Female comedians don't get their due: Vidyullekha

Actress Vidyullekha Raman feels female comedians are not offered stronger characters by filmmakers as they usually favour male actors.

"There's a dearth of strong characters for female comedians. We are usually asked to play a crying shoulder for a heroine or paired opposite male comedians. I feel female comedians don't get the due respect as our seniors like Manorama and Kovai Sarla did in their heyday," Vidyu told IANS.

"Most southern filmmakers rely on male comedians. Therefore, the roles that come to female comedians are of very less significance. I'm trying my best to revive the role of a female comedian with my characters," said the actress, who always wanted to follow in the footsteps of renowned Tamil comedian Manorama.

Vidyu, who has mostly appeared in roles as hero or heroine's friend, feels female comedians are capable of playing lead roles as well.

"I sometimes get bored playing these roles. If we look at a film like 'Michael Madhana Kama Rajan', Urvashi, a popular comedian, played one of the protagonists in the film. I hope to play such roles that are considered important from a story's perspective," she added.

Vidyu is currently awaiting the release of her Telugu film "Run Raja Run", which is directed by debutant Sujeeth.

She's happy with the role she's played in the film.

"Sujeeth said he wrote the character keeping me in mind. He also had to convince the producers to sign me because he felt only I could do justice to this strong role. I have an extended appearance in the film and I'm happy with it," she said.

"I play the heroine's friend but I'm glad that Sujeeth took some effort to portray me as a comedian," Vidyu added.

Working with 24-year-old Sujeeth was "refreshing" recalls Vidyu, adding, "Age is just a number".

"He's someone with a clear vision of what he wants as a director. Most senior filmmakers at times get lost and waste time on shoot, but Sujeeth never wasted a minute. It was so refreshing working with him. The best thing is that he's open to criticism," she said.