Eyeing a comeback: Vijaya Shanti, Tabu, Amala Akkineni, Shruti Haasan return to Telugu cinema

A bevy of female actors are gearing up to make their comeback to the silver screen in prominent roles. Among them are Vijaya Shanti, the evergreen lady superstar of Telugu cinema; Amala Akkineni, the yesteryear diva; and the two-time National Award-winning actress Tabu. Joining them is Shruti Haasan, who took a sabbatical from Telugu cinema due to anxiety disorder.

After Sekhar Kammula’s Life is Beautiful, Amala is set for an encore in Sharwanand's untitled Telugu-Tamil bilingual. She will play Sharwanand’s mother in the film produced by SR Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures. The producer says that director Shree Karthick wrote the mother's character specifically for Amala. "By the time we heard the narration some two years ago, we couldn't think of anyone playing Sharwanand's mother other than Amala. It's not a typical mother-son story and it's something which has many hidden dimensions to it. She has taken up this project on its merit and felt that it will be an ideal story for her comeback in Telugu and Tamil. I'm sure her presence in our film will make a difference," says Prabhu.

Tabu, who was last seen in Pandurangadu (2008), will be seen playing an important character in the Allu Arjun-starrer Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. "Director Trivikram Srinivas felt that the script required a senior actor who perfectly fit into the character. Tabu will be seen in a meaningful yet mature character, and she also performed a song-and-dance sequence for the recent chartbuster Ramulo Ramula. There’s a lot of curiosity among the audience and I’m sure she won’t disappoint them,” reveals a source from the production unit.

Fans are eagerly waiting for Mahesh Babu’s Sarileru Neekevvaru, which features yesteryear leading lady Vijaya Shanti in a pivotal role. Fondly called the Lady Amitabh of Telugu cinema, Vijaya Shanti, who had taken a break from films due to her political stint, returns to face the arc lights after a 13-year hiatus. Box-office tracker K Deepak opines that she is still the ‘Lady Superstar’ in the minds of many and has the potential to attract the audience to the theatres. “It’s hard for any female actor of this generation to match Vijaya Shanti and the aura she’s built around her. Apart from Mahesh, the only character poster the makers chose to unveil is that of her. She plays a powerful role and seeing her share screen space with Mahesh, who played her son as a child artiste in Koduku Diddina Kapuram some 30 years ago, will be interesting” he says.

After over two years, Shruti Haasan is set to return to the Telugu screens with Ravi Teja’s cop thriller tentatively called RT 66. Asked why he chose Shruti as the female lead, RT 66’s director Gopichand Malineni says, "Shruti's face retains an innocent charm that has come to be associated with her personality. She is an actor who understands the perspective of a character and performs in the most natural way possible. Her performance in my film, as a city girl who is innocent and independent, speaks volumes about her acting prowess. It's an entertaining character and people will see her in a different way."