Telugu speaking actors are not getting the offers in Tollywood says Eesha Rebba

Actress Eesha Rebba has been busy, juggling her time between OTT projects and theater films. But she has an easy answer when asked what she prefers most. “Let’s be honest, your phone can never be the big screen,” she confesses, adding, “But there’s no denying that OTT has a broader reach.” In the latest interview, she spoke about Telugu-speaking actors not getting the offers in Tollywood.

The actress says it is the role which is the driving force for her and not the platform or even the language. “I play a social media influencer in my next Telugu film, Mama Mascheendra. In my upcoming Tamil film, I play a sub-inspector. Isn’t that any actor’s dream come true? It’s a great time to be an actor, people now hold makers accountable if they put out subpar stories,” she adds.

What Eesha learned from working in Tamil and Malayalam is that these industries prefer – or rather, adore – their actors to speak the language. “I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but for some reason, it just doesn’t seem like a dealbreaker in Tollywood,” she says, adding, “The audience never asks the makers to cast someone who doesn’t know the language, so why not cast someone who does? And I don’t just mean for the female lead.” She pointed out that why should Telugu films go to the actors who don’t speak the language.

Actually, Eesha thinks that business and advertising probably don’t matter as much anymore. “It’s a different scenario, if you’re making a pan-India film and need familiar faces. But I think that nowadays, when films do their best work over a weekend, that excuse doesn’t hold up. Some younger directors seem to understand how important it is for actors to be close to the audience,’ she concludes.