10 Newcomers to look forward to in 2020

Starting with Siddharth Chaturvedi in Gully Boy, Ananya Panday in Student of the Year 2, and Karan Deol in Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, we saw many new faces in 2019.

Familiar faces like Mohit Raina and Tara Sutaria, who already had remarkable careers on television, also got their respective big screen debuts that year, leaving us fairly impressed with their acting chops in Uri: The Surgical Strike, and SOTY2.

While most of them have movies lined up to release this year, 2020 is going to be exciting with an entire fresh lot of actors, celeb offspring and renowned TV actors making their Bollywood debuts.

Ahan Shetty

Following the footsteps of his father and sister, Suniel Shetty's son is all set to take the leap of faith in the Bollywood space. The star-kid will be debuting with the Hindi remake of 2018 Telugu hit, RX 100. The spitting image of his father, Ahan just like his father, will mark his entry with an action-packet film, with Tara Sutaria as his heroine.

Isabelle Kaif

This debut has been long overdue and finally being realized, as Katrina Kaif’s younger sister takes to the silver screen with Kwatha. A movie directed by Karan Lalit Butani, Kwatha introduces the star-sibling opposite Salman Khan’s brother-in-law and Loveyatri star, Ayush Sharma. It has been shot in the scenic locations of Manipur, and we get to hear that the story-line of this romantic-drama has been inspired by real incidents.

Alaia Furniturewala

The year is going to rain celeb kids and siblings. The next one all geared up for her dazzling debut is Kabir Bedi’s granddaughter and Pooja Bedi’s daughter, Alaya Furniturewala. Her star-studded first, Jawaani Jaaneman, in which she will be seen as Saif Ali Khan’s daughter, is all set to hit theaters on January 31st. Though the coming-of-age comedy centers around Saif Ali Khan’s character, Alaya seems content with the part trusted to her. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, she shares, “The audience will not just get to see me perform but will also get a little glimpse into my real life.”

Lulia Vantur

Though they have never confirmed or denied their relationship status, speculations of Salman Khan dating Lulia have been going strong for a couple of years now. The Romanian beauty will be essaying a Polish girl in Prem Soni's directorial next, Radha Kyun Gori Main Kyun Kaala. The movie, with a strong social message, is all set to release in March this year.

Shirley Setia

She maybe making her big screen debut this year, but Shirley is a familiar face among the vast fan-base she has collected on the internet through her beautiful renditions of many popular songs. She will now be seen sharing screen-space with Shilpa Shetty and Abhimanyu Dassani in a Bollywood rom-com, Nikamma, due for a release this June.

Lakshya

This new comer bagged his first Bollywood film after convincing Karan Johar through a rigorous audition process. The filmmaker reveals in an had auditioned numerous actors to find the "suitable boy" for his next venture, which will be a sequel to his 2008 Priyanka-Abhishek-John starrer, Dostana. Lakshya will share screen space with Janhvi Kapoor and Kartik Aryan.

Sanjana Sanghi

Though you know her from Ranbir Kapoor-Nargis Fakhri starrer Rockstar, it has been nine years since you saw her as the main lead’s sister. Sanjana will now play the leading lady opposite Sushant Singh Rajput in the Hindi remake of The Fault in our Stars, Dil Bechara. Shailene Woodley was exceptional in the 2014 American drama; its going to be one tough job to recreate 'Hazel Grace Lancaster' and give her a desi personality.

Krystle D’souza

After earning unbounded fame for her roles in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai and Kasauti Zindagi Kay 2, this beauty is waiting to take over the big screen. Her first Bollywood project is Chehre and she would be cast alongside Emraan Hashmi and Amitabh Bachchan in this mystery thriller.

Manushi Chhillar

The 2017 Miss World would be seen as Akshay Kumar’s queen in this year’s mega Diwali release, Prithviraj. The historical drama, helmed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, as suggested by the title, narrates the story of the fearless king of the 12th century, Prithviraj Chauhan. It must be a matter of great honor for the former Miss World to not only play 'Princess Samyukta', but to make an entry into the industry as her. If this is not a grand debut, we don’t know what would be.

Shalini Pandey

The Arjun Reddy actress bagged her first Hindi film with Yash Raj Films and has been cast opposite Raveer Singh in Divyang Thakkar's character comedy, Jayeshbhai Jordaar. For those who don't know yet, Arjun Reddy was a super-hit Telugu movie, and was remade in Hindi as Kabir Singh. Shalini, who had debuted with Arjun Reddy, was showered with praises from all directions for her brilliant performance.

Do you know that the South Indian film Industry is just as huge as the Hindi film Industry in Mumbai? It has a massive market outside India and fetches almost similar and at times greater returns.

This is why the industry, popularly known as Tollywood, has attracted actors from all over. The welcoming audience body never bore barriers in mind and showered these actors with unbounded love and followership.

Here are 10 actresses from North India - some have even worked in Hindi films - , who have massive careers in the South.

Kajal Aggarwal

Hailing from a Bombay-based Punjabi family, Kajal made her movie debut in 2004, playing Aishwarya Rai's sister in Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... But, Bollywood had nothing to offer to this very talented actress who found a whole different world of staggering success in South cinema. Chandamama, Thuppakki and Magadheera are some of her biggest successes, and she has bagged the CineMAA Awards and Vijay Award for Favorite Heroine for her acting chops.

Kriti Kharbanda

Fans of Hindi cinema have started to recognize Kriti for being the sweet Aarti Shukla from Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. But the actress has a decade of acting career under her belt. Kriti's show biz career commenced in 2009, with the Telugu movie, Boni. She has since been in dozens of Telugu and Kannada movies. She is from a Punjabi family that settled in Bangalore back in the 90s.

Bhumika Chawla

Though, average Bollywood viewers won't remember Bhumika beyond Tere Naam, she was also seen dancing within Abhishek Bachchan in Run. She has completed 20 successful years in acting. The girl from a Punjabi family, who was educated in New Delhi, carved a stellar career for herself in the South. Bhumika has acted in over 50 movies in varied languages including Telugu, Tamil and Malyalam and turned producer with the 2010 release, Thakita Thakita.

Shalini Panday

The theater artist from Jabalpur bagged her first film in Tollywood, which turned out to be the blockbuster Arjun Reddy. This was the movie that was redone in Hindi as Kabir Singh. Since her 2017 debut, the MP girl has been rocking the cine screens down South, despite not knowing the language at all. Shalini will be making her Bollywood debut with Jayeshbhai Jordaar slotted to release in May this year.

Jyothika Sadanah Saravanan

Born to a Punjabi father and Maharashtrian mother, Jyothika hit gold in films made in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. Back in 1998, she had starred in Priyadarshan's Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, which remains to be her only Hindi gig. Few of her critically acclaimed performances can be seen in Snegithiye, Perazhagan, and Chandramukhi. The actress is married to Tamil film personality Suriya and the couple is blessed with two children.

Charmi Kaur

She did the opening bit for the catchy 'Gandi Baat' in R. Rajkumar. But don't take her for a background dancer or 'item girl'. Charmee has a 17-year-long run as an actress in Tollywood, and adds to the long list of successful Punjabi actresses who are dominating the South cinema industry. You may or may not remember her in Rani-Kareena-Hrithik starrer Mujhse Dosti Karoge, but her stint in Telugu films is anything but forgettable. The two times CineMAA Awards winner has also turned a co-producer recently.

Hansika Motwani

After working in umpteen television shows as a child artist, she booked herself a spot beside Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta in Koi Mil Gaya. And then, a blink-of-an-eye later, she was romancing Himesh Reshamiya and Govinda who were more than twice her age at then. Talk about disturbing pairings in Bollywood. After movies like Aap Ka Suroor and Money Hai Toh Honey Hai, the Sindhi beauty turned toward Tollywood for good and bagged the Filmfare Best Female Debut for Desamuduru. Hansika works predominantly in Telugu movies, with occasional Malayalam and Tamil gigs.

Taapsee Pannu

Before essaying the iconic Meenal Arora in Pink, Taapsee had earned a reputation for herself in Telugu and Tamil movies. The Punjabi-Sikh girl from Ashok Vihar Delhi marked her acting debut with Jhummandi Naadam in 2010 and was seen in three consecutive releases in 2011. Fun fact: Taapsee was pursuing was a student of Computer Science Engineering from Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology, when acting chose her.

Tamannaah

Her fans call her 'Milky beauty' and we opine, she bears a resemblance to the 90s sensation Karisma Kapoor. The early memories we have of this diva are from the music video, Lafzon Mein Keh Na Sakoon. At 15-years-old, Tamannaah made her debut in Telugu films with Sri, the same year her Hindi release, Chaand Sa Roshan Chehra had tanked badly at the box office. She was loved in Happy Days, a Telugu movie which did amazing business in theaters across India. There has been no looking back for this Panjaban, and she reigns as one of the best actresses in their industry.

Rakul Preet Singh

Its amazing how girls from far north find such a strong appeal with fans from in the South. We could keep counting for days, but we wrap this one here with Rakul. The Yaariyan actress spent 6 years in Tollywood before being discovered by Divya Khosla Kumar for her directorial debut. With movies like Aiyaary, De De Pyar De, and the upcoming Shimla Mirch, Rakul has started frequenting the multiplexe screens running Hindi films, but her career in south in still running parallel and strong.

 Bigg Boss is one of the popular controversial shows on television. Every season, the makers get popular and controversial celebrities on the show by offering them huge money. This time too, the makers have shelled out whopping amount to bring the celebrities on board. As per a 'Big Boss 13' Instagram page, take a look at the Bigg Boss 13 contestants' fees list!

Rashami & Arhaan

As we had reported earlier, Rashami Desai is the highest-paid contestant of this season. Apparently, she is being paid Rs 15 lakh. To showcase his romance with Rashami, Arhaan is apparently getting Rs 1.2 lakh.

Devoleena & Sidharth

To get Saath Nibhana Saathiya actress Devoleena on board, the makers apparently paid her Rs 12 lakh, which makes her the second highest-paid contestant. The Dil Se Dil Tak actor Sidharth Shukla, who is winning hearts in the house, is being paid Rs 9 lakh.

Vishal & Madhurima

The ex-couple Vishal Aditya Singh and Madhurima Tulli, who had hit the headlines with their fights on the dance reality show, Nach Baliye 9, got on board, hoping that they would create the same drama in the Bigg Boss house as well. But looks like nothing as such will happen! The couple is apparently getting Rs 8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

Paras & Mahira

Paras Chhabra, who has apparently fallen in love with his inmate Mahira Sharma, is being paid Rs 65,000. On the other hand, Mahira is getting Rs 90,000.

Asim Riaz & Shefali Jariwala

While Shefali Jariwala is being paid Rs 7.5 lakh, Kashmiri model Asim, who has impressed fans with his honest gameplay, is surprisingly, getting the lowest amount, i.e., Rs 60,000

Himanshi & Shehnaz

Shehnaz Gill, who has not only impressed viewers but also Salman Khan with her cuteness, is getting Rs 4.5 lakh. To bring in some spice, the makers got Himanshi Khurana on board as the wild card entrant, thinking that the duo's controversy might fetch the show some good ratings. But nothing as such happened and Himanshi was eliminated soon! As per the account, Himanshi's remuneration is Rs 4 lakh.

Arti Singh & Shefali Bagga

While comedian-actor Krushna Abhishek's sister and TV actress, Arti Singh is apparently getting Rs 1.3 lakh, TV reporter Shefali Bagga is being paid Rs 1 lakh.

Evicted Contestants' Fees

The other evicted contestants' fees are:

• Hindustani Bhau: Rs 7.6 lakh
• Khesari: Rs 8.5 lakh
• Tehseen Poonawala: Rs 85,000
• Koena Mitra: Rs 2.5 lakh
• Dalljiet Kaur: Rs 1.5 lakh
• Siddharth Dey: Rs 2 lakh
• Abu Malik: Rs 80,000

 Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora’s proximity has caused friction between the Chhaiyya Chhaiyya girl and her husband Arbaaz Khan (Scoop: Arjun responsible for Arbaaz-Malaika split, Jan 29).

The two have been seen together on a few occasions, the most recent being in the last week of April (Last night, Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoor were together, Apr 23). And it’s not just Arbaaz or the Khan family who isn’t happy about this ‘friendship’.


SpotboyE has it that Arjun’s father Boney Kapoor has jumped in to salvage the situation.

We hear, the producer has told his son in no uncertain terms to maintain his distance from Malaika. Boney is worried that Arjun’s career might take a beating if he rubs Salman Khan the wrong way.

And looks like Arjun is taking his daddy dearest’s word seriously. For the last two weeks, the Ishaqzaade actor hasn’t been seen around Malaika’s building.

The much-loved Salman Khan was recently spotted as he posed  for a photograph with the gorgeous Elli Avram. Dressed in casuals, the 50-year-old star looked stylish and exuded machismo. Moreover, his confident body language and relaxed expressions too added a new dimension to his latest avatar. Interestingly, as part of the shoot, he was seen holding  the reigns of a horse.


As it so happens, this gesture too gelled pretty well with his look and propelled it to new heights. Now that’s what we call an effortless style statement. Right guys?

As far as Elli is concerned, she too looked quite beautiful and upped the glamour quotient in a big way. As expected, she shared crackling chemistry with ‘Bhai’.

On a related note, Salman was last seen in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. In it, he was paired opposite Sonam Kapoor. At present, he is gearing up for the release of the sports-drama Sultan which features him in the role of a wrestler.

Bollywood star kids are getting immense attention when it comes to social media. The pictures posted by them are hot favourites on the Internet. One prominent name among those kids is Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Ali Khan, who on his Instagram posts several selfies, poses with friends and even Dubsmash videos.


Junior Pataudi is really a big hit on the celluloid. This cool lad recently posted a selfie, where you might confuse it with his daddy cool Saif Ali Khan. 

In the picture, Ibrahim looks like a photocopy of his dad and you have to look at him more than once to make sure that is him and not his dad Saif. 

Bollywood filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala will be conferred with the Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight in the National Order Arts and Letterst) by the French Government for his outstanding achievements as a producer and his commitment to constantly improving Indo-French relations.


The honour is slated to be conferred on Nadiadwala at a special ceremony that will take place in New Delhi in the coming weeks.

In his career spanning 30 years, Nadiadwala has made valuable contribution to the Indian film industry. This is not the first honour to be bestowed on the director-producer, earlier in 2013, the Italian territory of Puglia's Official Tourist Board "Pugliapromozione," together with Apulia Film Commission dedicated a travel itinerary through the Puglia territory to him called the ''Sajid Nadiadwala Housefull Itinerary in Puglia."

We know that Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut are involved in a messy legal battle. Though the stars and their lawyers are going to and fro with their allegations and defences, it seems that the case is in a deadlock situation and will not resolve easily.

We know that Hrithik had mentioned that it was not him, but an imposter who had been sending Kangana emails in his name. If a statement of a particular source has any truth to it, it could mean a small victory for Hrithik on this front.

A leading daily reported the source as saying, “The emails that were being sent to Kangana were not even from this country. She should be worried about communicating with an imposter. Why is she not co-operating with the cyber crime unit? She has exchanged pictures and videos with him. If those are leaked, can you imagine what will happen? Anyone in her place would have surrendered the laptop and allowed us to catch the culprit. But she doesn’t seem keen to do so. The last thing we were told is that her computer has a virus and everything got deleted.”

Well, what do you think of that? The source added, "If Kangana is in the clear, why is she not giving her laptop to the cops? We have been asking her to do so. Why is she refusing to give her statement? If she has nothing to hide then why isn’t she coming out in the open? Hrithik has been most cooperative. He has received hundreds of emails from her. He has not replied even once. The content of her emails makes it clear that nothing has ever happened between them. And we have ascertained that in the last three years, NOT A SINGLE email or text message has gone from him to her. If a couple is in a relationship for a long time, won’t there be pictures or messages exchanged between them?”

Now, before all you readers out there gasp in shock and assume that Ranveer Singh is indulging in some substance abuse, let us clarify that we mean something else entirely.

What Ranveer meant to say is that he is quite addicted to 'selfies' and takes up to 50 selfies in a day! Ranveer made this confession at the launch of a mobile phone brand and added that he is quite crazy about his phone camera and cannot resist clicking himself as and when he fancies.

Ranveer will be next seen opposite Vaani Kapoor in Aditya Chopra's upcoming directorial Befikre.

A few months ago it was announced that Rohit Shetty and Karan Johar had decided to remake the yesteryear classic Ram Lakhan. Shortly thereafter, countless rumors about the attempted remake began doing the rounds. In fact, it was even reported that stars such as Varun Dhawan and Ranveer Singh had turned down offers to star in the film.

However, at an event today, Ranveer hinted that he might be soon collaborating for a ‘Dhamaka’ film with Rohit Shetty and we are guessing it might very well be Ram Lakhan!

Ranveer said, “Rohit Shetty is an awesome director. I really think he is the king of commercial, masala films. I would love to collaborate with him. I have met him a bunch of time and we really, really get along. I love that he is a really simple man, a sincere man. He has a closely knit team who work wonderfully together. I am really looking forward to collaborating with him. Like I said, nothing is formalized or finalized, but given the opportunity and if everything falls into place, hopefully I will be in a big, Rohit Shetty dhamaka very soon.”

Well, what do you think of that?

A year after the Swiss Bank Leaks, the list which provided names of the people having secret accounts in HSBC Geneva, another massive leak that has shocked the nation is that of Panama Papers. 

A leading daily, after researching for 8 months, has got access to more than 11 million documents from the secret files of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, headquarted in Panama, the tax haven, known for production of off-shore companies. 

The list reveals the names of the individuals who have paid the firm and purchased the benefits of secretive, tax regulatory system, to set up offshore entities in tax havens. While Wiki Leaks named around 1,100 Indians, Panama Papers includes 500 Indians in the list including that of Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.  


Though Aishwarya Rai, her father Krishna Rai, mother Vrinda Rai and brother Aditya Rai were registered in 2005 as directors of Amic Partners Limited, her status was later changed to share holder before the company was dissolved in 2008. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies - one in the BVI and three in the Bahamas - set up in 1993. 

The authorized capital of these companies ranged between $5000-50,000 but they traded in ships worth millions of dollars. Apart from them, DLF owner K P Singh and nine members of his family, Sameer Gehlaut, the promoters of Apollo Tyres and Indiabulls, Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani, two politicians - Shishir Bajoria from West Bengal and Anurag Kejriwal, the former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Part are also named in the list. 

It is common knowledge that Shah Rukh Khan and Aditya Chopra have collaborated on quite a few occasions. Some of their most successful films include Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to name a few. Now, in an exciting turn of events, the ‘Badshah’ is all set to work with the maverick director yet again.


Speaking to a leading daily, SRK recently confirmed that he would be starring in Adi’s next directorial venture.

“Aditya Chopra has a plan to do a film with me. I think I will start shooting from Aditya’s next film by end of 2017. All he has told me is the fact that is a very big project and I might have to sit for two months with Adi to prepare for the character. He told me that the shooting will be wrapped up in three months, but I will have to work with him on characters for two months prior to shooting for the film. I have no idea what he is making, but he has just asked me to keep my dates free next year. He has been planning one film with me after Befikre,” he added.


On a related note, SRK is currently gearing up for the release of FAN. On the other hand, Aditya is currently wrapping up his eagerly-awaited directorial venture Befikre.

Abhishek-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been blissfully married for almost 9 years. Post a fairy-tale romance and a brief courtship period, the good-looking duo tied the knot on April 20, 2007. While Aishwarya is not active on social media, Abhishek is a regular. And the loving husband he is, Abhi seldom shows his love for his gorgeous better half and daughter Aaradhya.

Well, Abhi has touched 9M followers mark on the Twitter today and was chatting with his fans. During the interaction, one of the fans asked the actor, “what is the one best thing abt Ashwariya that u adore?” To this, Abhishek had the cutest reply to give, which definitely made us go awwwww… “She loves unconditionally”

*Oh My!*

Though they say love doesn’t need many words to express, this sort of expressions of love is always heart-touching and  special.

Hearts & Flowers…

Abhishek Bachchan has been suffering from slipped disc and has been advised bed rest for few days by the doctors. Since the actor is actively involved in sports and is often seen indulging in a game of football himself on most weekends with his friends Ranbir Kapoor, Bunty Walia, Dino Morea, Karan Wahi among others, it surely was speculated to be one of the reasons behind Bachchan’s current medical condition.


But that clearly isn’t the case, according to a leading daily and instead he has suffered the slipped disc while playing with his adorable daughter Aaradhya. A source close to the actor told the daily, “Abhishek was playing cricket when he felt an excruciating pain in his spine. He was immediately rushed to the doctor and tests showed that he had a slipped disc." 

Haha! Now this is surely cute and made us smile. Junior Bachchan has not only won brownie points from his little princess but also from all of us. What say?! 

The ongoing season of Bigg Boss 13 is adding new suspense and drama each day, keeping the audience glued to their screens. The Salman Khan-hosted show is seeing some TRP gaining twists and turns being added to the reality TV show. With Sidharth Shukla's proximity to Rashami Desai and Devoleena, the show is setting up new stories each day.

One of the not so well-known contestants of the show is model Asim Riaz. Hailing from Kashmir, Riaz was not a popular name before his participation in the show. However, the lad has created a huge fan following and giving some competition to other house inmates.

Interestingly, the young model has recently broken the record of Bigg Boss 11 contestant Shilpa Shinde. Riaz's fans started the trend #UnstoppableAsim on internet, which has reportedly crossed over 1 million tweets.

The new trend has broken the records of some of the most popular Bigg Boss contestants in the past, including Shilpa Shinde and Gautam Gulati. Undoubtedly, this is a big achievement for the newcomer.

Riaz is quite popular in the house too, and is known for his ugly fights with co-contestants, including Sidharth Shukla, Shehnaaz Gill, Paras Chhabra & others. However, his bond with actress and model Himanshi Khurana has become a topic of interest for many viewers. Riaz has confessed his love for Himanshi openly, despite knowing that the actress is already engaged.

Bollywood star Sunny Leone enthralled the audience with her scintillating performance during the Star Night Live 2016 show held at Bhartiya Nritya Mandir in Patna. The dance show was accompanied by a singing performance by Mohit Chauhan. 

This was Sunny’s first ever performance in Patna. The Mastizaade actress was accompanied by her husband Daniel Weber; the couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in Bangalore two days back. 


Sunny will be seen sharing the screen with none other than superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the movie Raees, which is scheduled to be released in July. She has performed an item number which is said to be a remake of the famous “Laila O Laila” song from the 1980 hit Qurbani. The original track featured Feroz Khan and Zeenat Aman. 

An elated Bollywood siren has described her experience of working with King Khan as the best thing happened in her life.The 34-year-old beauty will be seen next in a thriller titled One Night Stand, directed by Jasmine D’souza. 

Image credit: IANS