Anushka Shetty Birthday Special! Jejamma to Devasena, 6 memorable roles essayed by the Lady Superstar

Popular South actress Anushka Shetty is celebrating her 39th birthday on Saturday and the stage is set for some mighty celebrations from her fans on social media. Fondly called as the ‘Lady Superstar’ of Telugu cinema, the Mangalore-born diva can carry the entire film on her shoulders and her trademark quality is to extract massive footfalls into the theatre without depending on a bankable male lead. Be it a period drama, suspense-thriller or a romantic comedy, she has proved her mettle time and time again with both solid performances and arresting glamour.

In an impressive career spanning for over 15 years, Anushka has essayed some memorable roles in path-breaking films like Baahubali, Arundhati, Vedam and Rudrama Devi. On this special occasion, check out some of her power-packed roles on the silver screen.

Arundhati was perhaps the first female-centric film over a period of time to create a prominent mark among the Telugu audience. The fantasy-thriller directed by late Kodi Ramakrishna opened to a roaring response at the ticket-counters with rich critical acclaim for the spellbinding performances of Anushka Shetty, Sonu Sood and Sayaji Shinde. The talented actress was the scene-stealer in both the roles of Arundhati and Jejamma. Since Arundhati, there has been no looking back for this 39-year-old actress in South cinema.

While the first part of Baahubali portrayed Anushka as an old woman-cum-prisoner, the sequel showcased her as warrior queen Devasena. Her impressive performance in both the roles has garnered nationwide attention and pan-Indian popularity. She was even offered a Bollywood film by Karan Johar, but the humble actress has turned it down much to the surprise of many. Both the versions of the SS Rajamouli directorial starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Tamannaah registered phenomenal victories at the global box-office with critical acclaim as well.

Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, Vedam is an anthology film based on five individual stories which get connected towards the climax. In one of the parts, Anushka played a prostitute named Saroja whose ambition is to run away from a brothel house and start her own in Hyderabad. Besides going bold for her complex role, she looked absolutely convincing in the in-depth character and managed to deliver a commendable act. She has to be appreciated for signing a de-glam role at the peak of her career and it paved off pretty well. She reprised the same in the Tamil version too.

Starring Anushka Shetty in the titular role of Rani Rudrama Devi, the unsung warrior queen of the Kakatiya dynasty, director Gunasekhar has helmed ‘Rudramadevi’ in 2015 with a hefty budget of Rs 80 crore. Released amid massive expectations, the historical drama in 3D format struck the right chord with the Telugu viewers for its epic plot, engaging narration, battlefield sequences, Ilaiyaraaja’s BGM and the supporting star cast which included Allu Arjun and Rana Daggubati.

Despite the predictable plot, ‘Mirchi’ scored a super success at the box-office owing to the terrific performances of the lead cast, riveting action sequences, foot-tapping tunes from Devi Sri Prasad and last but not the least, the sizzling chemistry between Prabhas and Anushka Shetty who took the film to a whole new level. The gorgeous gal played the bubbly role of Vennela to perfection and set the screen on fire with her dazzling dance moves.

Bhaagamathie stunned everyone with its engaging storyline, edge-of-the-seat moments and terrific performances from the lead actors. Starring Anushka Shetty in the titular role, the horror-thriller scored a stupendous success in the Telugu states and positioned Anushka as the second Indian actress after Sridevi to bag a $1 million film at the US box-office. The story of Bhaagamathie revolves around a female IAS officer Chanchala Reddy, who gets imprisoned in a haunted house. Things start to take an unexpected turn when she gets possessed by a spirit. The film is being remade into Hindi as ‘Durgavati’ and talented actress Bhumi Pednekar is reprising Anushka’s role.