These beautiful actresses have made waves down south and have achieved super stardom. Fighting all language barriers they have turned out to be super stars and are loved by millions across South India. Check out our picks!
Khushboo
Born as Nakhat Khan in Andheri, Mumbai, and better known as Khushboo to all the South cinema fans, she still continues to make news. Having received many awards for her brilliant acting skills, Khushboo is also a television hostess and a politician.
Khushboo tops our list and there’s no explanation needed on how she quickly became a sensation throughout south cinema. She also paved way for curvy actresses to make a mark in films. Known for her strong opinions and amazing performances, she has hundreds of movies to her credit. Khushboo also starred in many Bollywood films and has acted with almost every top star in the industry. She now resides in Chennai with her husband, actor/director Sundar and two daughters Avanthika and Ananditha.
Simran
Mumbai girl Rishibala Naval aka Simran Bagga mesmerised the South Indian fans across all five states for over a decade. The Punjabi beauty overcame all language barriers and dethroned all top actresses. Though she debuted in Bollywood in the beginning of her career, she found success in Tollywood and Kollywood. Though her first movie in Telugu was Abbai Gari Pelli which was a success, she was critically acclaimed for her role as a blind woman in Tamil film Thulladha Manamum. The gorgeous actress left the massive stardom at the peak of her career to enjoy motherhood. She married her childhood friend Deepak Bagga and has two sons with him.
Tamannaah
The Baahubali star needs no introduction. Born in Mumbai in a Punjabi family, she is easily one the most successful actresses of today. Tamannaah’s latest release Oopiri has been declared a blockbuster and prior to that she was a part the magnum opus Baahubali which is a National award winning film. The dove-eyed beauty debuted in a Bollywood movie Chand Sa Roshan Chehra at a tender age of 15. The movie did not do well and she forayed into Telugu films. Her Telugu film Happy Days is one of the biggest blockbusters of all time and she received praise for her performance.
Many critics called her the ‘scene-stealer’! Tamannah is now all geared up for the release the second instalment of Baahubali and many expectation are riding high on her performance.
Jyothika
Born and brought up in Mumbai, as Jyothika Sadanah, she rose to fame with her first Bollywood movie Doli Sajake Rakhna opposite Akshay Khanna. The movie did not do well at the box office and Jyothika came down south and starred in a cameo role in Vaali ( starring Ajith and Simran). There was no looking back for her and she continued to act opposite biggest South Indian stars and is remembered for her role as Chandramukhi. Her acting is par excellence and she proved she still has it with her return to movies in a powerful role in 36 Vayadhinile. Jyothika is married to Tamil superstar Suriya and has two lovely kids. She is also Nagma’s half sister.
Nagma
Born as Nandita Arvind Morarji, popularly known as Nagma across Bollywood and South Cinema, she is was a sensation in the 90s. Nagma was a part of numerous blockbusters and is remembered for her chemistry with Telugu Megastar Chiranjeevi. Born in the royal family of Gokuldas Morarji form Jaisalmer she always dreamed of becoming an actress.
Nagma’s debut movie Baaghi opposite Salman Khan was one of the highest grossing films of 1990. It’s reported that after few successful Bollywood movies, she forayed into south cinema at the behest of her close friend and actress, late Divya Bharti. Nagma quickly rose to fame and acted in hundreds of movies across South India. She’s mostly remembered for her blockbusters Allari Alludu with Nagarjuna and Gharana Mogudu with Chiranjeevi. These days she keeps herself busy with teaching Art of living!
Kajal Aggarwal
A typical Punjabi girl, Kajal tasted success quite early in her career and is now one of the top most actresses of Telugu and Tamil cinema. She made her acting debut in Bollywood film Kyun Hogaya Na in 2004 and starred in a Telugu film Lakshmi Kalyanam which brought her critical acclaim. Then followed a series of blockbusters of which Arya 2 was the biggest hit of the year. She also acted in Tamil films Maari, Jilla and Thupakki. Kajal successfully shuttles between Bollywood and South cinema. Her movie Singham and Special 26 did well at the box office. She is currently working on a few Telugu and Tamil movies.
Hansika Motwani
Hansika was well known as a child artist on television in Ekta Kapoor’s hit series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She went on to act in Telugu and Tamil films and has had many hits to her resume. She is one of the youngest stars to have topped the list of most successful actresses in south. She won a Filmfare award for her first Telugu movie Desamuduru opposite Allu Arjun. Hansika also acted opposite Himesh Reshammiya in Aapka Suroor which was also a hit.
Hansika’s first movie in Tamil was Mappillai opposite Dhanush and she has now given a lot of hits at the box office in both the industries. She is popular for her charity work and has adopted 25 underprivileged kids. Hansika is the brand ambassador for ‘Chennai turns Pink’, an awareness program for breast cancer. Currently she is shooting for four Tamil films back-to-back!