Telugu Heroines! They are sometimes haughty like Divya Bharathi in Bobbili Raja. They are sometimes sober like Anjala Zaveri in Preminchukundam Raa. They are sometimes naughty like Sakshi Sivanand in Master. They are sometimes naïve like Laila in Yegire Paavurama. They are sometimes levelheaded like Keerthi Reddy in Tholiprema. However different they are, whatever significance they add (do they?) to the story, they form a coherent part of Telugu movies. Whether it is running around the trees or shedding buckets of tears, whether it is playing pranks with the hero or seducing him, be it enacting the role of a girl next door or that of a temptress, they do it with élan.

Though most of the times their roles are inexplicable, heroines never cease to exist from our movies. And Telugu producers never cease to import a hoard of them from bay of bombs (pun intended) Bombay, oops… Mumbai. I wonder if mum (silence) and bhai were combined to christen Bombay as Mumbai, which I guess, reads - 'Silence, bhai(s) here!' Anyways, the dough I am kneading here is about those once-hot-now-not heroines who drizzled their oomph on the audience, sizzled in their hearts and fizzled into oblivion with as fast an exit as their entry into the industry.

The first and foremost flash that comes in our mind by the mere mention of Bobbili Raja is Divya Bharathi. She became a star overnight with the roaring success of that movie. While she savored success in Assembly Rowdy and Rowdy Alludu s he also had to taste failure with Chittemma Mogudu, Dharmakshetram and Toli Muddu. An unfortunate controversial accident took her away from this world but she carved a niche for herself in the hearts of not just Telugu movie fans but fans throughout the country. May her soul rest in peace.

Yet another Bollywood import by Suresh Productions banner was Anjala Zaveri in Preminchukundam raa! Discussions about her histrionics apart, she was considered a lucky mascot with successful films following her debut film like Choodalani Vundi, Samarasimha Reddy until disasters in the form of Ravoyi Chandamama, Deviputrudu, Bhalevadivi Basoo and Prema Sandadi happened. With all her recent films falling like a pack of cards, she is no longer the queen of hearts.

With a vivacious role in Master opposite the Megastar, Sakshi Sivanand zoomed into the bracket of top heroines of Telugu cinema. Though she never tasted as big a success as Master later, she made her presence felt in her successive films like Nidhi, Yuvaraju, Collector garu, Yamajatakudu, Seetaramraju, Samudram, Iddaru Mitrulu, Pelli Sambhandam, Maa Pelliki Randi. Her last Telugu movie - Simharaasi - fared reasonably well at the box office, but she currently has no offers on hand. Her sister Silpa Sivanand debuts with a low-key movie called Bejawada Police Station.

Laila not only mesmerized Srikanth and JD Chakravarthy by being their bone of contention in Yegire Paavurama, but she also wooed the audience with tons of smiles and innocent looks. If she was adept at something then it was flaring smiles and flaunting innocent looks. Her career failed to take off inspite of getting a chance to shake a leg with biggies like Venky in Pellichesukundam and Balakrishna in Pavitra Prema. Films like Subhalekhalu and Ugadi only added to her woes. Though she sizzled in a song in Nuvve Kavali she could not ignite any of the lost flames. Having migrated to Tamil industry, she is currently one of the most sought after heroines there.

Though she debuted in a blooper called Gunshot, Keerthi Reddy was noticed in Pawan Kalyan's runaway hit Tholiprema. She expected Preminche Manasu and Raavoyi Chandamama to catapult her to a star status. Having tasted failures she gracefully migrated to Bollywood. She pinned all her hopes of making it big in Bollywood like Sreedevi with Vashu Bhagnani's Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya and Rajiv Rai's Pyaar Ishq aur Mohabbat. Both the films failed miserably and so did she consequently. She currently hopes to recreate magic with Hindi remake of Subhakankshalu - Badhaai Ho Badhaai - where she essays Raasi's role, which was turned down by Amisha Patel.

It's very sad to note that the lifespan of a heroine in Telugu film industry is very short. As long as producers find girls to import from other places except Andhra Pradesh, who is complaining? As long as they want to infuse 'freshness' into their movies by raking in girls, who speak any and every language other than Telugu, rather than concentrating on the script, who is yelling? Arey b(h)ai, mum's the word.

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