Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, Vijay Sethupathi And Samantha Akkineni; A Look At The South Superstars Who Are Ready To Take Hindi Cinema And OTT Space By Storm
As the line between regional and Hindi cinema blurs out, here’s a look at all those South actors who are making their way into Bollywood with their upcoming projects
The victory of Parasite, a Korean film, at the last year’s Academy Awards in the Best Film category, proved that world cinema is beyond the barrier of language now. Even in his acceptance speech, director Bong Joon-Ho, had mentioned that if we can look beyond that one-inch barrier of subtitles, there is a lot of beautiful cinema around us.
Even in India, the lines between regional and Hindi cinema are blurring every day. The barrier of language is no longer stopping the reach of any film. More so, the South films are getting a larger audience in their Hindi speaking viewers and a lot of films are now being made pan-Indian. In this scenario, a crossover between industries is imminent, and here’s a few of the South superstars who are making their way into Bollywood with their upcoming projects:
Vijay Deverakonda
The Arjun Reddy actor became an Indian superstar in the truest sense after his stint as the brooding lover boy, on the cusp of destroying himself. The success of the film’s Hindi remake, the Shahid Kapoor-starrer Kabir Singh, only added to his popularity, so much so that Karan Johar got the Hindi remake rights of his next, Dear Comrade, even before the film’s release. The actor became a regular at Karan’s parties and is now all set to be launched in Bollywood by his production house with Liger, opposite Ananya Panday.
Adivi Sesh
This Telugu superstar has been a part of blockbusters like Goodachari, and taking that success forward, the actor is collaborating with the same team to put forward the story of NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who lost his life in the 26/11 attacks while saving hostages in the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, with Major. Also featuring Sobhita Dhulipala and Saiee Manjrekar, the film is releasing as a pan-India film and marks Sesh’s entry in Bollywood. In an exclusive interview with Spotboye.com, the actor had revealed that he has also signed his next Hindi film.
Rashmika Mandanna
Considered one of the most talented and beautiful actresses down South, Rashmika is all set to take Bollywood by storm. Such is the extent of her talent that even before the release of her first Hindi film, Mission Majnu, opposite Sidharth Malhotra, she has already signed her second Hindi film, Goodbye, that too opposite veteran actor and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan. She will be seen as his daughter in the film.
Shalini Pandey
Just like his Arjun Reddy co-star, Vijay, even Shalini is all set to take her talents to the Hindi film industry as she prepares for her debut opposite Ranveer Singh in Yash Raj Films’ Jayeshbhai Jordaar. As per reports, she even started shoot for her second film, Maharaja, with the same production house in February. She will be reportedly paired opposite Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan, who is making his debut with the film. It is directed by Siddharth P Malhotra.
Vijay Sethupathi
Vijay was supposed to start his Bollywood innings with Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chadha, a remake of the 1995 Oscar winning film Forrest Gump. However, the actor had to back out of the film due to scheduling issues. But it doesn’t mean Vijay isn’t making his way into Bollywood. The actor will be seen with Vikrant Massey in Santosh Sivan’s Mumbaikar. The film is a remake of the 2017 Tamil film Maanagaram, and recently the team released the first poster of the film as well. Not only that, Vijay is also set to star opposite Katrina Kaif in Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas.
Naga Chaitanya
Vijay Sethupathi’s loss turned out to be Naga Chaitanya’s gain. As Vijay opted out of Laal Singh Chadha, there was an opening for another actor in the film, and instead of going with any other Hindi film actor, Aamir Khan chose to opt for Chaitanya. The actor has been a part of multiple Telugu blockbusters in his career and Laal Singh Chadha will mark his Hindi film debut.
Pragya Jaiswal
This actress is just seven years old in the Telugu film industry and she began her career there with a National Award-winning film-Kanche. After making a name for herself down South, Pragya is all set to enter Hindi films, that too opposite the superstar Salman Khan himself in Antim: The Final Truth. The film sees Salman in the part of a Sardar cop and is a remake of the Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. It also stars Aayush Sharma and is directed by Mahesh Manjrekar.
Samantha Akkineni
Samantha is a true-blue superstar of the South industry and after having an illustrious career in Tamil and Telugu films for just over a decade, Samantha is all set to take the Hindi film industry by storm, just like her husband Naga Chaitanya. The actress will be seen in the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer web series, The Family Man 2 and her portrayal has already created an uproar and gathered appreciation ever since the trailer of the show was released recently.
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