When I first came across this above-mentioned statement, I thought it was a joke . A quick glance assured me that it wasn’t April Fool’s day or anything like that. And that was when I started laughing. Really laughing.
I mean, I have nothing against the kid. She’s pretty decent as far as actresses of today go and has made some good career decisions so far. She’s a household name in her native Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which is no mean feat for sure. But does that mean she deserves the two states’ (she earlier won AP’s Nandi award for her role in NVNV) highest acting honours? Hell, no!
The word ‘kalaimamani’ means someone who is a great exponent of art and in this case, acting. Which Trisha sure is not. Sure she can shake her booty with the best of them, looks a peach and all that but that does not make for a fab actress. I am yet to see her essay a brilliant role. Granted that meaty female roles in Indian cinema are few and far between and are def not available for the young ‘uns of today who are roped in more for their eye candy factor than serious acting skills. In that sense, she is no better or worse than anyone else.
In fact, I do applaud her for not letting a director exploit her by making her show more flesh, like some of her contemporaries are doing. She is reputed to have refused to do Simbu’s female lead in Vallavan as it was ‘too glamorous’. Whilst I do think it is admirable that she doesn’t grab every single branch to go higher, I still am at a loss to see how all this totals a great actress.
My idea of a good artiste is perhaps tempered by greats such as Suhasini, Revathy, Shobhana etc. I sat up and cheered with the best when these ladies were awarded their National and regional awards for none deserved the accolade more. Trisha’s problem might just be that she isn’t b eing offered any role that will put her acting skills to test. Maybe that is the way the industry is and I will not blame her for trying to stay in the game.
I would, however, blame every single director who casts a heroine purely for the sake of glamour. Illeana’s role in her recent Telugu movie Aata was purely decorative and the amount of flesh on display was totally unnecessary. That didn’t help the movie’s fortunes at the Box office should send a message to the movie moguls about what the public actually want out of a movie.
But I digress.
Coming back to the so-called acting awards, I feel they are becoming somewhat of a farce, with very few actually deserving the title ‘Kalaimamani’. For example, take a look at this year’s awardees: Silambarasan, Vishal, Jayam Ravi, Jeeva, Vineeth, Venu Aravindh, Kanja Karupu, Trisha, Navya Nair, Deepa Venkat, Aarthy and CID Sakunthala – the list reads like Who’s Who of the Tinseltown. Other than a few like Vineeth, Deepa Venkat and CID Sakunthala, I don’t even think that most of the others can act, leave alone spectacularly so to be named ‘Kalaimamani’.
Probably the powers that be are just making do with whatever talent is available in the pool but when you are scraping the bottom of the barrel to make up the number, it would be prudent to give the title to the deserving few rather than to everyone who to be seen on the screen frequently.
In the meantime, Trisha, congratulations on your twin awards – may you grow into them one of these days!
Still laughing.
//Illeana’s role in her recent Telugu movie Aata was purely decorative and the amount of flesh on display was totally unnecessary//
point noted and will watch to acknowledge your statement
and forgot to mention…your new site is cool…kalakals
thanks, Renga! Now, if only the stuff matches it….