Home » Photos » From Genelia Deshmukh to Tamannaah Bhatia: South Indian actresses who made heads turn with their performances in Bollywood
From Genelia Deshmukh to Tamannaah Bhatia: South Indian actresses who made heads turn with their performances in Bollywood
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Ileana D’Cruz are some of the South Indian actresses who carved a niche for themselves in Bollywood.
South Indian divas who made the heads turn with their powerful performances in Bollywood
With the advent of digital platforms, the lines between regional cinema are slowly fading away, giving the actors the chance to venture into other languages while still being relatable and widening their audience base. South Indian celebrities have taken their first foot forward and have ventured into Bollywood with their power-packed performances. With Rashmika Mandanna becoming the new heartthrob of the nation, there are other South Indian divas too who tried their luck in Bollywood and proved their mettle: take a look.
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Pooja Hegde.
Pooja Hegde predominantly appears in Telugu cinema and made her acting debut with the Tamil movie Mugamoodi in 2012. The actor is a popular South Indian actor who has featured in more than a dozen movies in Tamil and Telugu. She tried her luck in Bollywood with the 2016 movie Mohenjodaro alongside Hrithik Roshan. The film proved to be a dud but Pooja managed to make a mark. Pooja later featured in the 2019 movie Housefull 4 alongside Ritesh Deshmukh.
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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
The Miss World beauty, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan started her career with the 1997 released movie Iruvar alongside Mohanlal and Prakash Raj. She later appeared in the Hindi film Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya in the same year but continued to feature in South Indian cinema, Tamil cinema in particular. The actor is set to feature in the Tamil movie Ponniyin Selvan-Part 1.
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Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu has carved a niche for herself in Bollywood with her unconventional roles and acting choices. But not many of her fans might know that the actor has predominantly worked in Tamil and Telugu cinema. She made her acting debut with the 2010 Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam. She later featured in Tamil movie Aadukalam in 2011 and made her Malayalam debut with Doubles in the same year. The actor had become a well-known face in South India when she featured in her first Hindi film, Chashme Baddoor in 2013.
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Tamannaah Bhatia
Tamannaah predominantly works in Telugu and Tamil cinema and occasionally features in Hindi films. The actor is set to feature in her next Hindi movie Babli Bouncer, in which she plays the role of a bouncer. She made her acting debut with the 2005 released film Chand Sa Roshan Chehra but did not appear in another Hindi film for the next eight years with Himmatwala in 2013. She only worked in Tamil and Telugu cinema during the time and made her Telugu debut with Sri in 2005 and Tamil with Kedi in 2006.
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Sridevi
Though Sridevi was a popular Hindi actor, she made her acting debut in the 1970 Telugu film Maa Nanna Nirdoshi as a seven-year-old. She went on to feature in many films after that as a child artist and starred in movies like Agni Pareeksha, Vidhi Vilasam and Nenoo Manishine, among others. During the years, she was featured in Tamil movies as well. She made her Hindi film debut with Rani Mera Naam in 1972.
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Ileana D'Cruz
The Baadshaho actress made her acting debut with the Telugu film Devadasu in 2006 and featured in the Tamil movie Kedi in the same year. She went on to appear in many Telugu movies over the years such as Rakhi, Jalsa and Saleem. She featured in her first Hindi film Barfi! In 2012. The actor gained much praise and accolades for her performance and soon became a popular Hindi personality. She later appeared in many Hindi films such as Happy Ending, Main Tera Hero and Raid. She was last seen in The Big Bull in 2021 and is set to make an appearance in Unfair+Lovely,
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Genelia Deshmukh
Genelia made her mark in Bollywood with the 2008 film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. The actor received much praise for her quirky performance. But many of her fans might know that the actor has worked predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. The actor made her acting debut with the Hindi film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003 alongside her now-husband Ritesh Deshmukh. She later featured in Tamil movie Boys and Telugu movie Satyam in the same year. Though the actor had featured in several Hindi films like Masti, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and her debut movie Tujhe Meri Kasam, her career in Bollywood was established with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na which has become a Bollywood cult classic.