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Bollywood’s Southern Belles

Bollywood’s Southern Belles

Miss R.

Blog #3 by Miss R. from Toronto, Canada! Be a Bollywood blog-ibutor on MissMalini.com

Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra

What  do Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra have in common? Ok, they have a lot in  common, for instance, they’ve all been paired with Abhishek Bachan with  varying results, but they’ve also made Tamil/Telugu films at the onset  of their careers. For instance, Katrina Kaif was in 2004’s Malliswari,  playing the title role of Princess Malliswari, and Priyanka Chopra  debuted in Thamizan in 2002. However, they did not develop their  careers down South for long and quickly made their way in Bollywood.

Genelia D’souza

So,  it was interesting to note when Genelia D’Souza, Asin, and Trisha  Krishnan came to Bollywood. Genelia actually  had her start in Bollywood with Ritesh Deshmukh in Tujhhe Meri Kasam,  but, she only returned to Bollywood recently after great success in  Tamil films like Santosh Subramaniam, or  Telugu films like Bommarillu. Asin  and Trisha Krishnan also became very successful in Southern films  before their foray into Bollywood. So, these surprisingly young  actresses, only in their early twenties, followed a similar career  trajectory; make a name for yourself in the South, then enter Bollywood. These girls are not just pretty faces however, they also have various  awards under their belt.

The  South has produced some of Bollywood’s greatest, like Rekha and Hema  Malini. However, there is still this notion that Southern films are  inferior to Bollywood, a notion I disagree with. Southern films often  get copied into Bollywood remakes, Billu Barber for instance. While  Tamil and Telugu films under-appreciation is another matter, this new  trend of Southern Belles blazing into Bollywood has led me to choose a  few faces to look out for in Bollywood:

Kajal Agarwal

1) Kajal Agarwal is 25 years old and as MissMalini.com reported earlier, she is also following in Asin’s footsteps by acting in a Bollywood remake of a Southern hit, as Asin did. It is also interesting to note she made her  debut in Bollywood (in Kyun…! Ho Gaya Na, supporting Aishwarya Rai) before hitting it big in the South like Genelia D’Souza.  However, she is also following in Asin’s footsteps by remaking a  Bollywood version of her own Southern hit, as Asin did with Aamir Khan in Ghajini.

Ileana D’Cruz

2) Ileana D’Cruz is only 23, and is also entering Bollywood after Southern  success. She is set to star in Barfee with Ranbir Kapoor. Illeana has  won the  Filmfare Best Telugu Actress award, and was nominated twice, and  remember, is only 23.

Tamanna Bhatia

3)  Tammanah Bhatia’s Southern film resume is not as extensive as those  above, nor is she making a Bollywood debut anytime soon, but then again  she is only 21 years old, and has been in the Southern film industry for  a few years. But I have a feeling that this Miss Bhatia will in no  time be paired opposite Bollywood’s Mr. Bhatia, Akshay Kumar, as Trisha  Krishnan was.

Readers, do you agree/disagree, did I leave anyone  out?