Tamannaah joins the list of non-Malayalee heroines in Malayalam cinema with Bandra

Dileep and Tamannaah in a still from the just released Malayalam film 'Bandra'.

After dancing with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in his latest outing Jailer, Tamannaah Bhatia just made her debut in Malayalam cinema. Her film Bandra, which released this week, features her opposite top Malayalam star Dileep (he is the accused in Malayalam film industry's most high-profile MeToo sexual assault case from 2017).

With this entry, Tamannaah joins an illustrious list of non-Malayalee heroines who left their impressions on Malayalam cinema. Here's a list glancing at the essence of these heroines and how they fared. From the black-and-white era to now, who has truly succeeded in blurring the language barriers in cinema?

Ironically, Telugu-speaking actor Sharada won her first National Award for a Malayalam film (Thulabharam) in 1968. She was also one of the most popular actors in Malayalam in the black-and-white era, the one who reigned along with Sheela on celluloid.

Sharada in Thulabharam (1968).

Since then, similar to how south Indian heroines have made their mark in Hindi cinema, there has been a lot of actors from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai trying their luck in Malayalam cinema. With an efficient dubbing artist who doubled up for many actors, the juggernaut kept rolling smoothly. Interestingly, even Urvashi and Shobana, considered two of the finest actors in Malayalam never dubbed in their voices during their prime. Back then the norm was to opt for “sweet voices”, so Urvashi was discouraged from dubbing very early in her career. Now, of course, most Malayalee actors prefer to use their voices. Here’s looking at some of the actors who effectively bridged the language barrier in Malayalam cinema:

Menaka

Menaka in Oppol (1981)

Right from her superb debut in the KS Sethumadhavan-directed Oppol (1981) written by MT Vasudevan Nair, in which Tamilian Menaka played a young woman who has a child out of wedlock and is forced to marry a much older man, she has been the poster girl of piety and happy domesticity for Malayalam cinema. With her quintessentially Malayalee features, it was easy for her to fit into that template and the myriad roles that came her way safeguarded that stereotype.

Zarina Wahab

Zarina Wahab in Madanolsavam (1978).

The FTII graduate who hails from Andhra made her Malayalam debut with Kamal Haasan in the tragic romance, Madanolsavam (1978), in which she aced the part of the terminally ill lover. Though she did only a handful of films in Malayalam, Chamaram and Palangal made her a household name in Kerala. The young teacher who falls madly in love with her student in Chamaram and the harrowed woman who is struggling to keep her brother-in-law at bay in Palangal were beautifully depicted by the actor. In wispy cotton saris, flowing tresses framed on a face that reflected a strange sense of pathos, some of the most flavourful melodies depicting longing (“Nadha Nee Varum”, “Etho Janma”) had her imagery on screen.

Madhavi

Madhavi in Valarthu Mrugangal (1981).

By the time Telugu actor Madhavi debuted in Malayalam, she was already an established actor in Telugu. In her second film, Valarthu Mrugangal (1981), written by MT Vasudevan Nair and directed by Hariharan, which won her a State award for Best Second Actress, she plays Janu, a trapeze artist in a circus who is struggling to earn her daily bread amidst predators. But for Malayalees, she will be synonymous with Unniyarcha, one of the most fascinatingly sketched women on celluloid. The femme-fatale who lured and spurned Chanthu (Mammootty) in Harihara’s Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha. Be it the mother who is unable to get over her daughters' loss in Nombarathipoovu or the terminally ill woman who is forced to give away her children in Akasha Doothu, Madhavi’s mere presence added luminosity and profundity on screen.

Suhasini

Suhasini in Adaminte Variyellu (1983).

In the '80s, she perfectly fitted the girl-next-door image. Tamilian Suhasini, like Menaka, looked more Malayalee than an average Malayalee. And she collaborated with some of the finest directors and writers of that time — from KG George’s Adaminte Variyellu (1983), Padmarajan’s Koodevide? (1983), IV Sasi’s Aksharangal (1984), Bharathan’s Pranamam (1986), to Fazil’s Manivathooriley Ayiram Sivarathrikal (1987). There were complex women, stuck in patriarchy, abusive relationships and also those who loved and lost. Suhasini Maniratnam’s 100-watt smile was a big draw during that time.

Sumalatha

Sumalatha in Thoovanathumbikal (1987).

Has any heroine played with the hearts of a generation of male population like Clara in Thoovanathumbikal (1987)? The mysterious hooker who kept Jayakrishnan (Mohanlal) teetering on the edge of desire and guilt has to be Sumalatha’s finest in any language. Padmarajan presented her as an exquisite painting placed in the backdrop of summer showers, amplified by a lilting score. True, she has done roughly 40 films in Malayalam (New Delhi, Nirakkoottu, Ee Thanutha Veluppan Kalathu, Thazhvaram) but for the Malayali audience, Sumalatha will forever be their Clara.

Geetha

Geetha in Panchagni (1986)

Panchagni’s fiery Naxalite Indira will be counted as one of the most powerful female characters on celluloid. In her 2nd Malayalam film, Geetha is riveting, standing tall amidst some of the biggest stalwarts of Malayalam cinema in the same frame. That was the beginning of a long haul for the actor who has done close to 100 films in Malayalam. She has done the whole spectrum, and our pick would be Sunny’s lover Thara in Sukhamo Devi), Vaishali’s mother in Vaishali, the unrequited lover in Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha, the fiery politician in Lal Salaam and the unhappy spinster in Aadharam.

Saritha

Saritha in Kathodu Kathoram (1985).

The Andhra-born actor was always known for her power-packed performances in Tamil and Telugu. In Malayalam that reputation stayed. The struggling single mother in Kathodu Kathoram (1985), the wife who is grappling with her husband’s mental illness in Thaniyavarthanam and the naïve wife of a philanderer in Kuttettan would be the immediate recall.

Bhanupriya

Bhanupriya in Rajashilpi (1992).

Yet another import from Andhra, Bhanupriya epitomised beauty for Malayalees. That was evident in her debut, Rajashilpi (1992), a retelling of the legend of Lord Siva and Goddess Sati, in which she played the besotted Durga, who is enchanted by the local sculptor Shambu (Mohanlal). Bhanupriya’s Durga is unapologetically depicted through the male lens, but the film failed to work at the box office.

Bhanupriya in Azhakiya Ravanan (1996).

Though she has done only five-six films in Malayalam, Azhakiya Ravanan (1996) will remain a milestone in her career. For Sankar Das (Mammootty), Anuradha is his childhood obsession. When she remains elusive, he manipulates her into marrying him. Bhanupriya exemplifies Sankar’s obsessed imagery perfectly.

Suparna Anand

Suparna Anand in Njan Gandharvan (1991).

This Mumbai actor has done hardly four-five films in Malayalam. But two of them turned out to be classics. The beauteous Devadasi who is sent to the forests to lure Sage Rishyashringan in Bharathan’s Vaishali and the willful teenager Bhama who falls madly in love with a Gandharvan in Padmarajan’s Njan Gandharvan (1991) are part of Malayalam cinema history. And Suparna was irreplaceable.

Padmapriya

Padmapriya in Kazhcha (2004).

She made a confident debut in Kazhcha (2004) as the gentle, pragmatic wife of film projectionist Madhavan (Mammootty). Again a face that appeared more endearing to the Malayalee beauty aesthetics, the actor balanced off-beat and mainstream space ably. For every Rajamanikyam and Time, she did a Nalu Pennungal and Kutty Sranku. But, perhaps, her most underrated has to be the femme-fatale act in Iyobinte Pusthakam (2014).

Padmapriya in Iyobinte Pusthakam (2014).

Sai Pallavi

Sai Pallavi in Premam (2015).

When Tamilian guest lecturer Malar walks into the frame, in a starched cotton sari, long frizzy hair clipped back on a speckled face, stripped of makeup, she had broken a glass ceiling reserved for heroines in Premam (2015). Her voice wasn’t conventionally sweet, and her smile could lighten up a room. For Malayalees, it was love at first. And then nothing really prepares you for that wacky dappankoothu number she does in front of George and his friends. She was as good as the sober wife of a young man who battles anger issues in Kali. Since the character hails from Masinangudi, her broken Malayalam was just right.

Others

Girija Shettar in Vandanam (1989).

Girija Shettar who did only one Malayalam film, Vandanam (1989), will always be the young, bubbly Gadha whom Mohanlal desperately tries to woo in the streets of Bangalore.

Juhi Chawla in Harikrishnans (1998).

Juhi Chawla had both Mammootty and Mohanlal fighting over each other for her attention in Harikrishnans (1998).

Sridevi in Devaragam (1996).

Though Sridevi did a few Malayalam films during the onset of her career, her most memorable appearance would be in the Bharathan-directed Devaragam (1996) with Aravind Swamy.

Andrea Jeremiah Annayum Rasoolum (2013).

Andrea Jeremiah lingered as Anna in the Romeo-Juliet inspired Annayum Rasoolum (2013). She belonged as the Fort Kochi-based Anna who worked as a sales girl in a garment shop.

Nandita Das in Kannaki (2001).

In Jayaraj’s Kannaki (2001), an adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra, Nandita Das was an interesting choice as Cleopatra.

Pooja Batra in Megham (1999).

Priyadarshan, after his Bollywood sojourn, had made it a habit to relocate Mumbai heroines to Malayalam cinema. Pooja Batra in Megham (1999) and Chandralekha (1997), Bhavna Pani in Vettam (2004), Priya Gill in Megham, Arzoo Govitrikar in Kakkakuyil (2001), Piaa Bajpai in Aamayum Muyalum (2014) to mention a few.