Raashii Khanna: We have a bank of great actresses in the South

Actress Raashii Khanna, who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, feels roles for actresses in the South are no longer just about being pretty. Raashii made her mark with Telugu films such as "Tholi Prema", "Venky Mama" and "World Famous Lover", after making her acting debut with Shoojit Sircar's 2013 Hindi film "Madras Cafe".

"It's still a male-dominated industry but I think women are making their way ahead considering the new kind of films that are coming," Raashii tells IANS.

"When I started my career, I was very lucky to start my career with 'Oohalu Gusagusalade' , which was a Telugu film and it established me as an actor, but post that everything that I got was very commercial. 'Tholi Prema' was a film that changed things for me because people then said that 'she can act also'," she claims.

"If you want to stay for long in the Telugu film industry, you have to be a good actor like Anushka Shetty or Samantha Akkineni. These are the women who are changing the way people are looking at actresses down South, which wasn't there earlier.

Earlier you had to just look pretty and do great in songs. Now you have to be a good actor and I think we have a bank of great actresses in the South as well. It is starting now and I still feel we have a long way to go," says Raashii.

The actress who will soon be seen in "Thank You" alongside Naga Chaitanya, adds: "Everything is changing, everyone is going pan-India and everyone is going into different languages."