Ritu Varma
She’s been in the industry since 2013, in an occasional film or two. A supporting role in Yevade Subramanyam got her noticed in 2015, and her earlier association with the short film Anukokunda helped her bag Pellichoopulu . As Chitra, the hard working girl with smart business acumen, Ritu came up with a compelling performance. She will next be seen in Keshava co-starring Nikhil and is in talks for a few projects, including a Tamil film.
Vijay Deverakonda
Vijay made his debut in 2011, but didn’t really get noticed until he played Rishi in Yevade Subramanyam , driven by the idea of visiting the mystical Doodh Kashi. Director Tharun Bhascker’s Pellichoopulu established Vijay Deverakonda as one of the most exciting faces to look forward to. Vijay has a bunch of films in his kitty, including Dwaraka , Arjun Reddy , films directed by debutant K. Bharat, Nandini Reddy, Rahul Sankrityan and Vivek Athreya’s next produced by Raj Kandukuri.
Priyadarshi Pulikonda
‘ Naa Savu Nenu Sastha… Neekenduku ’ has to be the dialogue of the year. As the wiry Kaushik spouting Telangana dialect, Priyadarshi Pulikonda was a riot in Pellichoopulu , along with Abhay Betiganti. Priyadarshi was also seen in Terror and Bommala Ramaram . He’s living his dream, working on a bunch of films, including Babu Baga Busy ( Hunterrr remake), Nikhil’s Keshava , Murugadoss’s next starring Mahesh, Sai Kiran Adivi’s untitled film, Malayalam film Take off , Darshakudu , Angel and Rana starrer Ghazi .
Nivetha Thomas
The child actor who made a debut at eight in Malayalam films, grew up to play the teenaged daughter of Kamal Haasan and Gauthami in Papanasam . But it wasn’t until Indraganti Mohanakrishna’s Gentleman that Nivetha Thomas got all the attention. Playing her part with effortless ease, this architecture student wants to be a part of sensible, logical films. She’s now shooting for a film co-starring Nani and Aadi Pinnisetty.
Anupama Parameswaran
Her debut in a brief role as Mary George in Alphonse Puthren’s Premam (Malayalam) paved the way for some good films to come her way. She reprised her part in the Telugu version of Premam and was seen as Nagavalli, besotted with Anand Vihari (Nithiin) in A…Aa . Next up is Sathamanam Bhavathi co-starring Sharwanand.
Malvika Nair
A few films in Malayalam and the Tamil film Cuckoo happened before we saw Malvika in Yevade Subramanyam as the free-spirited Anandi. Director Nandini Reddy’s Kalyana Vaibhogame saw her as a youngster who bides her time before giving in to the conventional idea of marriage.
Keerthy Suresh
The Malayalam actress entered Telugu this year with Nenu Sailaja and the dubbed version of Remo . She holds promise, but her best is yet to come. Up next are Nenu Local with Nani, Tamil film Bairavaa with Vijay and Trivikram Srinivas’s film starring Pawan Kalyan.
Manjima Mohan
Her easy screen presence was hard to miss in Gautham Menon’s Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo . This is yet another child actor from Malayalam who made a mark in Tamil and Telugu. Mudi Sooda Mannan (Tamil) with Vikram Prabhu is her next.
Anasuya Bharadwaj
Not a new face, but someone we’ve seen many a time on television. This year she turned to cinema, with a blink and miss part in Soggade Chinni Nayana and the ruthless cop in Kshanam .
