Following the box office success of Lenin, actress Sreeleela has found herself at the center of intense social media scrutiny. The young actress was originally cast as the film’s heroine and even appeared in its teaser, but she later opted out due to date issues. The role eventually went to Bhagyashri Borse, whose performance has earned widespread appreciation from audiences and critics alike.
Social media has since been flooded with comparisons between the two actresses, with many users praising the makers for casting Bhagyashri. “Bhagyashri Borse is a perfect combination of beauty and talent. She has emerged as the new craze in Tollywood and has a bright future ahead,’ commented social media users in unison.
Sreeleela has nevertheless become a target of online trolling. While many continue to appreciate her exceptional dancing skills and screen presence, some have questioned her script selection and acting performances. Apart from Bhagavanth Kesari, several of her recent films have failed to make an impact at the box office, leading to criticism that she signed too many projects during the peak of her popularity.
“Heroines have a relatively shorter shelf life in the industry and are often blamed for failures, irrespective of the size of their roles,” says a producer. “Sreeleela appeared in films like Extra Ordinary Man and Ustaad Bhagat Singh and few other underperformers, and unfortunately, the industry tends to celebrate success while quickly associating actors with failures.”
The competition among young actresses has also intensified. Meenakshi Chaudhary, riding high on the success of Lucky Baskhar and Anaganaga Oka Roju, along with Mamitha Baiju who is Tamil star Suriya Telugu film Viswanath and Sons along with Kayadu Lohar, Srinidhi Shetty, are all bagging big-ticket Telugu projects and steadily climbing the ladder of success.
Director Hemanth Madhukar believes such competition is natural and healthy. “Every actress has to face competition. There are several talented young heroines making their mark in Tollywood. But an actress who has delivered a few flops can always bounce back with one solid hit,” he says.
He also feels heroines are unfairly targeted whenever films fail. “In most commercial films, the hero occupies the central space, yet when a film underperforms, fans often blame the heroine. That is quite unfortunate,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Rashmika Mandanna continues to dominate the Tollywood landscape with a string of successful films and reportedly commands remuneration of over Rs 5 crore per film. Sreeleela and several of her contemporaries are said to be in the Rs 2 crore bracket, while actresses like Shruti Haasan and Mrunal Thakur reportedly command over Rs 3 crore.
“Remuneration is directly linked to box office success. That’s the reality of the Telugu film business. One major hit can completely change an actress’s career trajectory,” Hemanth Madhukar concludes.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
