Meena- Rambha- Laila and more
Though much is talked about Kushbu and Simran being icons of Kodambakkam and that now-a-days no heroine is able to last so long,in my opinion, I think Meena is an exception. Those who look at her career, will find that she still continues to play the lead and be featured in hit films. Take the case of Drishyam opposite Mohanalal . A blockbuster hit and remade in many languages. this happened in 2013 and also played the same role in Telugu opposite Venkatesh. She again acted with Mohanlal in the lead and also opposite Mammooty. Now one can say that her success in Malayalam is no great shakes. Cut to 2020. She acted opposite Mammooty in Shylock and had Raj Kiron , her first hero as co-star. Now she is part of `Annatthe ', the Rajnikanth film directed by Siruthai Siva.
My proximity to Meena was more as her mother Mallika was a Malayali actress and the guiding force behind her daughter. Secondly her manager and PRO Cine News Selvam was the last word in shaping her career as Mallika trusted former's judgement. When I visited the sets of En Rasavin Manansile , I saw a child like Meena paired opposite an older, tough, brutish Raj Kiron. I wondered how the audience would digest this but they did and in a big way. Next was that Meena got the Nandi award for Seethamavari ... with ANR. She kept going from one hit to another. Her popularity was very high in Andhra than Tamil Nadu. When Yejuman was being shot in Andhra, the crowds came to see Meena. Her reprisal of Kushbu's role in Telugu remake of Chinna Thambi was a big hit. Veera and Muthu were two other films with Rajanikanth.
Meena's mother was clear that her daughter would no do negative role or wear sexy revealing outfits. Her mother appeared quite upset that her daughter was wearing revealing dresses in song sequences for Naam Iruvar Nammuku Iruvar directed by C Sundar and Prabhu Deva in the lead. Originally, Rambha was to do this role. The film was a hit . It was the only time that a gossip came about Meena being head over heels with Prabhudeva. I, think Mallika and Selvam's fire fighting service brought the fire under control. Meena;s success is truly pan South Indian. Her library of films shows that her hits in all South languages is unmatched by any heroine of her time. Her daughter Niharika made her debut in Vijay starrer Theri
Let's move on to Rambha. Sundar C put her in a Marilyn Monroe type song with air flowing from below and skirt flying upward followed by her in shorts swinging on a rope tied to a Tyre and so on in Ullathey Allithaa. Since then , her skirt kept flying and shorts became her main wardrobe. Once on a location, I asked her why she did not try out something different. He reply was " Directors say that even in emotional scenes, the audience wants me to come in shorts," She was supposed to do a Divya Bharathi in Hindi and said to be close to Salman Khan aand Govinda. Acting apart, she was doing fine ,money wise. The chink in the Armour for her was Vasu,her brother. He decided to produce a film `Three Roses' with Rambha- Laila- Jyotika. At first Simran was signed but after the photo shoot, she left. Next was that Laila's career graph had by then dropped and Jyothika's shot up. It led to ego clashes. Govinda did a dance sequence in Chennai with much fanfare. He was supposed to be shooting for three days but next morning he had left for Mumbai. Govinda is a one take actor and so he finished the song in 24 hrs, said Vasu. Finally the movie after two years of making got released and predictably bombed. Rambha sold off some properties in Mount Road and faced cheque bouncing cases from notorious financiers. Later she is said to have married a big businessman and had posted pictures of her cosy family life abroad., Next was news of her alleging domestic violence and again of a reunion.
Laila who was to replace Pooja Kumar in VIP walked out saying that she did not know that the film had Rambha also in it. Anyway, her role in Nandha and Pithamaghan , both directed by Bala gave her the mileage. She stuck to her Barbie doll looks and expressions. She did figure in a couple of hits with Suriya but was on her way out. She got married and settled down in Mumbai. Last news, I read was that she is to act in Alice, a thriller that is Bigg Boss fame Raiza Wilson eccentric. I had seen her at location of Itha oru sneha gadha ,the Malayalam film directed by Captain Raju. The shoot was in a small town in Kerala. In the night, group of guys came knocking. They said that late night discussions are on in the heroine;s room and the hero is always a part of it. The hero was Vikram and I think ,Captain put an end to nocturnal discussions without his presence,
Though much is talked about Kushbu and Simran being icons of Kodambakkam and that now-a-days no heroine is able to last so long,in my opinion, I think Meena is an exception. Those who look at her career, will find that she still continues to play the lead and be featured in hit films. Take the case of Drishyam opposite Mohanalal . A blockbuster hit and remade in many languages. this happened in 2013 and also played the same role in Telugu opposite Venkatesh. She again acted with Mohanlal in the lead and also opposite Mammooty. Now one can say that her success in Malayalam is no great shakes. Cut to 2020. She acted opposite Mammooty in Shylock and had Raj Kiron , her first hero as co-star. Now she is part of `Annatthe ', the Rajnikanth film directed by Siruthai Siva.
My proximity to Meena was more as her mother Mallika was a Malayali actress and the guiding force behind her daughter. Secondly her manager and PRO Cine News Selvam was the last word in shaping her career as Mallika trusted former's judgement. When I visited the sets of En Rasavin Manansile , I saw a child like Meena paired opposite an older, tough, brutish Raj Kiron. I wondered how the audience would digest this but they did and in a big way. Next was that Meena got the Nandi award for Seethamavari ... with ANR. She kept going from one hit to another. Her popularity was very high in Andhra than Tamil Nadu. When Yejuman was being shot in Andhra, the crowds came to see Meena. Her reprisal of Kushbu's role in Telugu remake of Chinna Thambi was a big hit. Veera and Muthu were two other films with Rajanikanth.
Meena's mother was clear that her daughter would no do negative role or wear sexy revealing outfits. Her mother appeared quite upset that her daughter was wearing revealing dresses in song sequences for Naam Iruvar Nammuku Iruvar directed by C Sundar and Prabhu Deva in the lead. Originally, Rambha was to do this role. The film was a hit . It was the only time that a gossip came about Meena being head over heels with Prabhudeva. I, think Mallika and Selvam's fire fighting service brought the fire under control. Meena;s success is truly pan South Indian. Her library of films shows that her hits in all South languages is unmatched by any heroine of her time. Her daughter Niharika made her debut in Vijay starrer Theri
Let's move on to Rambha. Sundar C put her in a Marilyn Monroe type song with air flowing from below and skirt flying upward followed by her in shorts swinging on a rope tied to a Tyre and so on in Ullathey Allithaa. Since then , her skirt kept flying and shorts became her main wardrobe. Once on a location, I asked her why she did not try out something different. He reply was " Directors say that even in emotional scenes, the audience wants me to come in shorts," She was supposed to do a Divya Bharathi in Hindi and said to be close to Salman Khan aand Govinda. Acting apart, she was doing fine ,money wise. The chink in the Armour for her was Vasu,her brother. He decided to produce a film `Three Roses' with Rambha- Laila- Jyotika. At first Simran was signed but after the photo shoot, she left. Next was that Laila's career graph had by then dropped and Jyothika's shot up. It led to ego clashes. Govinda did a dance sequence in Chennai with much fanfare. He was supposed to be shooting for three days but next morning he had left for Mumbai. Govinda is a one take actor and so he finished the song in 24 hrs, said Vasu. Finally the movie after two years of making got released and predictably bombed. Rambha sold off some properties in Mount Road and faced cheque bouncing cases from notorious financiers. Later she is said to have married a big businessman and had posted pictures of her cosy family life abroad., Next was news of her alleging domestic violence and again of a reunion.
Laila who was to replace Pooja Kumar in VIP walked out saying that she did not know that the film had Rambha also in it. Anyway, her role in Nandha and Pithamaghan , both directed by Bala gave her the mileage. She stuck to her Barbie doll looks and expressions. She did figure in a couple of hits with Suriya but was on her way out. She got married and settled down in Mumbai. Last news, I read was that she is to act in Alice, a thriller that is Bigg Boss fame Raiza Wilson eccentric. I had seen her at location of Itha oru sneha gadha ,the Malayalam film directed by Captain Raju. The shoot was in a small town in Kerala. In the night, group of guys came knocking. They said that late night discussions are on in the heroine;s room and the hero is always a part of it. The hero was Vikram and I think ,Captain put an end to nocturnal discussions without his presence,
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