Southern film industry cashes in on hit pairs

The film industry in southern India has a history of cashing in on a trend. From subjects to narrative style to technology, the industry has capitalised on everything that has clicked at the box-office. The latest trend seems to be casting a pair on the big screen more than once to reap benefits of such an association.

Nithiin Reddy and Nithya Menon, most bankable pair in the industry, have starred in two back-to-back Telugu blockbusters "Ishq" and "Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde" (GJG).

"I loved the chemistry between Nithiin and Nithya in 'Ishq'. I knew the pair would hit it off if I cast them again because I had a strong story to complement it. Luckily, it worked in our favour and audiences liked them too," GJG director Vijay Kumar Konda told IANS.

"The concept of a successful pair only works when the actors are backed by a strong script. Audiences don't pay money to merely come and see the faces of the actors. They want a good story to support the performances of their favourite pair," he added.

For Telugu actor Vishnu Manchu, who has paired up again with Hansika Motwani in an upcoming yet-untitled multi-starrer, it's the comfort factor with his co-star.

"Many believe that I opted to work with Hansika again because our previous collaboration turned out to be highly successful. But the truth is that I enjoy working with her. We have a lot of comfort between us and there is no room for ego," he said.

Vishnu and Hansika were previously seen together in Telugu romantic comedy "Denikaina Ready", which was a box-office success.

How often can a pair come together on screen?

Vishnu recommends it should not be two immediate films and there should a good time gap between the two releases.

"My last film with Hansika was in 2012. Soon after that, I started working for a different film, but we are shooting now for our next film that's expected to release towards this year-end. In essence, there has been a gap of at least one year and in between I'm doing another film," said Vishnu.

"When a pair features in two back-to-back films within a short span of time, it might affect the second film. This is because the audiences would have just seen the pair on posters, hoardings for the first film and when the second film comes out, it would still look like the earlier film," he added.

In Tamil, Arya and Nayanthara featured in 2010 hit "Boss Engira Bhaskaran". Following the success of this pair on screen, their lives were filled with linkups.

"Audiences loved Arya and Nayanthara as a couple so much that they wanted them to become real life couples. This continued for years and only doubled when the pair announced they will feature in a film together," a leading producer told IANS.

Arya and Nayanthara have teamed up again for Tamil romantic drama "Raja Rani" slated to release later this month.

"The makers of "Raja Rani" cashed in on the popularity of the pair by making them play a married couple in the film. Audiences would definitely flock to theatres to see them as husband and wife. No wonder even the first teaser of the film was featured on them when the film is a multi-starrer," he added.

Hansika and Silambarasan, who are dating each other, are busy shooting for Tamil films "Vaalu" and "Vettai Mannan"

"The pair recently revealed that they were seeing each other. This could very well work in favour of the film as audiences would want to see how their real-life chemistry get transformed on screen," said trade analyst Trinath.

Southern actress Swathi Reddy has teamed up for the second time with actors Nikhil Siddhartha and Jai in "Karthikeya" and "Vadacurry", respectively.

"I seriously don't know if something called a hit pair will guarantee success. It might work for a few films, but I believe the success of any film finally rests on its content and not on its lead actors," said Swati.

(Haricharan Pudipeddi can be contacted at [email protected])