MUMBAI: First it was Katrina Kaif and following suit is Minissha Lamba. Even Kareena Kapoor is doing that, at least in her commercials. Desi beats are in for these high profile actresses in 2009 as they move towards substance rather than glamorous roles.

Kaif will do away with her short dresses and miniskirts for Prakash Jha’s Rajniti. The actress who is said to be playing the role of a politician’s wife who eventually enters politics is working hard on her histrionics. Just looking pretty for her songs, will be a thing of the past for Kats.

Not just the costumes, but also the roles are getting juicier for the London bred actress. Says Kaif, "I will have to work really hard for Mr. Jha’s film. The dialogue delivery is very tough as there are speeches in my script."

Jha, it is learnt, took a leaf from Vishal Bharadwaj’s book and sent an audio tape of her own dialogues to Kaif. That was apparently Bharadwaj’s way to get Saif to do his lines in Omkara.

Another actress who made headlines for her bikinis last year was Lamba. The Kidnap actress has now grabbed the plum role in a Shyam Benegal film. Benegal had a small audition for Lamba where he made her recite a few dialogues in the Dakani dialect spoken in Hyderabad for his film. 

Lamba said, "From bikinis to only salwar kameezes in Shyam babu’s film, the roles are so diametrically opposite. It is a village based film and I have never been to a village in my entire life."

The other glam babe who has ventured on this path in the past is Kapoor. She played the lead in Govind Nihalani’s Dev. That’s why perhaps her desi avatar is reserved for a commercial, Kurkure where she is only dancing to a desi beat.