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Aditi Shankar:
Daughter of veteran Director Shankar, Aditi Shankar debuted in Tamil cinema with Muthaiah’s Viruman. She acted as the main lead alongside Karthi, in a film that had an ensemble cast. She portrayed the role of a village belle and busted some amazing dance moves throughout the film. A Doctor by education, Aditi is also adept at singing. In fact, she sang the song ‘Madhura Veeran’ in her debut film along with Yuvan Shankar Raja. Unfortunately, Aditi’s character did not have much depth in Viruman. However, she established that she is here to stay and we hope to see her in better roles in the near future. Currently, she working on Madonne Ashwin’s Maaveeran co-starring Sivakarthikeyan.
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Siddhi Idnani:
An actress who has already performed in Gujarati and Telugu films, Siddhi Idnani marked her entry into Tamil Cinema with Gautam Vasudev Menon’s Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. She played Paavai, the love interest of Muthu (Silambarasan), in the film. GVM was criticized for giving an insignificant role to a good performer like Siddhi Idnani by most critics. The actress showed that she has a lot of potential as an actor. It is noteworthy that she did her own dubbing for her character in the film. Even before filming for VTK, she had filmed for Nooru Kodi Vanavil, a film by Director Sasi, in which she will be seen with Harish Kalyan.
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Srinidhi Shetty:
Known for her stint in the KGF movie series, Srinidhi Shetty stepped into the film industry with Ajy Gnanamuthu’s Cobra. Acting as one of the leads, she was predominantly seen alongside Vikram in the film. Although she played a love interest in Vikram’s character, her performance made the character seem important for the film. Both KGF 2 and Cobra were happening films for Srinidhi, as she received all the praise (even though the latter was not received well by critics). While she has not signed any other film at the moment, she is expected to be seen onscreen soon!
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Meetha Raghunath:
Sister-in-law of Darbuka Siva, Meetha Raghunath starred in his directorial debut Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee as the lead. Kishen Das and Meetha acted as a pair in the film that was set in the 90s. Meetha gave an impressive performance for her debut and surely left a mark. Although the movie received mixed reviews, Meetha unanimously received good comments for her performance, as did her co-stars. Meetha has no films coming up anytime soon.
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Krithi Shetty:
Known for roles in Super 30, Uppenna, and Shyam Singha Roy, Krithi Shetty debuted into the Tamil film industry with the bilingual film The Warriorr this year. Directed by N Lingusamy, Krithi played the role of Ram Pothineni’s love interest in the film. No doubt, she was given a meaningless role in the film. But, she still managed to stand out as a performer. Her ‘Bullet Song’ became a hit almost instantly. Here’s to hope Krithi gets better films in Kollywood in the future.
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Sobhita Dhulipala:
Not everybody gets the opportunity to make a debut in a Mani Ratnam film, let alone a Mani Ratnam magnum opus. Sobitha, who first made an appearance in the Hindi series Made In Heaven, marked her debut in Tamil with Ponniyin Selvan I. In the period drama, she played the role of the iconic Vaanathi, who is the lover and wife of Raja Raja Chola. Although her screen time in the film was pretty less, she has left an indelible mark in all our hearts, so much so that many of us await part 2 to see more of her and Aishwarya Lekshmi. Sobhita has an English and a Hindi film in her kitty, and will also be seen in the sequel of her debut film.
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Malvika Sharma:
A Criminology and Law graduate, Malvika Sharma made her debut in Tamil with Sundar C’s Coffee With Kadhal. Undoubtedly, the actress could have chosen a better script for her first movie in the language. The highlight however is that she managed to stand out in spite of acting in a film with an ensemble cast. She plays the pair of Jiiva in the film and is credited as one of the leads. Malvika Sharma has already worked on two Telugu films previously and is now filming for a Hindi film.
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Haniya Nafisa:
A singer by profession, Haniya Nafisa was seen in Ashwin Saravanan’s Connect which was released recently. In this horror film, she played the role of Nayanthara’s daughter who gets possessed by the spirit. Although she was not exactly credited as the lead of the film, she definitely headlined it with her performance as the ‘ghost’. Her expressions, voice modulation, and of course makeup and styling were the factors that helped petrify those in the audience. Haniya Nafisa deserves a lot more appreciation for her debut performance in Tamil.
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Gopika Ramesh:
Suzhal: The Vortex was one of the most spoken-about web series of the year. Created by Pushkar Gayatri and directed by Bramma G, Suzhal was a murder mystery that blew the minds of many. While it featured Aishwarya Rajesh, Sriya Reddy, Kathir, and Parthiban in lead roles, Gopika Ramesh played a very important role in the series. Her performance along with Frederick Johnson ended up becoming the highlight of the series. The actress has already done a few films in Malayalam including Thaneer Mathan Dinangal and Vaanku.
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Sanjana:
Sanjana is mostly an unknown name, as she is better known as Velonie-the character she played. Starring as the lead of the recently released web series Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie, Sanjana showed that she has a lot of potential as a performer. Although the series did not receive great reviews, Sanjana unanimously got a lot of appreciation for completely turning into the character Velonie. A young artist, Sanjana has a great future in the Tamil film industry.