Special Article: Painting it red
- IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,March 23 2016]
Painting it red
Sardaar Gabbar Singh has revived the buzz around the red 'tala paga'. Power Star wearing the rebellious towel has made someone like Ali claim with all the possible hyperbole that the red towel is now called the Power Star towel. IndiaGlitz briefly chronicles the role of the red 'tala paga' in perking up the glamour of our stars.
R Narayana Murthy
None has made the red towel a character in his films more than R Narayana Murthy. In film after film, the red rebel star has used it as a symbol of the Communistic unity and strength of the working class. While others use the red towel as a prop, Narayana Murthy uses it almost religiously. Right from the days of Erra Sainyam (and even before that) to today's Dandakaranyam, it has been his constant companion.
Chiranjeevi
The Mega family's bhakts wouldn't have missed Chiru's romance with the towel in films like Mutha Mestri. The quintessential basti ka mestri had his countless fans go delirious everytime the Megastar made an entry with the red towel, with a beedi between his lips announcing his irreverence and style. The non-conformist mestri killed it in style. Many years later, his superstar brother is poised to reinvent Chiru's style.
Vijayashanti
Unarguably, no actress ever got it better than Vijayashanti. In Osey Ramulamma, the lady superstar burst on the screen as a fiery rebel. Her red saree only complemented the red towel. Back then, Vijayshanti's get-up in the movie endeared herself to the rural folk. Too much of the same after Osey Ramulamma predictably proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Lesser-known faces tried to badly imitate Vijayashanti, but they all sank without a trace.
Venkatesh
In Coolie No. 1 and Subhash Chandra Bose, Venkatesh wore the symbol of victory in style. As someone who rarely does the omnipotent mass-y hero roles, Venky looked pretty impressive wearing the red towel. When he did for Coolie No. 1, he rather placed it around his neck. In Subhash Chandra Bose, he tiled the red kerchief around his forehead in style. As a revolutionary, however, he made no big mark.
Mahesh Babu
The Prince-type superstar mightn't have tried the red towel but for his director's vision in Srimanthudu. It's quite ironical for a Srimanthudu to go for the coolie's coveted towel, but that's the idea of cinema. Mahesh Babu comes with a cackling smile, with the red towel in tandem. For all the appeal of the red towel, it was Mahesh's lungi moment that came to be noticed more.
Prabhas
The Mirchi-fied heart-throb went for the red towel in Mirchi. The tall and handsome actor turned into a fiery fighter in the scene. Koratala Siva would later make Mahesh Babu do much the same in Srimanthudu. For sure, we are are in for NTR to wear it in Janata Garage.
NTR
After trying colourful towels, the Young Tiger burst open in Rakhi with the red piece intact. Notably, like in the case of all the other heroes, the rebellious streak was there in this character as well. For a change, his cause was that of women. Krishna Vamsi had his hero paint it red in style. Fiery and emotional, NTR looked like a rockstar in the get-up. More of it in Janata Garage, of course.
Pawan Kalyan
In Sardaar Gabbar Singh, Pawan Kalyan has literally broken the rules while using the red towel. The red towel announces the arrival of Ratanpur's saviour in advance. It covers the face of the funny cop for another. Never in the recent past has the red towel been used prominently. Looks like Bobby and Power Star are gonna kill it. The red towel is fluttering in glory.