This year has been a special one for Mollywood as many good movies with remarkable performances made it to the theatres impressing millions of Malayalam moviegoers all over the globe.
Here's a list of debut actors who made a mark in Mollywood this year:
Antony Varghese, Anna Rajan, Sarath Kumar - Angamaly Diaries
Lijo Jose Pellissery's realistic drama Angamaly Diaries introduced as many as 85 debutants to Malayalam industry this year. Among them, Antony Varghese, Anna Rajan and Sarath Kumar won the hearts of many as Vincent Pepe, Lichi and Appani Ravi. Ullas Jose Chemban, Kichu Tellus, Vineeth Vishwam, Tito Wilson, Binny Rinky Benjamin, Amrutha Anna Reji and Athira Patel also delivered an impressive performance in Angamaly Diaries.
Nimisha Sajayan - Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
Filmmaker Dileesh Pothan is just two movies old. After introducing Aparna Balamurali and Lijomol Jose with Maheshinte Prathikaram, the filmmaker found Nimisha Sajayan for Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. The talented actress, who was brought up in Mumbai, portrayed the character Sreeja, a girl who moves from Cherthala to Kasaragod with her husband for a better living.
Sibi Thomas
The real life cop Sibi Thomas made a remarkable performance as sub-inspector Sajan Mathew in Dileesh Pothan's second movie. His natural portrayal in the Fahadh Faasil-starrer had impressed many film goers.
Aishwarya Lekshmi - Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela
Though Aishwarya appeared in only a few scenes in Althaf Salim's Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, her debut performance has caught the audience's attention. With her cute smile and natural gestures as Rachel, the love interest of Nivin Pauly's character Kurian, she has already made a mark in Mollywood. The actress will be next seen opposite Tovino Thomas in the romantic entertainer Mayanadhi.
Amal Shah and Govind V Pai - Parava
Actor Soubin Shahir's debut directorial venture Parava is one of the best Malayalam movies released this year. The movie revolves around the life of Ichapi and Haseeb, played by child artistes Amal Shah and Govind V Pai. The realistic performance of the duo is one of the highlights of the multi-starrer.
Many other language actors have also made their debut in Mollywood industry this year.
Wamiqa Gabbi – Godha
Among the other language actors, it is Wamiqa Gabbi who is on the top spot with her power packed performance as Aditi Singh in Basil Joseph's sports movie Godha. Her act as a Punjabi wrestler was extremely convincing and the way she performed in emotional scenes is worth mentioning.
Read Godha movie review
Raashi Khanna, Vishal, Hansika – Villain
With the revenge thriller Villain, helmed by B Unnikrishnan, Tamil actor Vishal, Hansika and Telugu actors Srikanth and Raashi Khanna made their debut in Malayalam. However, among them, it was Raashi who did a notable performance as cop Harshita Chopra. Interestingly, she also rendered her voice for the theme song of the Mohanlal-starrer.
Read Villain movie review
Priya Anand – Ezra
The horror thriller Ezra marked the debut performance of Priya Anand in Mollywood. She did a convincing job as Priya, wife of Prithviraj Sukumaran's character Ranjan Mathew in the Jay K directorial. The actress has also been roped in to play the main role in Nivin Pauly's much awaited period drama Kayamkulam Kochunni.
Read Ezra movie review
Aishwarya Rajesh - Jomonte Suviseshangal
After winning the hearts of Tamil audience with the movie Kaaka Muttai, actress Aishwarya Rajesh made a decent debut in Malayalam with Sathyan Anthikad- Dulquer Salmaan's family romantic entertainer Jomonte Suviseshangal in 2017. The Tamil Nadu State Film Best Actress Award winner also appeared in a main role opposite Nivin in Sidhartha Siva's directorial Sakhavu.
Read Jomonte Suviseshangal movie review
Neha Sharma, Sruthi Hariharan, Dhansika – Solo
Dulquer Salmaan's bilingual anthology movie Solo introduced four heroines to Mollywood - Neha Sharma, Sruthi Hariharan, Dhansika and Arthi Venkatesh. Among them, Neha, Sruthi and Dhansika got good screen presence and impressed the audience.
Read Solo movie reviee
Mishti - Adam Joan
With Prithviraj Sukumaran's revenge thriller Adam Joan, Bollywood actress Misthi made her acting debut in Malayalam. Though she appeared in a few scenes only, her screen presence as Amy had impressed the movie-goers.
