Nazriya Nazim to Krithi Shetty, South divas making their Tollywood debut in 2021

Gone the days when only Mumbai actresses used to rule the roost in Tollywood. In recent years, several divas hailing from Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil cinema are being roped in by Telugu filmmakers for leading lady roles and besides entertaining the audience on the glamour medium, they are portraying impeccable emoting skills on the celluloid. The successful stories of Sai Pallavi, Rashmika Mandanna and Keerthy Suresh are prime examples of the scenario. This year too, several South actresses like Nazriya Nazim, Krithi Shetty, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Rachita Ram and Aishwarya Lekshmi are all set to test their fate in Tollywood.

Mallu beauty Nazriya Nazim will be romancing Natural Star Nani in Vivek Athreya’s upcoming directorial titled ‘Ante Sundharaniki.’ After 13 Malayalam films and 5 in Tamil, the 26-year-old actress will be making her Tollywood debut with this project and expressing her excitement, she wrote on her social handle “So this one will be my first telugu film guys ️ Super excited for this one with this amazing team !” Bankrolled by Mythri Movie Makers, the music of the film will be composed by Vivek Sagar with Niketh Bommi handling the camera and Vivek Athreya penning the story, screenplay and dialogues.

Mangalore beauty Krithi Shetty is making her Tollywood debut with the upcoming film ‘Uppena’ starring Panja Vaishnav Tej as the protagonist. With her cute looks, adorable expressions and solid screen-presence in the promos, the 17-year-old actress has struck the right chord with the young audience in the Telugu states. Recently, she was finalised as the leading lady in Nani’s Shyam Singha Roy and Sudheer Babu’s untitled film with Indraganti Mohana Krishna.

TV host-cum-actress Priya Bhavani Shankar who is immensely popular in Tamil Nadu has been roped in as the leading lady in Manchu Manoj’s upcoming film ‘Aham Brahmasmi’. After enjoying a fruitful stint on the small screen, the 31-year-old beauty kicked off her celluloid journey with Meyaadha Maan in 2017. At present, she is playing a pivotal role in S Shankar’s Indian 2. Speculations are rife that she has been finalised as one among the three heroines opposite Naga Chaitanya in Vikram Kumar’s Thank You.

Popular Malayalam actress Aishwarya Lekshmi will be sharing the screen alongside Satya Dev in the upcoming Telugu film ‘Godse’ directed by Gopi Ganesh Pattabhi. The 29-year-old actress who is a part of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan is already handful with a bunch of projects in her kitty. ‘Godse’ marks the reunion of Satyadev and Gopi Ganesh who have won many accolades with their 2018 cult film ‘Bluff Master.’

Kannada bombshell Rachita Ram is making her Telugu debut with the upcoming film ‘Super Machi’ starring Chiranjeevi’s son-in-law Kalyaan Dhev as the protagonist. Directed by Puli Vasu, the shooting of the commercial entertainer has been wrapped up and the release date is expected to be out soon.

While the mega hero will be sporting a bearded look in Super Machi, the film features some noted actors like Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Posani Krishna Murali and Pragathi on board. The SS Thaman musical is bankrolled by Rizwan Entertainments banner.

Kannada beauty Sreeleela has been roped in as the female lead opposite Roshan Meka in the recently announced sequel to the 1996 blockbuster ‘Pelli Sandadi.’ While the director of the prequel, K Raghavendra Rao will be supervising the direction department, debutante Gowri Ronanki will be helming the flick. MM Keeravani who composed the tunes for the original film has been retained as the music director for this sequel. Speaking about her role, the 19-year-old said “I am not at liberty to speak about my role in my Telugu debut, but it’s a role to die for, which is why I took it up. It also has music by MM Keeravani, among other things. There have, no doubt, been other offers, but this seemed just right to start with.”

Mallu Beauty Ann Sheetal has been reportedly finalised as the female lead in Kalyaan Dhev’s new film titled ‘Kinnerasani.’ While an official confirmation is awaited from the makers, this will be the Telugu debut for the 27-year-old bombshell.