TOLLYWOOD HEROINES IN 2003 - A RECAP
by Vanaparthy Ranganath

nuvvemaaya chESaavogaani O manasaa cheppammaa nijaanni
kshanam aaganantondi voni maree chilipidee vayasu baanee
hayyaa hayyaarE hayyaarE hayyaa chindulEstunna ee allari
O sayyaa sayyaare sayyaare sayyaa etu potundo emo mari

Sings the smiling face Bhumika in the movie 'Okkadu', her first hit of the year. The Kushi girl was all smiles with two superhits and one heroine oriented performance hit this year. Bhumika starred in Okkadu, Simhadri and Missamma this year. In Okkadu, she plays the role of Swapna, an innocent girl who is on the run to go to USA. Both of her brothers get killed by none other her brother-in-law Obul Reddy because they refuse her marriage with him. She meets Ajay, the handsome lank hero and the rest of the story is how they fall in love and how she is saved from Obul Reddy. Her acting in chasing scenes and in the climax are one of the highlights of the movie. After Okkadu, she starred in Simhadri, her second success in this year. She portrays the role of Indu, an innocent and mentally retarded girl. Why Simhardi, the hero, gets her treated and how she becomes normal forms the base of the story. Her acting in the well scene ( adapted from the hindi movie Ishq) and as the receptionist-boss in Kerala were received well. She reminded the audience of the legendary Sridevi's acting in Vasantha Kokila with her subtle acting in Simhadri. After Simhadri, she acted in Missamma as Meghana, the strict boss of 'Nanda Gopal'. Her balanced emotions in the movie would be termed as one of her career bests. With three hits in the year, Bhumika can be crowned as "THE HEROINE OF THE YEAR 2003' without any hesitation.

Shriya:
The 'Nuvve Nuvve' girl acted in four movies this year. Neeku Nenu Naaku Nuvvu, Tagore, Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu and Ela Cheppanu. In N4, she acts as Seeta Lakshmi, an NRI who returns to India and falls in love with Anand who is the brought up by her own grandfather. Her acting prowess was exposed in the sentimental scenes involving her with Krishnam Raju. After N4, she acted as Devaki - Samaja Sevaki in Tagore opposite Chiranjeevi. The scenes where she realises that Tagore himself is ACF chief and the petty scenes between her and Chiru are, to name a few, one of her best scenes in Tagore. After Tagore, Shriya acted in 'Ela Cheppanu' where she dons the role of Priya, a girl who tries to save the company founded by her late fiancee. The scene where she realises that Shekar is responsible for her fiancee's death and her scenes in the company were the best in the movie. Shreya improved a lot this year compared to her debut year 2002. Hope she maintains this tempo the next year too.

Aarthi Agarwal:
Heroine of the year 2002 could not maintain her super-hit spree this year. She had two hits this year, Vasantham and Veede. In Vasantham, she played the role of Nandini, a possessive wife who misunderstands the relation of her husband Ashok with his friend Julie. She improved quite a bit as far as acting is concerned. The scene where she argues with her sister when she asks Ashok to get up while he is having lunch in the marriage and the scenes involving Julie and her are some of the best scenes in the movie. After Vasantham, she acted in Veede as the bubbly Manga Tayaru who goes to the city along with the hero Yedu Kondalu to complain about the issue in their village. Her dances in the movie were a highlight.

Asin:
Asin made her debut this year in Tollywood with the movie ANOTA. She acted as "Moogambiga Ambal" alias Chennai. She acts as a Tamil girl who falls in love with Chandu, a kickboxer who aims for the top position in that sport. Her mischievous acting coupled with her broad smile makes it interesting for the movie viewers. The scenes where Ravi Teja catches her smoking, the scene where she asks his help when the goons trouble her are instances where she displays her acting skills. After ANOTA, Asin starrred in Shivamani along with Nagarjuna as Vasantha. Her character is that of a Malayalee in this movie. How the girl who aspires to be a singer loves a cop, gets separated from him and again unites with him forms the story of the movie. She acted with ease in the petty scenes with Nagarjuna and was reasonably good in the sentimental scenes.

The other heroines in Tollywood, Kalyani ( kabaddi Kabaddi, Vasantham) Rakshita ( Nijam, Shivamani) , Simran & Soundarya ( Seetayya) were okay this year.

Tailpiece: It is an interesting fact that none of the above heroines speak Telugu in Telugu Movies on the screen. Most of the heroines are dubbed by Sunitha, Savitha Reddy and Anitha Chowdary. When was the last time that Telugu heroines dubbed their voice themselves? Let's Hope that Tollywood finds a heroine who can dub her own voice very soon.