Despite the loss of some eminent personalities, the year 2016 has been great so far for Mollywood. The Malayalam entertainment industry had many back-to-back hits and from Nivin Pauly's Action Hero Biju to the campus entertainer Aanandam, the industry saw the debut performance of many actresses this year.
Here is a list of actresses who made their acting debut in Malayalam in 2016:
Anu Emmanuel, who had made her debut as a child artiste in the Jayaram-Samvrutha Suni starrer Swapna Sanchari, played opposite Nivin Pauly in the realistic cop movie Action Hero Biju. Though it was more of a cameo appearance in the Abrid Shine directorial, the actress was noticed by the audience as she has been featured in the hit song, Pookal Panineer Pookal, sung by veteran singers KJ Yesudas and Vani Jayaram. Recently, her debut Telugu project Majnu was released, and she has also bagged the lead role in the Telugu films Oxygen, Beware of Kittu and Vishal's Tamil movie Thupparivalan. Anu, who was also roped in Amal Neerad-Dulquer Salmaan's yet-to-be-titled project, backed out due to unknown reasons.
With her debut movie, Aparna Balamurali rose to fame for her performance opposite Fahadh Faasil in Maheshinte Prathikaram. The actress was well appreciated portraying the role Jimcy in the directorial venture of Dileesh Pothan. The actress, who also rendered her voice for the song Mounangal in the movie with Vijay Yesudas, has also sung Vinnil Theliyum Mekhame song from the movie Pa..Va this year. Aparna, who was last seen in Jude Anthony Joseph's Oru Muthassi Gadha will also next seen in Asif Ali's Thrissivaperoor Kliptham, and photos of her riding an auto had recently surfaced online. She has also replaced Honey Rose in Anoop Menon-starrer Sarvopari Palakkaran.
Lijomol Jose
Lijomol also made her acting debut in Maheshinte Prathikaram as Soniya, the daughter of artiste Baby (Alencier Ley). Though it was a minor role, the actress was well appreciated and also bagged a significant role in the recently released comedy entertainer Kattappanayile Hrithik Roshan opposite Vishnu Unnikrishnan. The Nadhirshah directorial has been making fabulous business at the Kerala box office.
The bubbly actress Aima Rose Sebastian was lauded for her performance as Ammu, sister of Nivin Pauly's character Jerry in the Vineeth Sreenivasan directorial Jacobinte Swargarajyam. The dancer-turned-actress will be next seen in Mohanlal's family entertainer Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, helmed by Jibu Jacob.
Reba, who became a familiar face for the Kerala audience for participating in the reality show Midukki in Mazhavil Manorama, made her acting debut in Jacobinte Swargarajyam. She was seen as Chippy in the family entertainer, which was inspired from the real life story of an NRI businessman settled in Dubai. Also read: Meet the real life heroes of JSR
Arthana Binu
Television host Arthana Binu was seen opposite Suresh Gopi's son Gokul in their maiden movie Mudhugauv, which opened to average response from the audience.
Shaun Romy and Amalda Liz
Director Rajeevi Ravi's Kammatipaadam is tagged as one of the best Malayalam movies in 2016. Despite bagging A certificate, the Dulquer Salmaan-starrer was appreciated by majority of the audience. The action thriller starred two actresses in main roles, Shaun Romy and Amalda Liz as Anitha and Rosamma, respectively. They garnered good response from the cine-goers, who were also all praise for the performances of Vinayakan, Manikandan R Achari, Vinay Forrt and Shine Tom Chacko in it.
Rajisha Vijayan, who started her career as a television host, made a commendable debut with Asif Ali in the romantic family entertainer Anuraga Karikkin Vellam in 2016. The actress character Elizabeth aka Eli in the Khalid Rahman directorial made her the favourite of many and she was lauded for delivering natural performance in it. She will be next seen in Georgettan's Pooram opposite Dileep that is expected to hit the screens in January 2017.
Shruti Ramachandran and Sharanya Menon
Jayasurya's horror comedy entertainer Pretham starred two debutant actresses, Shruti Ramachandran as a ghost and Sharanya Menon as the antagonist in it. Sharanya, who is the sister-in-law of the versatile actor Jayasurya recently got married.
Siddhi Mahajankatti, Annu Antony and Anarkali Marikar
The campus entertainer Aanandam is a total treat to the movie-goers, it has presented many talented artistes to the industry and saw the notable performances of three actresses - Siddhi Mahajankatti, Annu Antony and Anarkali Marikar. Among them, Siddhi has been gaining more popularity for flawlessly playing as Dia. The Ganesh Raj directorial, which narrates the incidents that happen during a trip by professional college students, opened to tremendous response and is still continuing its good run all over the world.
