The Telugu mega-blockbuster Baahubali-The Beginning’s box office success in 2015 made Bollywood develop a newfound respect for the South Asian film industry. But long before that, performers from the Hindi cinema business were making forays into the South Indian film market. Many actors have appeared in film projects in the South, including Katrina Kaif, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, and even Priyanka Chopra. Take a look at some of the Bollywood actors who appeared in the South Indian film business with some major pan-Indian projects.
The actor from Dear Zindagi Alia Bhatt debuted her first image as Sita from RRR. The magnum opus, which is Bhatt’s debut in Telugu cinema, is directed by director SS Rajamouli. The film, which reportedly had a large budget, is based on the lives of Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, two real-life revolutionaries. It is a fictional story set in the 1920s. South actor Ram Charan is teamed up against Bhatt, who is playing a vital role in the production. She had previously talked of running into the director and pleading with him to put her in one of his films.
In an untitled Nag Ashwin project, Deepika Padukone will play the female lead opposite South Asian superstar Prabhas. While some people might believe that this is the star’s debut in the South Asian film industry, she actually made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film Aishwarya. However, the success of that film was overshadowed by the 2007 release of the much bigger Om Shanti Om, which marked her Hindi film debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Until the offer for Nag Ashwin’s bilingual film came up, Padukone did not sign another South film in the 15 years that followed unless you consider the 2014 Tamil language animation feature Kochadaiiyaan.
Ananya Panday, a newcomer to the Hindi film industry with only three films under her belt, made her debut in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, as well. The pan-Indian film Liger, which is an action sports movie, starred the young actor opposite Vijay Deverakonda of Arjun Reddy fame.
When Kangana Ranaut made her cinematic debut with Gangster in 2006, her performance was well-received; yet, her poor dialogue delivery also generated discussion. That happened 15 years ago. Since then, the actor’s powerful performances have earned her four National Awards and the Padma Shri. Her trilingual film Thalaivi, saw her break into the South film business. The movie, which is based on the life of the late politician J Jayalalitha, was released in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.
