Can Bollywood offer good roles to South Superstar Samantha Akkineni? - Page 3

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by cutejodikangal



Honestly she felt like a hindrance in the Mahanati and the weaker part of the script. I still don't understand the need to insert her character into the movie. Every time people wanted to see more of Savitri, her character would show up out of nowhere annoying the heck out of the audience. 


In Rangasthalam she was nothing but a supporting star while the movie was about the two brothers, I mean what contribution you are talking about? 

She is an average actress who would’ve faded into oblivion like the other actresses of south had she not been married into the Akkineni family. Anushka is far bigger than her but look at her plight today. Nayantara is a better actress than her but still struggling. Whether you want to accept it or not, a big part of Samantha’s brand name was because of her link to the Akkinenis and Daggupatis.

On your opinion on Samantha's character in Mahanati, that is the director's prerogative. But regardless of that, it was commendable of her to do a second lead role to a newer and less popular actress who clearly had the author backed role.

Same with Rangasthalam. Like, it's funny we're talking about her having a "supporting role" in the film (again, why is it bad? It is way better than playing a worthless flowerpot who is a mere decorative piece in a film. At least she had something to work with. You are expecting too much out of her if you think she should get an equally important role. Male-dominated Tollywood shall never let that happen. You speak of Anushka and Nayanthara, they also suffered because of the same sexism that exists in the industry.

She received good reviews for all these films, so why shouldn't she get credit for it?

I still don't get how her link to Akkinenis/Daggubatis helped her as an actress? Only male actors benefit from that, not women. Lakshmi Manchu will tell you.

Posted: 2 years ago

She is not bad at all. She was the best part of theri. Honestly, its not her fault. Women aren't given much good roles to shine in tamil , telugu , kannada movies. With the content available,  she has done quite well imo. No overacting like those other actresses. 

Also she is 1000000 times better than her husband who can't act for shit. Tried watching his telugu premam version, worst decision of my life!!!! 🤢

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by Lord_Voldemort


On your opinion on Samantha's character in Mahanati, that is the director's prerogative. But regardless of that, it was commendable of her to do a second lead role to a newer and less popular actress who clearly had the author backed role.

Same with Rangasthalam. Like, it's funny we're talking about her having a "supporting role" in the film (again, why is it bad? It is way better than playing a worthless flowerpot who is a mere decorative piece in a film. At least she had something to work with. You are expecting too much out of her if you think she should get an equally important role. Male-dominated Tollywood shall never let that happen. You speak of Anushka and Nayanthara, they also suffered because of the same sexism that exists in the industry.

She received good reviews for all these films, so why shouldn't she get credit for it?

I still don't get how her link to Akkinenis/Daggubatis helped her as an actress? Only male actors benefit from that, not women. Lakshmi Manchu will tell you.


Nayan and Anushka are nowhere today while Samantha keeps getting some good offers like the recent Shaakuntalam (based on Abhijnana Shakuntalam) and that very forgettable Jaanu. Not just that, she also keeps getting invited to the talk shows also the respect that she gets everything changed the moment she got married. There were many that came before her who have disappeared without a trace. Mohan Babu is no Akkineni. Nagarjuna himself being an average actor look where he is today. and his son who is even worse, still gets projects after projects not to mention that other son who keeps wasting the producer’s money movie after movie. While not just Lakshmi Manchu but both her brothers are also nowhere in the reckoning but for an odd project here and there. Samantha is definitely light years ahead of her husband both in craft as well as in the stardom but not that great also that she would be getting all these offers without the backing of that surname. Like you said, the south is not very kind to their heroines and Samantha would’ve been no exception to that but for her marriage into the A+D family. 

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by Lord_Voldemort


That's very harsh and unfair to her.

To deny her contribution to films like Rangasthalam or Mahanati (she took on those films despite knowing that they were not centered around her characters - I mean, esp. Mahanati. She was the bigger star than Keerthy and yet to take on the smaller role when the whole film was about Keerthy, that took guts!! And on a sidenote, Keerthy is a limited actor and I didn't think of much of her histrionics in the film or the rest of her career. Ya she won NA, but we all know how that has little to do with acting).

Coming back to Sam, she has been really good at her craft from the beginning of her career. Ye Maya Chesave, Eega, Neethaane En Ponvasantham, Manam - she did really well in all these films which were at the beginning of her career. Yes, she has done forgettable roles in blockbuster movies, but then so has almost every other top actress. But especially in the last 3-4 years she's been really acing it. U turn, Super deluxe, Majili, Jaanu - she has really improved as an actor. (Majili being regressive has nothing to do with her craft as an actor). Oh baby was a regular commercial caper so I won't think much of her "overacting" in the movie, as she was merely playing to the gallery and was very successful at that; giving a blockbuster after her marriage in a film where she was doing most of the heavy lifting. To attribute that to the fact that she is married to the Akkinenis is ridiculous, when her own husband has not been able to make much headway for himself. This is the same line of argument used for Aishwarya, and that was equally ridiculous.

She definitely acts better than most mainstream actresses of Bollywood and I see no reason why she will not do well in this industry as well.

Like I said, her usp is she’s not horrendously bad

That dosent default her to a good actress FYI.

oh baby was produced by the daggubati company suresh productions casting her as the main lead...an idea she herself came up with after watching the Korean film...do u think she would have been in the position to just pitch an idea of her being the main lead on a Korean remake she saw and “make it happen” if she didn’t have the clout of her influential family post marriage? I hardly think so...anushka saw much more stardom than Sam during arundhati and still after a certain age despite her terrific goodwill, struggled to get the right films 

I admit Sam has tenacity to grab the right things at the right time 

But It’s not about how much “guts” she showed choosing mahanati it’s about the impact she made in it (honestly where I saw the movie, ppl waited for her parts to finish so that they could see the actual story between keerthi and dulquer)...

Her “craft” is acting safe as a cutesy girl next door  in films ....there is no nuance to it...she can play a cheating wife, a supportive wife , a 70 year old, a village girl, a confident journalist , a timid girl and it’s all the same cutesy pitch....the one film where she did change the pitch in a negative role (10 endrathukulla) was a giant disaster with laughable acting on her part for the “villany” 

She’s a limited actress..her contemporaries were much worse than her so she got lucky there 

Edited by pathaka - 2 years ago
Posted: 2 years ago

I dont find Sam to be extraordinary, whether in looks or talent.  She is cute, but thats about it.


A great actress is someone Like Anushka Shetty or Parvathy or even Sai Pallavi..


and Bollywood has good actresses, I dont understand why South folks look down upon Bollywood as an industry or in terms of talent..

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by cutejodikangal



Nayan and Anushka are nowhere today while Samantha keeps getting some good offers like the recent Shaakuntalam (based on Abhijnana Shakuntalam) and that very forgettable Jaanu. Not just that, she also keeps getting invited to the talk shows also the respect that she gets everything changed the moment she got married. There were many that came before her who have disappeared without a trace. Mohan Babu is no Akkineni. Nagarjuna himself being an average actor look where he is today. and his son who is even worse, still gets projects after projects not to mention that other son who keeps wasting the producer’s money movie after movie. While not just Lakshmi Manchu but both her brothers are also nowhere in the reckoning but for an odd project here and there. Samantha is definitely light years ahead of her husband both in craft as well as in the stardom but not that great also that she would be getting all these offers without the backing of that surname. Like you said, the south is not very kind to their heroines and Samantha would’ve been no exception to that but for her marriage into the A+D family. 

Did Akkineni/Daggubati family link help Sam? Yes.

But does entire credit of her career post marriage go to that link? Ummm not really.

Nayanthara is still getting work. Anushka is still very popular. She consciously reduced her work. She was offered many big projects which she rejected. I see no reason why Sam may not have continued working the way she is even if she were not married.

While indeed Mohan Babu is no Nagarjuna, look at how many opportunities his sons got vs his daughter. His daughter barely got any good opportunities, and that's my point. If you are a woman, being linked to a film family will not necessarily get you offers.

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by Lord_Voldemort


Did Akkineni/Daggubati family link help Sam? Yes.

But does entire credit of her career post marriage go to that link? Ummm not really.

Nayanthara is still getting work. Anushka is still very popular. She consciously reduced her work. She was offered many big projects which she rejected. I see no reason why Sam may not have continued working the way she is even if she were not married.

While indeed Mohan Babu is no Nagarjuna, look at how many opportunities his sons got vs his daughter. His daughter barely got any good opportunities, and that's my point. If you are a woman, being linked to a film family will not necessarily get you offers.


This I agree. Women have to create their own pathways, regardless! @bold: is what I was trying to say too.

Posted: 2 years ago
Originally posted by pathaka


Like I said, her usp is she’s not horrendously bad

That dosent default her to a good actress FYI.

oh baby was produced by the daggubati company suresh productions casting her as the main lead...an idea she herself came up with after watching the Korean film...do u think she would have been in the position to just pitch an idea of her being the main lead on a Korean remake she saw and “make it happen” if she didn’t have the clout of her influential family post marriage? I hardly think so...anushka saw much more stardom than Sam during arundhati and still after a certain age despite her terrific goodwill, struggled to get the right films 

I admit Sam has tenacity to grab the right things at the right time 

But It’s not about how much “guts” she showed choosing mahanati it’s about the impact she made in it (honestly where I saw the movie, ppl waited for her parts to finish so that they could see the actual story between keerthi and dulquer)...

Her “craft” is acting safe as a cutesy girl next door  in films ....there is no nuance to it...she can play a cheating wife, a supportive wife , a 70 year old, a village girl, a confident journalist , a timid girl and it’s all the same cutesy pitch....the one film where she did change the pitch in a negative role (10 endrathukulla) was a giant disaster with laughable acting on her part for the “villany” 

She’s a limited actress..her contemporaries were much worse than her so she got lucky there 

Why is such a big deal made of the fact that Suresh Productions produced Oh baby? Yes, she is family to them, but she is also a bankable actress and people want to watch her on the big screen. She enjoys a loyal fanbase and has also proved that she is capable of carrying successful films on her shoulders. 

On Mahanati - I didn't enjoy the film at all myself and certainly not her role, but that is the director's fault. She did fine with the material she was given to work with.

On her approach to acting, uhh, there are certain personality traits of hers that she brings to her characters, but that never comes in the way of making them less believable or taking away from what the director wants to convey. But again this is true for most actresses. I am not saying she is a Meryl Streep, but she definitely has a spark as an actor and shines when the director and the role fall into place.

Her USP is that she is not only she is one of those rare top actresses who are pretty and can act, but also that she's so passionate about her craft and constantly wants to raise the bar for herself and her contemporaries in cinema. That's so rare to see among South Indian actresses which is why I am rooting for her.

Posted: 2 years ago

Originally posted by cutejodikangal



Honestly she felt like a hindrance in the Mahanati and the weaker part of the script. I still don't understand the need to insert her character into the movie. Every time people wanted to see more of Savitri, her character would show up out of nowhere annoying the heck out of the audience. 


The entire story of mahanati was narrated by this character's view point. Director also answered the main question of why we would want to watch Savitri's story even in this age. Honestly the movie would not have been half palpable if not for madhuravani's presence. Everybody knows Savitri's story and its tragic ending. The presence of fictional characters madhuravani and Vijay kept the movie from becoming a complete sob fest. Sometimes denying the audience what they want to show them what need is the director's prerogative. 



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