Here is what Vijayashanthi has to say about current crop of heroines

Actress Vijaya Shanthi is known for the strong and bold characters she used to play. In fact, it is those roles which have fetched the title 'Lady Amitabh' for her. When her career was at the peak, she did a lot of female-centric films and kicked aside the trend of a male-dominated industry.

Especially the Karthavyam film in which she played a Police Officer has been a blockbuster film. She is an epitome of hard work and dedication. But looks like the senior actress is not happy with the way directors are now writing female characters.

"Back then, we had strong directors who used to write powerful female characters. We were lucky to get good heroine-oriented films and we have taken up all those roles as challenge. But now, there aren't such directors. The only so-called films which are female-oriented are horror flicks. Actresses should be given a chance to come forward and show their potential. There's need for more lady superstars," she said.

When asked which of the current actresses have impressed her, Vijayashanthi said that there is a lack of focus in all of them. The actress said that heroines back then used to work day and night. She went down the memory lane and reminded us of how she used to go to the sets at 5 am and sometimes come back home at 5 am the next day.

She added that they would do 17-18 films in a year and how every heroine was in demand then. "Things aren't the same now. Actors and actresses have the luxury of doing two-three movies a year, sometimes even lesser. Actresses today have the option of picking and choosing the films they want to do. And still, I don't see these women doing anything impressive," said the actress, who is currently busy with politics.

She is happy to be back to film sets with Sarileru Nekevaru, which has Mahesh Babu in lead role and is directed by Anil Ravipudi. Vijayashanthi will be seen playing a professor in this film which is slated for release on Sankranti.