Southern Invasion

Demigod to Tamil cinema-lovers,Suriya will make his Bollywood entry with Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra,which will hit theatres in June. Tamil star Vikram will be seen in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan along with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.

However,it’s Telugu actor Rana Daggubati—the lead in Rohan Sippy’s untitled next—who is garnering a lot of interest. Grandson of movie moghul D Ramanaidu,the young actor is playing the second lead to Bachchan for which Farhan Akhtar was the original choice. Then there’s Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan Teja who is likely to be seen in a Farhan Akhtar production.

These are heartening signs. For,Bollywood seems to be ready to exploit the huge talent pool that the South Indian film industries offer. With a couple of weeks to go for Striker’s release,an upbeat Siddharth says,“Bollywood is a huge platform. I am looking forward to the visibility it gives to the actors.” His co-star Padmapriya is more forthcoming in sharing her excitement. “If I had my way,I would have started my career with Hindi films. Malayalam films just fell into my lap. So I went with the flow. I have now shifted base to Mumbai to

concentrate on a career in Hindi films,” says Padmapriya.

Film stars in South India are often deified. Still,most of them long for Bollywood glory. The main lure for shifting to India’s west coast is the higher level of visibility and recognition. This explains why Vikram needed little prodding from Mani Ratman to do Raavan,even though he didn’t have a very good experience with his first Hindi outing. Vikram’s hugely-popular Tamil film,Anniyan,was dubbed and released in Hindi as Aparichit in 2005. The box office response to it was at best lukewarm. “I hope Bollywood will welcome me this time,” he had said in an earlier interview.

What makes the Bollywood entry of this fresh crop of South Indian actors noteworthy is that they have been selected because they fit the bill. Director Rohan Sippy says,“I signed on Rana because he suited the role. He is doing the second lead in the gritty thriller about the drug rackets in Goa.” With a well-toned body Daggubati joins the rank of newcomers from South who score high on the looks front.

In the past,the support for South Indian actors has mostly come from those who belong to that region. Hyderabad-born Varma started his career by directing the Telugu blockbuster Shiva. Though he has shifted base to Mumbai for nearly two decades now,he has stayed close to the industry down South. He has worked with many South Indian actors like

J D Chakravarthy,Mohanlal,Revathy,Nagarjuna,Raghuvaran in his Hindi films. Now,he will introduce Suriya to Bollywood with Rakta Charitra. “I am a South Indian and watch a lot of their cinema. Thus,I know the actors’ capability. That’s why I like to work with South Indian actors.” This could explain why the director has signed on South superstar Sudeep for three films — Rann,Phoonk 2 and Rakta Charitra.

Director of Striker,Chandan Arora,chose to cast Padmapriya as the female lead because he wanted not just a familiar face,but also a good actress. “The film is a biopic so the leading lady doesn’t have a big role in terms of screen space,but her character is strong. Padmapriya is a sensation in the South and she has been extremely courageous to do this role,” Arora says.

In the past,South India’s superstars like Kamal Haasan,Rajnikanth,Chiranjeevi,Mohanlal have delivered big hits. But they have never managed to receive enough offers and adulation to make Mumbai their home. However,recently Asin and Madhavan have strengthened their foothold in the industry. And in 2010,the South brigade can grow in strength if the new entrants too taste success.