Best of 2015: Star kids, TV actors invade Bollywood

The year gone by saw star kids taking their family lineage forward by foraying into the world of acting, besides some TV actors, who were successful in chasing their silver screen dream by landing big Bollywood projects.

While Akshara Haasan, Athiya Shetty, Soooraj Pancholi played their film background card and got their dream launches, small screen's big names like Kapil Sharma, Gurmeet Choudhary and Karan Singh Grover relied on their talent and managed to make their presence felt with their debuts.

However, Bhumi Pednekar and Harshali Malhotra were the only two names who stood out in the crowded newcomers list of Bollywood with their impressive turns in Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Bajrangi Bhaijaan respectively.

The younger daughter of Kamal Haasan-Sarika and sister of actress Shruti Haasan, Akshara followed in the footsteps of her famous parents and sibling. And she got a dream launch in Bollywood by noted director R Balki, who cast the youngster opposite megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Tamil superstar Dhanush in Shamitabh.

Although, the film tanked in the box office, Akshara was noticed by filmmakers and she has already started shooting her next film Lali Ki Shaadi Mein Ladu Deewana. The most-talked about debut of this year was of Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya and Aditya Pancholi's son Sooraj in Hero. The newcomers were launched by none other than Salman Khan via his home production and the superstar left no stone unturned to promote Athiya and Sooraj.

Both the actors did not manage to impress the critics but they have certainly found a foothold in the industry. This year also saw the much-delayed debut of Govinda's daughter Tina Ahuja, formerly known as Narmadaa, who chose Second Hand Husband as her maiden film.

Her launch was not a glitzy affair like the other star kids, but the film starred Dharmandra and marked Punjabi superstar Gippy Garewal's Bollywood debut even though it sank without a trace. Bollywood stunt director Sham Kaushal's son, Vicky Kaushal, who had bit roles in a few films, he made his Bollywood debut with Neeraj Ghaywan's Cannes winner Masaan. In the role of an engineering student Deepak looking for a way out of his Dom lineage, Vicky excels in the poignant drama.

Having conquered the small screen with his hit comedy show, comedian Kapil decided to try his luck in the filmdom with Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon. The romantic comedy was the perfect vehicle for Sharma's transition from television, as it played on the actor's strengths.

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The Abbas-Mustan-directed film was flawed, but Kapil's comic timing and his ability to turn a bland scene into something hilarious, was the saving grace for the film. Two of the television's heartthrobs, Gurmeet Choudhary and Karan made their Bollywood debut this year with horror films.

Gurmeet, who enjoys a huge fan following on TV, starred in Vishesh Films' Khamoshiyan. His role in the movie was small and failed to do justice to his talent. But even his short screen presence was enthralling.

Karan featured in blink-and-miss roles in some films but the TV star made his full-fledged big screen debut with horror movie Alone and then followed it up with another movie, erotic thriller Hate Story 3. In both the films, Karan's chiselled look and steaming chemistry with his leading ladies were the talking point.

The year also unleashed a number of talented actresses in Bollywood. Bhumi was nothing of the typical Yash Raj heroine, who is an ethereal woman, clad in a chiffon saree dancing on the Swiss Alps. She played the portly bride in slice-of-life film Dum Laga Ke Haisha and she did it well.

A former YRF assistant casting director's first time in front of the camera was a winner in all quarters. After watching Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, many touted his very young co-star Harshali as the real hero of the Kabir Khan-directed film.

Harshali's character Munni was at the centre of the plot, and the film revolved around getting her back home. In the movie, she did not utter a single word, playing the role of a mute girl, but still managed to win everyone's hearts with her expressions and gestures.

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Bengali beauty Swastika Mukherjee turned to Bollywood with Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!. As one of the female leads in the film, the actress hardly had much to do in the movie, except for appearing in crucial moments of the film and help it to move forward.

But Swastika plays her part of an eye-catching glamour quotient of the film to perfection. Shweta Tripathi ventured into Bollywood with Masaan and with her perfect UP accent and naughty smile, she won hearts as Shalu. The actress will be next seen opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Haramkhor. Sapna Pabbi debuted with Khamoshiyan and her seductively sexy avatar won her praise. The actress needs a little helping hand with her acting skills but she displayed a massive improvement from her TV series 24.

It was also the year of directors trying their luck in acting with Karan Johar and Kunal Kohli choosing to come in front of the camera. Karan did a cameo in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and several other films after that but in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet, Johar appears in a full-fledged part. As the main baddie, he looked dapper and did a good act.

After successfully directing films such as Hum Tum and Fanaa, Kohli is making his acting debut as the lead in Phir Se.... The film, however, is yet to see light of day. Next year also promises to throw in an interesting mix of talent in Bollywood with scheduled debuts of Anil Kapoor's son Harshvardhan in Mirziyan alongside another newcomer and Tanvi Azmi's niece, Saiyami Kher.

Former beauty queen Pooja Hegde will star opposite Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker's next Mohenjo Daro and Pakistani beauty Mahira Khan will make her much-awaited Bollywood debut in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees. Popular Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh is making his debut through Abhishek Chaubey-directed thriller Udta Punjab in which he will be seen romancing Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Also Read: Best of 2015: Top five heroes who ruled Tamil cinema this year