Pretty young things

Karan Johar’s Student of the Year up for release this weekend stars three newcomers Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. While these newbies are all set to take over Bollywood, there are others in their early twenties who already proved their mettle and found their stronghold. Here’s looking at the most promising young faces in the film industry.

Anushka Sharma

All of 24, Anushka Sharma is a famous name in Bollywood with hits like Band Baja Baraat, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Badmaash Company to her credit. She made her dream debut opposite the King Khan in Rab Ne… when she was all of 20. She was nominated for the best actress category at Filmfare Awards ceremony for Rab Ne… and Band Baja Baraat. Her upcoming movie is Jab Tak Hai Jaan in which she will be sharing screen space with Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Amala Paul

Amala Paul first shot to fame with Prabhu Solomon’s Mynaa, which was later dubbed in Telugu as Prema Khaidi. Although her debut film in Telugu, Bezawada didn’t do well at the box office, she was back with a bang in Balaji Mohan’s Love Failure. Since then, there has been no looking back for her. Currently, she has three big projects in Telugu including Naayak, Iddarammailatho and Jenda Pai Kapiraju. Considering that she’ll turn 21 later this month, Amala Paul can look forward to plenty of big projects in near future.

Nithya Menen

Nithya Menen made a big splash right in her debut film Ala Modalaindi for which she won a Nandi Award for Best Actress. She was inundated with plenty of offers soon after the film’s success, but the Malayalam actress chose to go slow and choose her projects carefully. A gifted actress and a singer, Nithya Menen was last seen in Vikram Kumar’s Ishq and she has three more films in pipeline including Okkadine, Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde and Nandini Reddy’s upcoming film.

Prateik Babbar

Prateik Babbar’s portrayal of Genelia’s brother, Amit, in the Aamir Khan production, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, alongside Imran Khan and Genelia D’Souza won him several awards and nominations. He is the son of late actress Smita Patel and politician Raj Babbar. He went on act in movies like Dhobi Ghaat, Dum Maro Dum, Aarakshan and Ekk Deewana Tha.

Parineeti Chopra

Parineeti Chopra, cousin of Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. This Punjabi girl’s second outing Ishaqzaade won her critical acclaim for her role as a hot-tempered Muslim girl Zoya who falls in love with a Hindu boy. Her upcoming movies include Maneesh Sharma’s next and Besharam opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

Sonakshi Sinha

This twenty five-year-old actress made her debut opposite Salman Khan in Dabanngg which went on to become one of the highest grossing films. Daughter of actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha, she is on a successful stint now with her movie Rowdy Rathore too doing well at the box office. Her upcoming movies include Dabbang 2 opposite Salman Khan and Lootera with Ranveer Singh.

Tamannaah

It’s been seven years since Tamannaah made her debut in Telugu and today, she’s one of the top actresses in Telugu and Tamil. After initial failures, the actresses bounced back post the success of KV Anand’s Ayan and soon after the success of 100% Love, she joined the big league in Telugu as well. One of the few actresses who have received rave reviews from nearly everyone for her dancing skills, the actress will soon be seen in the Telugu remake of Vettai and Himmatwala.

Yami Gautam

After starring in serials like Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam, Chand Ke Paar Chalo and movies like Nuvvila (Telugu) and Ullasa Utsaha (Kannada), she received the much-needed attention of filmmakers and the audience with her performance in Vicky Donor opposite Ayushman Khurana which went on to become a hit. Her upcoming movies include Hindi movies Hamara Bajaj and Aman Ki Aasha and multi-lingual movie Gouravam.

Varun Sandesh

After a dream debut in Sekhar Kammula’s Happy Days and following it up with Kotha Bangaru Lokam, it looked like Varun Sandesh might very well be the next big actor in Telugu cinema. However, back to back failures bogged him down for a while. Although he hasn’t been able to repeat the success of his first two films, he’s one of the busiest actors in Telugu film industry today. He’ll soon be seen in Neelakanta’s Chammak Challo and a host of other medium and low budget films.

Ileana D’cruz

After ruling Telugu cinema for several years with hits like Pokiri, Jalsa and Kick, this 24-year-old actress made her Bollywood entry in style with Barfi! opposite Ranbir Kapoor. The movie has been selected as India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awards in February 2013.

Tags: Amala Paul, Anushka Sharma, featured, full-image, Ileana D’Cruz, Nithya Menen, Parineeti Chopra, Prateik Babbar, Sonakshi Sinha, Tamannaah, Varun Sandesh, Yami Gautam

Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Entertainment News