The Old(er) and the Beautiful - Part II

In the previous post, I wrote about why I regarded the actresses of the last generation so highly. Continuing the stroll down that particular memory lane, here are my thots on 5 favorite heroines from those times…

Revathi
One more of director Bharatiraja’s ‘R’ heroines, Revathi firmly established herself as the best actress of her times. Introduced in Mann Vaasanai, she gave indications of her talent in her first film itself. Without taking the glamour route (which she didn’t seem too suited for anyway), she chose her roles with care and became the actress most directors turned to for strong female characters. The fact that she looked as much at home playing a playful college girl as she did playing a homely housewife helped matters too. She has aged gracefully and her two films as director have proved that she also possesses good skills behind the camera.

Must-watch: Mouna Raagam, Pudhumai Penn, Punnagai Mannan, Kizhakku Vaasal, Marupadiyum

Amala
T.Rajendhar has imposed a number of horrors (showing up on screen, rhyming dialogs and Simbhu, to name a few) upon us. But he made up for atleast some of them by introducing Amala to Tamil cinema. She looked a little plump and gawky in her first film Mythili Ennai Kaadhali and her expressions, while dancing and while acting, were laughable. But she flowered into this gorgeous heroine with great screen presence and superb dancing skills. Even her deep voice and broken Tamil added to her charm. As she proved at the Filmfare function, she’s lost none of her beauty and can still break hearts.

Must-watch: Agni Nakshathiram, Sathya, Velaikkaaran, Pesum Padam, Mounam Sammadham

Gauthami
Not beautiful or pretty in the traditional way, Gauthami was incredibly cute in her first film Guru Sishyan (it didn’t hurt that she had great chemistry with Rajni!). She was content to play glamour doll roles aside big heroes mostly but proved, usually with Kamal, that she could rise to the occasion when the role demanded it. Now paired with Kamal in real life too, she looks dignified and carries herself well.

Must-watch: Guru Sishyan, Devar Magan, Aboorva Sagodharargal

Shobana
One of the actresses criminally underused by Tamil cinema. Right from the time she was introduced in Enakkul Oruvan, she always seemed to struggle between going the glamour route and the serious route and eventually ended up stuck between the two. But Malayalam cinema, where she had no problems taking the serious route, exploited her potential fully. But she was a great dancer and nobody could carry off a saree quite as sexily as her.

Must-watch: Manichithrathazhu, Thenmaavin Kombathu

Nadhiya
Probably the most decent heroine Tamil cinema has had so far, Nadhiya still acted in several films. She was always lively, had a great smile and was full of energy. She played the role of a chirpy young girl right from her first film, Fazil’s Poove Poochoodavaa and remained a touch-me-not heroine right till her last film, Rajadhi Raja (there was even a rumour that she refused to act with Kamal because of his reputation with his heroines). She came back as a mom in M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi and made us feel like she could just as well have played the heroine.

Must-watch: Poove Poochoodavaa, Pookkalai Parikkaadheergal, Rajadhi Raja, M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi