AFTER PADAYAPPA NEELAMBARI…

In Indian cinema, it is rare to find strong women characters garnering equal attention as their male counterparts. Of course, there are women-centric films at times, but a film where the lady character gives a strong counter to the male is a rarity.

Talking on those lines the recent Kamal starrer Papanasam had a tough woman character in the form of Asha Sarath who held her fort substantially in the presence of the Ulaganayagan himself. Audiences who have seen the film will vouch for Asha’s strong and impressive portrayal as IG Geetha Prabhakar, toggling between a mom who is clueless about her son’s presence and a tough police officer who is all geared up to go to any extent to find out about what happened to her son.

In the past, a similar portrayal that comes to the mind is Ramya Krishnan’s performance as Neelambari in Padayappa who captivated the attention of the viewers in a film that had the Superstar Rajinikanth. Ramya stood out as the selfish, strong, powerful character that again was qualm-less about reaching her objective.

When it is difficult as it is to share screenspace among the stalwarts of the industry, it is interesting to note that these women stood their ground amidst the powerhouses of popularity and still managed to lap up the attention of the audience with their good show.

Way to go Ramya Krishnan and Asha Sarath!