At one point of time in Tollywood, the hero was supposed to be invincible. He should be having a chiseled body, stylish looks, flawless character and nobody can even dare to question his role! He should dance like a storm, and thrash the goons like Bruce Lee. There should be no woman who would fail to fall for the hero for his obvious charms. While this larger than life scenario is fun to watch on screen, and brings out a good diversion for the audience- after a while they start yearning for more. Why can’t the hero be someone among us who has his own flaws and also overcome them realistically?- was the thought which came to younger generation of heroes.
When you take heroes like Natural Star Nani, the hero never looked out for machismo kind of roles. Whether it is an unemployed youth in MCA or a failed lover in Ninnu Kori, the actor performed par excellence with a role which has its flaws. His recent film Jersey also featured him as a failed husband who is struggling to find his passion for cricket.The energetic hero Vijay Devarakonda has also proved his mettle with characters which are close to reality. His performance as the dark shaded hero in Arjun Reddy along with a hero who is struggling to make things well with his lady love in Geetha Govindam, it was a pleasure to watch. Sai Dharam Tej also tried out a hero with ill luck in Chitralahari which was a decent hit. Even a star hero like Ram Charan ventured out to act as a deaf guy in Sukumar’s Rangasthalam which was commendable.
Naga Chaitanya also followed the same path by acting like a failed lover who has several complexes when it comes to his wife played by Samantha. Now, Akkineni Nagarjuna is also not hesitating to crack jokes on his own role in the upcoming film Manmadhudu-2 where he’s seen as an aged single guy!
This is indeed a great change in the face of Telugu Cinema where the heroes are coming out of the box of perfection and venturing out to realistic feel!