Chennai, May 2 (IANS) The south Indian film industry has discovered a new commercial formula in the form of heroine-oriented action films. While glamorous Sneha and Namitha are playing policewomen in Telugu films "Bhavani IPS" and "Deshadrohi" respectively, multilingual actress Asin has been cast as a martial arts exponent in a Tamil-English bilingual "19 Steps".

"I'm a crazy fan of Vijayashanti (who gained popularity as a tough cop in 'Karthavyam'). If I succeed in doing 10 percent of what she did, I have my career made. To make my role work, I have shed nine kilograms and hope to shed three more before the film goes on floors," Namitha told IANS.

"I have taken my new role very seriously and am being put through the wringer by an action director who may also choreograph the stunts. I'm going to do some of the risky scenes sans the body double to inject realism and infuse more sincerity," said the actress, who is usually seen in glamorous roles in films like "Don".

Asin's claim to fame so far has been "Ghajini". Sneha, on the other hand, had graduated to the major league through the Tamil remake of "Munnabhai M.B.B.S" starring thespian Kamal Haasan.

The three female leads have never done a major action role so far and are at the threshold of a major image change.

The tough woman cop role did its bit to others' careers as well. Pakistani actress Mumaith Khan established herself through an action-oriented role in "Maissamma IPS" that was panned by critics, but proved to be an above-average commercial success.

Though Mumaith, who was seen in item number "Dekh le" in Munnabhai M.B.B.S.", continues to play silly roles, her stock in Telugu filmdom has gone up to the extent of her landing better roles than her hitherto infamous item numbers.

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