Ruling The Indian Film Industry With Their Sheer Talent And Beauty, Here Are The Top South Actresses

Actresses working in the regional cinema, have come far enough to be considered as equals with their Bollywood counterparts. They have proved that talent and hard work can take you to greater heights. India, being a culturally diverse country provides enough artistic avenues to be explored, where language is never a barrier.

Their craft will ultimately speak for them proving their strength and dominance in the Indian cinema. Several South actresses have given blockbuster films which are even appreciated in Bollywood. Their talent even led them to star in Hollywood movies and series. Now even top Bollywood actresses like Alia Bhatt shares her excitement and eagerness to work in South Indian Cinema.

Here’s presenting the top South Actresses who will be dominating the film industry this year.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu

An established actress of Telugu and Tamil Cinema. She recently gained a lot of appreciation for her role as Raji in The Family Man Season 2.  Created by director duo Raj and DK, here she dived into a de-glamorous role, focussing on a lot of action sequences. Her portrayal of Raji was so organic, it almost felt like a different person, unlike the uber-cool and stylish actress. Her latest song Oo Antava broke the trend of the stereotypical item songs, with more progressive lyrics.

Dancing opposite superstar Allu Arjun, who is known to be a phenomenal dancer, she still stood out and didn’t fade away. Her famous films include Dookudu, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, Attarintiki Daredi, and AR Murugadoss’s Tamil action film, Kaththi. Her film A Aa also won her a Filmfare Award. Movies like Theri, 24, Mersal, Rangasthalam and Mahanati were commercially successful. She won critical acclaim for Super Deluxe, Majili, Oh! Baby and Jaanu. She is now all set to make her Hollywood debut with Arrangements of Love, directed by Philip John.

Shruti Haasan

The daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur, she has been familiar with the film industry since a kid. A multi-talented person, she gracefully balances her acting and music career. She is known to be the most hard-working actress, as once she worked simultaneously in four film industries. Fluent in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telegu, she has gained lots of appreciation from both her fans and critics as well. Her breakthrough performances include romantic drama film 3, starring opposite Dhanush.

Later she became a part of big box office successes like  Balupu, Yevadu, Race Gurram, Poojai, Srimanthudu, Vedalam, Katamarayudu, Krack, Laabam, and many more. She also starred in Netflix’s anthology Pitta Kathalu in the segment directed by Nag Ashwin, which dealt with a much darker storyline. She has always been vocal about mental health and spreading awareness. Making Gothic style mainstream, it is her being unapologetically herself and celebrating life as it is, that makes her more desirable and even relatable. She will next be seen in the big-budget Salaar, opposite Prabhas.

Rashmika Mandanna

Working predominantly in Telugu and Kannada language films. She is one of the most talented actresses in the South Film Industry. She has become a recipient of the Filmfare Award South and the SIIMA Award at a very young age. Her talents were first recognized in films like Kirik Party and Geetha Govindam. Her portrayal of a ruthless woman in Geetha Govindam, which is a romantic comedy was praised for breaking the usual tropes of Indian cinema.

In 2020, she starred opposite Mahesh Babu in the Telugu film Sarileru Neekevvaru, which became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year. In October 2021, she rose above Samantha, Vijay Deverakonda, and Yash by being Forbes India’s most influential actors on social media. Her popular films include Anjani Putra, Chalo, Yajamana, Bheeshma, Pogaru, and the latest super hit Pushpa. She will next be seen in two Hindi movies and will also come back for Pushpa’s second part.

Pooja Hegde

She is an Indian actress appearing mostly in Telugu and Tamil films. A recipient of the SIIMA Award, she was also crowned as the second runner-up at the Miss Universe India 2010. She played the lead in successful films such as Duvvada Jagannadham, Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, Maharshi, and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.

Her upcoming movies include the romantic multilingual film big-budget Radhe Shyam opposite Prabhas, Koratala Siva’s film Acharya with Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan, and the Tamil film Beast opposite Vijay. It will mark her coming back to Tamil cinema after nine years. It was also announced that she will be seen in Mahesh Babu and Trivikram Srinivas’ next film. This will be her second collaboration with Mahesh Babu and third with Trivikram.

Raashi Khanna

An actress and playback singer by profession, she is known for working mostly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She made her acting debut as a female lead in Telugu film Oohalu Gusagusalade, in Tamil with Imaikkaa Nodigal, and in Malayalam with Villain (2017). 

Gradually rising to fame, she later became a part of commercial successes like Bengal Tiger, Supreme, Jai Lava Kusa, Tholi Prema, Imaikkaa Nodigal, Venky Mama, and Prati Roju Pandage. After establishing herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu and Tamil cinema, she debuted as a singer with the Joru and later sang for other films as well. She will next be seen in several big-budget movies. These include Telugu films Pakka Commercial opposite Gopichand, Thank You opposite Naga Chaitanya. Tamil films Methavi opposite Jiiva, Sardar with Karthiand Thiruchitrambalam alongside Dhanush. And a Hindi film Yodha starring Sidharth Malhotra. 

Making her debut on the OTT platform, she will also be seen in an untitled series directed by Raj and DK, alongside Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi. And, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, alongside Ajay Devgn, which will be the adaptation of the British TV show Luther, starring Idris Elba.