At 35, most women actors are done and dusted. The industry no longer considers them worthy of starring opposite the big heroes. However, Nayanthara is among the few heroines who are changing the rules of the game. Not only is she still relevant, she commands the highest salary for a woman actor across south Indian industries. Her most recent release was the Deepavali film Bigil, in which she acted with Vijay. Early this year, she was seen in Vijay’s arch rival Ajith’s Viswasam, which went on to become one of the highest grossing films in the state, and Nayanthara had a substantial role to play opposite the larger-than-life star.
As a performer, Nayanthara may not be the most versatile of actors. She isn’t like Nithya Menen who transforms for each of her roles, or Aishwarya Rajesh whose acting is so wonderfully realistic. But her screen presence is undeniable, and she’s one of our few women stars who can draw large crowds effortlessly. The media shy actor may not always be vocal about her beliefs, and her choice of films can sometimes leave us disappointed (Mr Local, really? Why?!!), but by just being who she is and pushing the boundaries from within the industry, Nayanthara makes a louder statement than words can convey.
Here are five reasons why the actor deserves her ‘Lady Superstar’ status:
1. Demanding her due: According to industry sources, Nayanthara charges between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore for each film. The pay is nothing compared to what the big male stars charge, but it’s the highest salary that a woman actor is able to command in the south today. Nayanthara is also known to have stuck to her guns and walked out of some big projects because the makers weren’t ready to pay her what she demanded.
Not only is the pay gap between male and female actors extremely wide in the film industry, many producers don’t even budget for their heroines when they plan a film. Nayanthara is popular in Tamil and Telugu cinema (in Telugu, she was last seen in Chiranjeevi’s ambitious Sye Raa as his wife), and this works to the advantage of filmmakers who often release dubbed versions of the films in different languages. She also recently made a comeback to Malayalam cinema with Nivin Pauly’s Love Action Drama. She’s among the few women actors who’ve acted with heroes across generations, from Rajinikanth to Ajith, Vijay, Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi and Sivakarthikeyan.
2. Opening up the space for a heroine: In star vehicles with male actors, the heroine rarely has any “mass” moments for herself. However, not only does Nayanthara get her own introduction sequences, filmmakers also writer punch lines and in-jokes for her, making references to her other popular films. This is an acknowledgment that she has a larger-than-life persona too. She’s particular about her styling and though this may mean that she doesn’t always blend in with the role, the audience still accepts her because it’s the star they want to watch. This is usually a privilege that’s reserved for male actors.
3. Making ‘women-centric’ cinema mainstream: Though Nayanthara continues to act in big budget films opposite male stars where she plays glamorous roles, she’s been slowing creating a body of work where the film revolves around her character. While her first hit where she played the solo lead was Maya, Nayanthara has since diversified and isn’t playing it safe by sticking to horror – the only genre where women characters routinely get substantial roles.
Instead, she’s been doing films where the gender of the central protagonist doesn’t really matter. – Aramm, Imaikaa Nodigal and Kolamaavu Kokila were all films where the lead character just happened to be female. The subject and treatment would have worked even with a male star on board. She’s thus broken the stereotype that ‘women-centric’ cinema should only be about women’s rights issues, widening the appeal of her films across sections of the audience. She’s also known for giving opportunities to younger, new directors.
4. Living off-screen unapologetically: Nayanthara has received more than her share of abuse and trolling on social media though she does not have an official presence on any of the platforms. Her previous relationships are public knowledge and are brought up in a distasteful manner to put her down. However, the actor has refused to back down.
She’s currently in a relationship with director Vignesh ShivN and the pictures of the two of them together are often posted by the latter on his Twitter page. In the southern industries, women actors are seldom comfortable with flaunting their relationships because their morality is questioned. Moreover, their market value is considered to come down if they are linked with a man. Not only do they supposedly become less desirable, rumours of marriage may also make them lose work opportunities. Nayanthara is clearly beyond such risks, with the position she has in the industry today.
5. Taking a stance: Admittedly, Nayanthara does not speak up as often as we would like her to. However, there were two occasions when the actor responded effectively.
The first was when director Suraj said in an interview that he does not permit his heroines to cover themselves. Though Nayanthara was not connected to the film that he was promoting, she lashed out and issued a statement in which she strongly condemned his words. Later, when repeat offender Radha Ravi slut-shamed her at an event, suggesting that it was absurd for a woman like her to play Sita, Nayanthara shut him down in style, saying she would act as Sita, ghost, friend or lover. Though Radha Ravi has made such offensive and misogynistic remarks earlier too, it was only after Nayanthara spoke up that the rest of the industry responded. All the more reason why a star of her standing should be more involved in such issues in the future.
Source: The News Minute