Anushka Shetty has completed 15 years in the film industry. In these years, she has always held a special place in the hearts of the audience and has become a crowd-puller in her own right. She began her career with a glamorous role in Puri Jagannadh’s Super, as the second lead opposite Nagarjuna Akkineni in the year 2005. Since then, there has been no looking back for Anushka. Critics and industry insiders attribute her success to her dedication and the variety in her scripts.
Nishabdham starring Anushka Shetty, R Madhavan and Anjali released on Amazon Prime Video this Friday. The actor is playing the role of an artist with speech and hearing disabilities in the film. In order to portray the role well, the actor learnt sign language for two months before the shoot of the film.
Speaking to TNM, Vivek Kuchibotla, co-producer of Nishabdham, says, “Anushka is very dedicated towards the scripts that she is working on. She will take personal interest in giving the best to her role. For our movie, Nishabdham, she learnt sign language for two months. And above that, when we went to the US for the shoot, we came to know that there is a difference between the sign language in the US and Indian sign language. Anushka again learnt the American sign language too by dedicating two hours every day after the shoot.”
He further added that Anushka is one of the most friendly actors to work with and that she rarely has any complaints.
Anushka also has a special fan base for her looks whether onscreen or offscreen, and this includes women too.
“Whether it's a movie or any award function, Anushka’s looks are the best. She has become my favourite heroine since Arundhati. I like the way she comes up with different films each time and gives us a fresh feeling,” said Sudharani, an Anushka fan.
Since the beginning of Anushka’s career, the actor has chosen scripts of various genres. Initially, she was seen in many commercial movies, next to almost all the top actors in the industry. She has acted with Mahesh Babu, Chiranjeevi, Bala Krishna, Ravi Teja, Jagapati Babu, Gopichand and many other male stars of Tollywood.
The Anushka-Prabhas combination in movies such as Baahubali, Mirchi, and Billa and the Anushka-Nagarjuna pairing in Super, Don, and Damarukam, have been extremely popular in the Telugu film industry although Nagarjuna and Prabhas belong to different generations. In Tamil, she was part of the Singam franchise with Suriya.
Film critic CR Hemanth says, “What strikes me the most about Anushka is how she has been able to put things into a perspective right from the beginning. She has always credited her directors she has worked with, and producers like Shyam Prasad Reddy for teaching her how to act and push herself to do better. The best part about her is her professionalism and how hardworking she is. To do films like Arundhati, Irandam Ulagam, Baahubali 1 and 2, Size Zero, Bhaagamathie, Rudhramadevi, irrespective of the result, requires enormous patience and willingness to believe in the vision of those filmmakers. That’s one of the reasons I feel she has created a special place for herself in the industry.”
Apart from commercial films, Anushkha’s script selection has been on point. Critics say that the horror thriller Arundhati was the turning point in her career.
“After Super, Anushkha followed it up with movies such as Vikramarkudu, Lakshyam, Billa and others. She established herself as a successful commercial heroine in the Telugu film industry. But the turning point was Arundhati. With Arundhati, Anushka proved that she could also pull crowds to the theatre with her performance and not only glamour,” says Suresh Kavirayani, another film critic.
He adds that a special mention should also be made of Vedam where she played the role of a sex worker, something top women stars may hesitate to do. For both the roles in Arundhati and Vedam, she won Filmfare's Best Actress award.
He further says, “If not for Size Zero, the actor might have done more films by now. When she was at the peak of her career, she gained 20 kgs for a role in the film, a risky step indeed.”
However, Anushka herself has had no regrets about Size Zero, and has gone on record to say that she would only lose weight through healthy means. And that perhaps makes her the star she is — confident of her abilities and secure about the audience's love for her.
Watch : Nishabdham Trailer