Lady-centric movies going down the hill?

With the much-hyped 'RDX Love' crashing at the box office, the stocks of lady-oriented movies has taken a beating of sorts. After blockbuster 'RX 100,' new sensation Paayal Rajput gained good following among youth and masses, but she couldn't pull in crowds for her next 'RDX Love'.

"Just over-exposing can't guarantee success. Of course, glam-centric pics trigger some hype in the media, but to take advantage of the pre-release hype, you need a good plot. No doubt, lady-oriented movies are losing sheen," says distributor Vishnumoorthy, who burnt his hands in the movie. "I thought Paayal will pull off a low-budget action flick.

The lacklustre story left me and others in financial mess," he laments. Contrary to this, a well-made and decent women-centric movie 'Kaushalya Krishnamurthy' introducing Tamil actress Aishwarya Rajesh in Telugu also failed to set the box office on fire.

"We have to blame it on the timing of the release," says producer Achanta Gopinath and adds, "Aishwarya and Rajendraprasad breathed life into the roles. With the Tamil version 'Kanaa' doing well, tasteful producer K S Rama Rao would have thought that the story revolving around women cricket and farmer woes would be a safe bet in the two Telugu states.

It turned out to be a damp squib," he adds. However, reigning star Samantha, who shattered box office records with 'OH Baby! revived the sagging fortunes of the chick flicks.

"Actually, Samantha restored the interest in chick flicks with a swasbukling performance. Apart delivering her maiden solo hit, she has given confidence to filmmakres of this genre," says director Sudheera Varma.

Whereas, her colleagues and pretty divas-Tapsee and Nayantara- had to taste bitter failure with 'Game Over' and 'Anjali Vikramaditya' respectively in the two Telugu states.

"It is true that box office success determines the fate of women-centric movies but Tapsee and Nayanatara have kept the genre alive and kicking with their previous hits and gained the confidence of the viewers," he adds.

Looking ahead, talented Keerthy Suresh, who is the new entrant to this bandwagon, is also trekking the less travelled path. She is doing another lady-oriented movie for producer Mahesh Koneru and two more films with Nagesh Kukkunoor and 'Penguin' to change the game for good.

"Keerthy has invariably become the torch-bearer of female-centric movies and trying to carve a niche for herself, riding on her talent and by shunning glam-prop roles," says producer Aswini Dutt, who feels that more young divas would take up author-backed roles to prove their mettle.

"Avika Gor managed to stay afloat with average grosser 'Raju Gari Gadhi 3,' while Keerthy bagged national award for 'Mahanati.' But Paayal Rajput has to pick right scripts to stay in the reckoning or else it will spell doom to her upcoming career," he adds.

However, the lackluster fare of movies with female protagonists' has dampened the spirits of filmmakers. "That is true.

However, we have to wait and see whether Tammanah will pull off a winner with 'That is Mahalaxmi' to join the elite crowd-pullers list." adds Dutt.