They come with high hopes and loud talk. But most of them end even without a whimper.

This is the general story of most Bollywood babes who come calling to Tollywood.

After the failures of the likes Amisha Patel (Nani), Celina Jaitley (Suryam), nauhid (Sakhiya), many filmmakers are wondering whether it is a good gamble to go for North Indian heroines.

"Most of them just survive on hype. They are also pricey. But at the end of the day, they don't add anything to the film," says a leading producer. "Just tell me one film that has run because of a Bollywood starlet. There is none," he adds.

He has a point. But actresses are imported not for their star value, but just for their glamour. "Let us face it," says another producer, "not one actress in India can make a film run with her presence. They are there only to look good. We go for Hindi actress because they know how to preserve themselves and look good on the screen".

But producers also say that it is the actors who insist that such and such actress should be in the cast. "You know their fetishes," he says with a mischief in his eyes.

Tollywood is also waking up to the other problems of casting non-Telugu actresses. The Mumbai brigade just doesn't have any nativity and they lose out on the nuances. The typical case in point is the struggle that Amisha Patel is facing in trying to get the dialogues right during the shoot of NTR Jr'' film. "She is just not up to it," says a unit hand.

Looks like, Tollywood may have to rethink its strategy.

Just the right news for the local talent.