmal Ameer, and Manoj K Jayan in key roles.

In a recent interview with a news daily, Pranitha said Thankamani would be her comeback film post-motherhood.

Also Read: P Susheela, the South Indian Nightingale, turns 88!

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