Hottest South Indian Actresses

In a film industry that favours youth above all else in its actresses, the 32-year-old Anushka Shetty holds her own and is an A-lister. The actress, who made her debut in 2005 in Nagarjuna starrer ‘Super’, then went on to do films like ‘Vikramarkudu’ with Ravi Teja. Anushka strengthened her position in Tollywood in the heroine-centric 2009 film ‘Arundhati’. Her next film, the period drama ‘Rudhramadevi’ also sees her play the title role.

In Tamil cinema, Anushka’s ‘Singam’ in which she starred opposite Suriya was a major commercial success. While her more recent films such as ‘Alex Pandian’ and ‘Irandam Ulagam’ failed to excite audiences, Anushka Shetty’s popularity remains intact. She’s the brand ambassador for several silk and jewellery lines down South.

The actress who made her debut in ‘Kyun… Ho Gaya Naa’ in 2004 then went on to establish herself in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. While her early Telugu films included ‘Lakshmi Kalyanam’ and ‘Pourudu’, Kajal’s biggest success came in the historical drama ‘Magadheera’ in which she starred with Ram Charan Teja. Her recent films in Telugu have been ‘Baadshah’ and ‘Naayak’.

In Kollywood, too, Kajal Aggarwal has worked with the big stars, appearing alongside Suriya in ‘Maattrran’ and in Vijay’s blockbuster ‘Thuppakki’. She teamed up again with Vijay in this year’s Pongal release ‘Jilla’. Like other top actresses, she has several brand endorsements to her name – from coffee to jewellery and mobile phones.

The talented daughter of Kamal Haasan is as versatile as her famous father, balancing careers in singing, composing and acting. Shruti Haasan, who won Best Female Debut awards for ‘7 aum Arivu’ and ‘Anaganaga O Dheerudu’, then went to do films such as ‘3’ and ‘Balupu’.

The actress, who has featured in Bollywood films like ‘Luck’ and ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ has just wrapped up ‘Gabbar’ in which she shares screen space with Akshay Kumar. Quite a fashionista, Shruti is a regular on the fashion circuit.

In the competitive world of South Indian cinema, it’s not easy to walk away and then return and reclaim your position. But Nayanthara has done just that. The actress from Kerala, whose early work was in Malayalam films like ‘Manassinakkare’ and ‘Vismayathumabathu’, then made a place for herself in the Tamil and Telugu industries. Nayanthara’s popularity soared with films like ‘Billa’ and ‘Yaaradi Nee Mohini’. Her other hits include ‘Boss Engira Bhaskaran’, ‘Bodyguard’ in Malayalam and ‘Simha’ and ‘Sri Ramya Rajyam’ in Telugu, for which she won a Nandi Award for Best Actress.

Hottest South Indian Actresses