The makeover mania paying off!

In the showbiz world, makeovers seem to have become a quintessential ingredient for the actors. We bring to you some of the T-Town stars, who have emerged successful; courtesy their transformation, and the drive to constantly reinvent themselves

Rakul Preet has made several heads turn with her fashionable outings recently. While the actress too started off her T-Town career with a girl next door look, her fashion sense and glam quotient in films like ‘Bruce Lee’, ‘Kick 2’, ‘Nannaku Prematho’, ‘Dhruva’, etc., have been talking points, especially with the Tolly fraternity finding it quite fascinating and inspiring. While, she looked ‘elegance personified’ in one film, the actress was ‘diva’ in another one.

Ask Rakul how she feels about her reel makeovers, and she replies, “It's fantastic to get to play different roles. It may be emotionally taxing at times extremely challenging, but I have loved it. I am very passionate about acting and I take my job very seriously.

I was never complacent and never let success get into my head. Moreover, all this is as a result of constant hard work.”

Neeraja Kona, who styled Rakul in several films and for award functions, thinks attitude, freedom and trust are the key to makeovers. “Rakul gives me the freedom to do whatever I can within the parameters. She trusts me a lot and also boasts of an attitude ‘thriving on excellence’, which motivates me to come up with better wardrobe every time.”

Be it her looks or styling or performance, this fashionista is surely giving a tough competition to many in the industry.

Regina Cassandra
She’s no longer the girl next door; at least, that’s what filmmakers perceive her as, today. Regina Cassandra looks like a revamped version of herself of late. A glimpse at her red-carpet appearances or the steamy yet candid pics she posts on her social networking account only suggest she has surely upped her style stakes. The transformation she has been showing recently has been remarkable and is making filmmakers sit up and take notice.

Was she really bored of being called a ‘girl-next-door’, which is how she started off her filmi career? She responds, “Honestly, I will never be fed-up with such a tag because it’s what I have always cherished being. In fact, that’s who I am.

Being an actor, I cannot be the same girl all my life na, (smiles), I want to be everybody and play various roles. So you change your style according to the character, and upping my glam stakes is a part of my experimentation process. I love the trial and error method to see what works for me, and it doesn’t stop me from being myself.”

In addition to their look in films, the actresses’ appearances at award ceremonies and filmi functions get them a lot of attention, and help to bag happening projects.

Raashi Khanna
Over the last year or so, people have got to see an edgier side of Raashi Khanna. The actress, who once looked a sweet, simple, girl-next-door, has now turned into a bombshell. She underwent a complete makeover over the last couple of years and looks absolutely stunning now. The Delhi-based model is making sure her glam outings are getting rave reviews.

After her girl-next-door outing in ‘Oohalu Gusagusalade’, Raashi Khanna first gave a glimpse of upping her glam quotient with ‘Jil’. She aced it up with ‘Bengal Tiger’, ‘Sivam’ and ‘Supreme’. What more, the actress has five projects in her kitty and she’s raring to go.

So what makes her the hot property? Sampath Nandi, who casted Raashi in his earlier film ‘Bengal Tiger’ says Raashi has got the required looks to carry off any role with flair. “One of the main reasons I cast her in my film is because of her looks and ability to pull off, and she did justice to it.”

Another director Anil Ravipudi feels Raashi is a performer who can experiment with her looks. “I was looking for a performer with good looks to be seen as a cop. And since Raashi hasn’t tried out any such thing earlier, I thought her casting for the role of a cop will give audience a fresh appeal. Boy, she got great reviews for her portrayal of Bellam Sridevi in ‘Supreme.’”

Raashi responds, “I have been working out and trying to be fitter than ever before. I guess the thought is reflecting in my looks and performance (smiles). But I want to thank my filmmakers who have been giving me the opportunity to play interesting roles.

I discovered that yoga and meditation turned out to be more effective in shedding my kilos, apart from dance, walking and functional training at the gym. So the key would be to accept your body type, love yourself and pick style types that suit you. And I don’t have any apprehensions to try something new, when I love something I go for it." Way to go girl!

Considering that makeovers are done to infuse renewed audience interest, do you really need a makeover? Justifying the need, filmmaker Surender Reddy observes, “Makeover is not just for the looks, but also for the character to make it believable, authentic and convincing. The looks of the leading ladies in my films are always proportional to the characters they portray. We are calling it a makeover because we haven’t seen that side of the actress hitherto, and of course, we always want to cast someone who is good looking and can perform.”

Not just the leading ladies, but even the men are trying to up their glam stakes. The recently released pictures of Varun Tej, from his forthcoming film ‘Fida,’ are classic example. Varun, who started his career with a conformist look quickly broke the mould and turned uber-chic. His super sexy look from ‘Mister’ is charming girls across all age groups.

Varun Tej
Soniya Thapa, the actor’s hair stylist gives more details about his new look. “Varun is open to experimenting with his look. In the name of being funky and staying close to his character, we tried ‘out-of-the-bed look’ in ‘Mister’. His hair would be unkempt, messy and edgy, and goes well with his attitude and look. He grew long hair for this role and also darkened the color of his moustache.”

Nithiin
Nithiin is yet another actor who has been making rapid strides in styling department. Ever since he came back in his second innings with ‘Ishq’, there’s a sea change in the actor’s appearances.
For ‘Ishq’ and ‘Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde’ I had to sport gelled hair since I had to stay close to the look of a college-goer. But my role (a hippy based in Spain) in ‘Heart Attack’ was my most stylish avatar ever, and a lot of thought has gone into my styling.

I grew long hair, and even sported a ponytail for the first time. I love to keep reinventing myself with each film, but of course, only if it’s convincing,” Nithiin explains.

‘Makeover’ and ‘Styling’ have always been the key words in the film industry, but as far as experimentation goes, the younger actors are taking it to a new high.