Don't let their demure looks fool you. The present day heroines in Tollywood are not only capable of a pretty pout but also can match with some snide sniggers.

And they are sniggering now. Pray why? Well, most of them are cut up by the fact that they are reduced to being just cutouts in films while the heroes get to hog all the limelight. They feel it is all a travesty.

Their seething anger and unhappiness are vindicated, as most of the films that had heroes donning larger than life roles have come a cropper. Vijayendra Varma, Naa Alludu, Balu are good examples of that.

So naturally the heroines want a better deal. But true to Tollywood style, most of them wouldn't come on record officially but make their complaints in hushed whispers.

“All they want us to show is a lot of mid-riff and a bit of cleavage. That’s all. We need not act all,” says a young heroine who was last seen in a senior hero’s film.

Adds another: “We are not looking for a Mother India kind of role. All we want is some elementary leeway for acting,” says another. “The heroes speak stupid but bombastic dialogues. We have to stand around him looking suitably coy. We have to then tell the world that it was such a privilege to act in such and such movie. It is revolting,” she says unable to hide her irritation.

More than the roles, the heroines are unhappy with the kind of things that heroes expect from them. “Most of these actors are old enough to have fathered us. But still flirt and openly make advances,” seethes a young thing in Tollywood. Most people point out to the Navdeep-Ankitha and Malavika-Rajendra Prasad incidents. “Both Ankitha and Malavika openly made out case against the respective heroes. But most of us, for various pressures, just silently suffer,” says a young actress who was recently ‘tortured’ by a popular hero.

In many cases, the North Indian heroines just don't understand the local language and the heroes just pass some lurid and lewd comments on the actresses. “It is almost school-boyish level. But that is the kind of behavior that most heroes exhibit,” says one actress from Mumbai who can manage a smattering of Telugu.

Most heroines keep quiet because they are asked to shut up by their own family members for fear of industry repercussions. “An actress can not get away after making allegations,’ says an actress. “We are quickly blacklisted as the incestuous industry closes ranks”.

But most heroines say that they no longer are ready to keep silent.

The meek are ready to inherit the world.