If you���������re raving about Taapsee Pannu���������s svelte new avatar in ���������Daruvu���������, you have her navel to blame... or rather, thank! The actress says she was so tired of seeing her slightly flabby midriff being highlighted on the big screen and huge posters, that she was forced to work out to get a perfectly toned tummy! ���������In Tollywood, the costume designers have a very simple brief ��������� keep the clothes as short as possible and show much of the midriff. The focus is the navel,��������� says Delhi girl Taapsee, who admits she never really understood T-town���������s obsession with the belly button.While Bollywood has bid goodbye to its midriff-showing apsaras back in the 90s, the leading ladies of the South still have to deal with the industry���������s navel fixation. Taapsee admits, ���������Initially when I started off, I just could not make sense of this fascination for the belly button. But I realised that in the South, it is the most important focus area when it comes to portraying the sensuality of a woman. I knew for sure that the camera is not going to shy away from my navel as the audience demands to see it! So I figured that it���������s best to get in shape so I can feel good about flaunting it���������. ���������I think, in ���������Daruvu���������, my toned mid-section matched up to my definition of hot for the first time!,��������� she adds.The fondness for the navel goes a long way back in Telugu cinema, says film scholar Kathi Mahesh Kumar. ���������If you notice South Indian temple architecture, you will find that the bosom and navel are shown prominently in all the carvings that adorn the temples. It���������s a typically South Indian aesthetic sensibility which has found a huge resonance in cinema as well,��������� says Mahesh adding, ���������Cinematically, while cleavage is just a peek at the bosom, the navel encompasses the woman���������s entire sensuality.���������It���������s no surprise then that all our traditional clothing is designed to accentuate the navel. City-based designer Shravan, says, ���������The sari is perhaps the oldest two-piece outfit in the world. It is designed and pleated in a way that it cuts the mid-section and highlights it. The langa-voni, ghagra choli or the vaddanam (the waist band) ��������� all are intended to emphasise the waist line and the navel, in particular.���������Come to think of it, the navel has been an integral part of Telugu cinema imagery right from the seventies. Initially, it was only the dancing girls like Kanchana, L Vijayalakshmi who would show them off. ���������But the camera zooming into the periphery of the navel began with the likes of Jayamalini and Jyothi Lakshmi coming onto the scene. It was choreographer Saleem who introduced the hip sways and other such suggestive postures that highlighted it. Then actresses like Madhavi and Lakshmi, who were unafraid of flaunting their bodies, came along with directors like K Raghavendra Rao, who took this navel obsession to the next level,��������� says film scholar Kathi Mahesh Kumar.How the likes of Ramya Krishnan, Rambha , Meena, Ravali, Tabu have all had their navels celebrated to the finest detail by K Raghavendra Rao is stuff of legends in Telugu cinema. The current crop of actresses like Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha, Tamannaah, and Ileana flaunt much slimmer waistlines than their predecessors, but they do their bit to satisfy the navel-gazers among the audiences.City based artist Fawad Tamkanat, who specializes in erotic art, says the navel is a much applauded feature in art too. ���������The navel is the most sensuous part of a woman���������s body and I always ensure I paint a sensuous navel. I think curvy South Indian women have the best navels unlike North Indian women who are obsessed with size zero. Tabu���������s is the best. Among the current crop of actresses, Kajal Aggarwal, Priyamani and Samantha too have appreciable mid-sections,��������� he explains.That said, actress Taapsee believes that the navel is overrated. ���������I think sensuality can be expressed in other ways. I just shot for a song in which I put my foot down and convinced the director that I can look sexy without showing off my navel. And the song has turned out to be just as scintillating,��������� she says.Time will tell, but not many would be betting on the navel going out of fashion... at least in Tollywood.