Being Nayanthara: how the actor became the ‘lady superstar’ of Tamil cinema

A shocking scene redkann (2021), which shows the film’s lead Nayanthara giving a strong punchline against victim-shaming and sexism, was perhaps the first of its kind in Tamil cinema. “Why do you care if she is choosing an abortion, dressed ‘improperly’, if she is naked or if she is a good or bad person? Regardless of what she does, it’s her life. Just because you think she’s wrong, you can do whatever you want? asks Nayanthara, affectionately known as Lady Superstar.

In a joyous sequence of Sudhu Kavvum (2013), the protagonist Pagalavan (Bobby Simha), shown as an ardent admirer of the actor Nayanthara, gets in trouble for installing a statue to him. What is common between both scenes is the fact that Nayanthara is perhaps the only reigning female star in Kollywood who enjoys the same level of idolization as top-grossing male stars, both on and off screen.

Thanks to her loyal fan clubs, the 37-year-old actress, famous for her fierce looks in wet makeup, smoky eyes with winged eyeliner and mini-bump/curly hairstyle, has managed to remain popular on social media with photos, videos and updates about his movies that go viral online, even though he has no personal identifiers on any platform. Her latest announcement about her wedding to her fiancé, filmmaker Vignesh Shivan, is a case in point. It was only a matter of a few hours before dozens of fans took to social media to rejoice and celebrate the wedding announcement.

In a career spanning nearly 20 years, Nayanthara has made a mark with her unique filmography: a mix of commercial and content films revolving around the female lead.

Years of debut and formation

It’s surprising that Nayanthara’s 19-year stint in the movies wasn’t planned after careful consideration, but instead came to fruition through snap choices. Nayanthara was only 18 years old when she landed her debut project in 2003: Sathyan Anthikad’s Malayalam film. manassinakkare – when working as a model.

She has shared in various interviews that she wanted to become a CPA and it was only after signing a few movies that she realized she wanted to pursue acting as her long-term career. She quickly rose to fame with movies in which she shared the screen with well-established male stars. The long list of movies includes Ayya (2005), chandramukhi (2005), Vallavan (2006), Lakshmi (2006), Boss (2006), villú (2009) and Super (2010), co-starring actors Sarathkumar, Rajinikanth, Silambarasan, Venkatesh Daggubati, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Vijay, and Upendra respectively.

This was also the time when Nayanthara showed versatility as an actor, albeit in the commercial space. She was praised for his glamorous makeover in movies like Ghajini (2005) and billa (2007), but at the same time he also captivated audiences with his roles in family dramas like Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008) and Chief Engira Bhaskaran (2010).

Still from Yaaradi Nee Mohini. Credit: Screenshot/YouTube

Still from Billa. Credit: IMDB

Still from a song in Chandramukhi. Credit: Screenshot/YouTube

The Creation of Lady Superstar

After a string of box office hits and misses and a rumored breakup with her then-boyfriend, actor-filmmaker Prabhu Deva, Nayanthara took an 11-month hiatus from her job in late 2011. Perhaps it was the lull before the final. storm, as she set the stage for her to return to the Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil film industries with a vengeance, choosing roles that would eventually lead to her becoming the ‘Lady Superstar’.

He made his comeback with the 2012 Telugu action actor. Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum co-starring Rana Daggubati, followed by Tamil romantic drama raja rani (2013), where he shared the screen with Arya, Jai and Nazriya in the lead. While she continued to sign commercial films like Arrambam (2013), Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal (2014) , Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019) and nanbenda (2015), he no longer played characters that were not added to the script. Raja Rani’s Regina, for example, was the central character who moved the plot forward.

Along with commercial cinema, Nayanthara appeared in parallel in leading roles in content-based projects that depended entirely on her, the main star. Yes anamika (2014), the new Telugu version of Kahanani Directed by director Sekhar Kammula, she played an IT professional who avenges her husband’s death in a gripping murder mystery, her neo-noir horror film Maya (2015), directed by newcomer Ashwin Saravanan, became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of that year. Director Ashwin even revealed in media interactions that the film was conceptualized as a low-budget movie, but it garnered attention thanks to Nayanthara.

Maya’s photo. Credit: Facebook/ potential studies

Still from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. Credit: IMDB

Visvasam screenshot. Credit: digital native

Going against the trend of restricting her filmography to a specific genre such as ‘female-centric’, ‘arthouse’ or ‘commercial’, a strategy adopted by some of her contemporaries, Nayanthara chose flamboyant or intense scripts as Naanum Rowdy Dhan (2015), Thani Oruvan (2015), airah (2019), Imaikaa Nodigal (2018), Aramm (2017) and dora (2017), which had room for reinvention. And very soon, the actor began to reap the benefits of it.

Dramatic and elaborate opening sequences written for her, whistling-worthy punchlines as she defeats villains, inside jokes and throwbacks from her previous films, and box-office success: privileges conventionally reserved for male stars. Kolamavu Kokila (2018) was one of the first films directed by a female star to have 6 a.m. shows at the time of its release. Notably, she was the only South Indian female actress to make it onto Forbes’ list of highest-paid celebrities in 2018. She makes up for it with her spectacular screen presence.

Even in the starships where she shared the screen with popular male actors, Nayanthara appeared in some of them as an agency lead. Drink viwasam for instance; when Niranjana (Nayanthara) walks away from her marriage to Thooku Durai (Ajith), she is not ashamed of her choice, as is often the case with family performers in Tamil cinema. At Vijay’s Bigil, it is Nayanthara who breaks into an important monologue about encouraging women to pursue their dreams, not Vijay.

The staying power of Nayanthara

The actor’s longevity and ability to present successful films across multiple languages ​​and genres in a hero-driven industry can be attributed to multiple factors. Chief among them is the actor’s commitment to signing films with new and upcoming filmmakers. From Atlee raja rani to that of Nelson Dilipkumar Kolamavu KokilaR. J. Balaji and N. J. Saravanan Mookuthi Amman (2020) and Dhyan Sreenivasan Love Action Drama (2019) , the actor hasn’t shied away from working with debut filmmakers.

Although Nayanthara has stopped speaking to the media and giving interviews since 2011, claiming that she is a private person and would like to avoid being misquoted, the resulting exclusivity has worked in her favor, as it has for her male counterparts like Ajith, Vijay and Rajinikanth. she whose media interactions are also limited to audio or trailer launch events.

Nayanthara in promotional video for Rocky. Credit: Screenshot/YouTube

However, in an interview with Forbes last year, the actress revealed that what mattered to her was the connection she has with the audience. “There are a lot of people who make a fortune on social media, which is fine, but if you say that your success or your identity depends on the number of followers you have on Instagram, then something like that may not last long. she said. In a previous interview with Fashionhe had stated that he is a private person and does not think he is good at interacting with large crowds.

As for what’s next, the self-described workaholic actress is ready to dive into uncharted waters as she prepares for multilingual or ‘pan-Indian’ projects as Atlee director Jawan co-stars Shah Rukh Khan. She is also ready to charm the audience in the upcoming Malayalam movies. Prayed Y Pattuand telugu actor Godfather. After Lady Superstar donned her production cap with the launch of Rowdy Baby Pictures and co-produced critically acclaimed films like Rocky (2021) and Koozhangal / Pebbles (2021) alongside Vignesh Shivan, fans are also eagerly awaiting to see what he has in store on the production front.

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