Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Mouni Roy: Bollywood Debuts Of 2018

Ishaan’s debut film may not have been backed by a big B-Town banner, but it gave the newbie an opportunity to work with the highly-acclaimed Iranian director Majid Majidi. Beyond The Clouds did not clock in big numbers, but it gave the actor a chance to showcase his acting chops. And, to his credit, Ishaan impressed everyone.

Meanwhile, he had already signed Dhadak with Karan Johar’s banner Dharma, which saw him romancing Janhvi Kapoor. The Hindi adaptation of the Marathi blockbuster Sairat struck a chord with the audience and the youngster was applauded for his performance, yet again. Though there were rumours of him considering some projects, no announcements have been made yet.

While some of the biggest banners were keen to launch Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s daughter Sara, she picked Kedarnath as her debut vehicle. The film helmed by Abhishek Kapoor revolved around the 2013 Uttrakhand floods. The film’s production was taken over by another banner after a major chunk was shot, which delayed it a bit.

Meanwhile, Sara had already signed Simmba. For a while, it seemed like that the cop drama would be her debut film. However, things went according to plan and Sara stepped into the Bollywood arena with Kedarnath. Right from her interviews to her appearance on Koffee With Karan, the newbie has impressed the junta and the media with her eloquence. Her acting abilities have added a boost to her charm. She sure is one actress who could give the current leading ladies a run for their roles.

When you are the daughter of a legend like Sridevi, there are mammoth expectations from you. Janhvi was aware of this fact when she stepped on the silver screen with Dhadak. Not only was she making her debut, but she was also facing the media glare around five months after her mother’s sudden death.

The young lady handled all of it with maturity. Her first film did well at the box office and saw her signing her next with the same banner. Janhvi now finds herself among the cast of Takht, which features impressive names like Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Vicky Kaushal. Also, buzz is that she will star in the biopic on Indian Air force’s female pilot Gunjan Saxena. Janhvi, who has confessed that she has always wanted to be an actress, is living her Bollywood dream.

Aayush may not be born in a film family, but is related to the ‘Khan’daan. Brother-in-law Salman Khan pulled out all stops to give him the kind of debut that most newbies dream of. A romance-drama was chosen for his entry in Bollywood. With a few chartbusters on the soundtrack, the romance that blooms during the Navratri season in LoveYatri was liked by the audience. Though the movie wasn’t pathbreaking, it was liked by moviegoers for being a quintessential romance. According to the rumour mills, Aayush’s second film, too, will be a home production.

Making her debut alongside Aayush Sharma in LoveYatri was Warina. The Afghanistan-born beauty moved to Mumbai around four years ago to pursue modelling. A Bollywood buff, she bagged this film after auditioning for it. And though this was a launch vehicle for her male costar, the actress was thrilled to receive equal attention. In an interview to After Hrs, she had said, “The makers never made me feel it is Aayush’s launch. In fact, they have always said it is an Aayush, Warina and Abhiraj (Minawala, director) launch. There is a plus point in debuting with other newcomers. All of us put in our 100 per cent, we were open to each others’ ideas and were walking through the journey of LoveYatri hand-in-hand.”

Mouni Roy was already a known name thanks to her presence on television before she joined films. The actress literally struck Gold when she signed her first film opposite B-Town superstar Akshay Kumar. In her debut film, she played the Pad Man actor’s wife, who supports his dream of winning independent India its first medal in hockey in the Olympics. Not only did her innings begin on a great note, but she is also already part of the big budget Brahmastra starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan.

The London-based Banita stepped into Bollywood after working in a few commercials. While everyone was curious about the outsider getting to debut opposite Varun Dhawan in October, her role was far from the run-of-the-mill kind. She played Shiuli, a hotel management trainee, who slips into a coma following a freak accident. While she was praised for her restrained performance, it didn’t materialise into more roles. Her last outing was a music video that she featured in for a number crooned by Diljit Dosanjh.

While Dulquer is a bonafide star down south, a slice-of-life film was what he picked for his debut in Hindi films. With Irrfan Khan on the roster, people expected the road-trip film Karwaan to be on the lines of Piku. However, the film fell short of expectations and couldn’t generate any excitement at the box office. Dulquer, on his part, was effective as a young man torn between wanting to do what his heart desires as opposed to what’s expected of him. His next will see him opposite Sonam K Ahuja in the adaptation of the novel, The Zoya Factor.

Mithila became a viral sensation when a performance using cups saw her followers jump from 5,000 to 45,000 overnight. The 25-year-old was a known name in the world of web series and had even starred in the Marathi film Muramba before signing her first Hindi film. Though she got an opportunity to share screen space with Irrfan Khan and Dulquer Salmaan, Karwaan couldn’t make a splash at the BO. She returned to the world of digital content with the second season of her web series, Little Things. As for Bollywood, it remains to be seen whether the curly-haired actress will bag any more projects.