We don’t really have many leading ladies from Indian Cinema, who could balance the usual dreamy girl, diva requirements of typical modern Indian Cinema on one hand and alternative cinema on the other hand. Early films and actresses like Savitri, Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Nutan, Waheeda Rahman, Jamuna, Vani Sree did not have to face such issues as they were presented and represented as common characters without them having to bother about glamour quotient.
But Modern Indian Cinema needs actresses to be able to play glamour roles mostly and very rarely, we find worthwhile roles for women. Still Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Jayasyudha, Jayapradha, Jayalalitha were able to achieve star status and also realise their potential as performers within the mainstream cinema. There are actresses like Tabu, who stick to the script rather than glam roles, even though they are capable of pulling them off.
Whom do you want to be? It is all left to the choice of the young dreamers. Radhika Apte wanted to just shine as an actress in the beginning of her career and she tried different films in different languages. She got some enviable opportunities to prove herself as an actress in Hindi and with the emergence of Netflix in India, she is able to do films and shows that she loves more.
So, what kind of films did she do in Telugu? How many and What were they? Let’s find out answers for those questions, here.
Radhika Apte achieved fame as one of the most promising actresses with her first few films and then Ram Gopal Varma saw her in one. He immediately contacted her and did an audition for Rakta Charitra. The movie was based on the politician and factionist, Paritala Ravi. Vivek Oberoi got the opportunity to act as Ravi and as his wife, Paritala Sunitha, Radhika Apte was selected.
In her first Telugu movie, she got a chance to act in the direction of a legendary and controversial director at his peak. Also, she got to play the role of a strong woman, who held several positions in United Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet. Radhika Apte impressed one and all with her homely looks and measured portrayal, in the film. The names of the original people were changed in the film to Pratap Ravi, Nandini.
The sequel for the film, Rakta Charitra concentrated on the death of Paritala Ravi and the killer, Maddelacheruvu Suri. Movie got released with lot of hype but it did not reach the expectations of the public as the slow motion shots and lack of content hurt the film prospects. Still, it has powerful performances from the likes of Tamil Star hero Suriya as Suri and Radhika Apte, reprising her role from first film as Sunitha.
In the movie, the character names were changed to Yeturi Suryanarayana Reddy and Nandini. Radhika had much bigger role in the film along with Shatrughan Sinha, who Konda Shivaji Rao. Revenge tale in the first film had more emotion than the second one. Still, Radhika Apte as a performer scored points and she was noticed by many alternative & Independent filmmakers in Hindi as both the original and sequel got released in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Prakash Raj decided to make a movie about the parents and children equation based on the difference of opinion that both have regarding their future ambitions. Parents want their children to be studious and settle early in a high paying job. They fear, if they let children to go on and pursue their dreams, young ones will lose their path and end up in low paying jobs, struggling for life or even worse, become alcoholics & drug addicts.
But if parents don’t encourage children to pursue their potential and ask them to be come first in a rat race, then there are chances that their children resent them and become alcoholics & addicts thinking about their lost opportunities and the potential they had, that was snubbed badly. Showing both sides of the coin, Prakash Raj made the film from parents’ point of view.
In the movie, Radhika Apte played the role of a prostitute who is hated and belittled by the main lead, single parent played by Prakash Raj, himself. Radhika as a fun loving person who teases Prakash Raj and a person with good heart, did give her best to the role. You will find her surprisingly believable as a South Indian woman in this movie, even though she isn’t.
Nandamuri Balakrishna and Boyapati Srinu came together for Simha before they did Legend. Simha surprised everyone with the kind of box office performance, it was able to put up. Movie used Balakrishna’s image really well which many others failed to do so. Hence, their second film, Legend became an event for Balakrishna fans.
In the movie, Radhika Apte got a chance to appear as typical Telugu Film Heroine and she looked at ease, in such role too. She had very little to offer compared to her other films in Hindi and Telugu but her performance in the film won hearts of many ladies. Her character has a tragic end in the film and it was designed as a powerful action sequence by the director.
She portrayed the character’s vulnerability and confidence with equal amount of zeal. She might have preferred more difficult role but in the movie, she looked like she enjoyed whatever she got to do. Radhika also participated in the song and dance routine in the film, showing how good a dancer she is.
Lion stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and Trisha Krishnan along with Radhika Apte. First time director, Satyadev got a chance to direct the three big stars and performers. The film did not live upto the expectations of the fans and movie lovers. Even the characters of Trisha and Radhika did not have much to do in the film.
Radhika Apte looked beautiful in the film and did song & dance routine here, more prominently. She did not look that comfortable with her character and it showed in her performance too. She might have wanted to make it as regular heroine in South Indian languages like many others but she just seemed out of place and awkward in the film. May be that is the reason, she decided to stick with Hindi and Netflix films, shows that gave her more varied roles. This was her last direct Telugu movie.
Radhika Apte got a chance to act with Superstar Rajnikanth and she did not want to lose it. Most people don’t care about their roles when they are acting with a Superstar like Rajni. But Radhika Apte got a good role where she could perform and contribute to the film. She had a good chemistry with the actor in flashback episode and even looked the part, when she had to play the role of an older woman, according to the story.
The actress gave her best to the character she was offered by writer-director, Pa. Ranjith. All we can say is that the actress did not disappoint the director but her character did not have much to offer and hence, the fans were disappointed by it. While some fans still love the film as it offered Thalaiva Rajni in a different role many hate it for the same reason and lack of powerful narration. As an actor, Radhika did her best to look the part and perform. She deserves full marks for her efforts.
Ghoul is a Netflix show and Radhika Apte is the main lead. Are you surprised? We too did not. Radhika appealed to more audiences through her roles in Netflix Indian shows and one time, her not being part of one became a news story. Ghoul is a mythical creature and it has powers to turn people on each other.
The series is based on that behaviour of the creature and Radhika Apte played the role of an investigator. Her search for truth about a prisoner in the Central Jail, leads her to understand that a Ghoul is impersonating as the said prisoner, who was once a notorious criminal and drug lord. The highlight of the show is Radhika’s performance and her ease to do stunts.
Even though the show is originally produced in Hindi, it has a Telugu dub available on Netflix. Watch it for Radhika and her brilliant performance.
Well, these are the few films we could find Radhika Apte being part of, in Telugu Language. The actress has lot of potential and doesn’t really care about ‘limits’ when she has to perform in intimate scenes, if script needs it. She should have been offered many films in Telugu already, but we hope the young crop of directors will find better scripts and stories to make her a part of them.
Also Read: Best Telugu Movies For Kids
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