Promising, young faces of 2014

Unlike 2012 which gave us remarkable new acting talent such as Parambrata Chatterjee and Alia Bhatt, 2013 spawned fewer outstanding newcomers. Significantly 2014 doesn’t show a large line-up newcomers. Here’s the pick of the lot from the coming year. Himansh Kohli: Makes his debut in music baron turned film producer Bhushan Kumar’s wife Divya Khosla’s “young”(read: jejune) film Yaariyan. USP: High visibility ensured because of producer’s clout. Downer: Makes his debut with a bunch of other newcomers who may dilute his debut. Remember the very promising Pulkit Samrat making a vague impression in the ensemble cast of Fukrey? Daisy Shah: Handpicked by Salman Khan as his leading lady in Jai Ho. USP: Remember what Salman’s mentoring did to Katrina’s career? Downer: remember what Salman’s mentoring did to Sneha Ullal and Zarine Khan? Hasleen Kaur: The former runner-up for Miss Femina Miss India contest accompanies Suneel Darshan’s son Shiv in his debut film Karle Pyar Karle. Shiv Darshan: Suneel Darshan’s son makes his debut in his father’s musical drama. USP: Father Darshan has made sure that the son’s cine-Darshan would be foolproof for the audiences. Downer: Father’s launching sons seldom work at the box office unless it’s Hrithik Roshan. Mansavi Mamgai: The model turns to acting with Prabhu Dheva’s new musical actioner Action Jackson. USP: It’s a high-profile film where she has Ajay Devgn as a co-star. Downer: How much of a role can a newcomer have a film that stars Prabhu Dheva’s favourite Sonakshi Sinha, plus Yami Gautam? Monali Thakur: Indian Idol singer gives a gut-wrenching performance as a child prostitute in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Laxmi. USP: A performance-oriented realistic debut performance never fails (e.g Jaya Bhaduri in Guddi). Downer: Singers turned actors seldom succeed, example…Sonu Nigaim. Patralekha: She makes her debut opposite the very accomplished Rajkumar Yadav in Citylights. USP: Producers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt have earlier re-launched heroines like Kangna Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat. Downer: It’s a rustic role. Audiences like their heroines urbane and chic. Tiger Shroff: Jackie Shroff’s cub roars in Hero-panti. This Sabir Ali-directed action love story is bound to be special. USP: Tiger is trained in the martial arts. He will give Vidyut Jamwal a run for his money. Downer: None. Kirti Sanon: Model turns actress and gets a dream launch opposite Tiger Shroff. USP: Sexy models are always welcome. Downer: Too many of them. Sooraj Pancholi: Salman Khan launches Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab’s son in the remake of Subhash Ghai’s Hero. USP: He has the genes, plus the pain of loss and accusations that he suffered after his girlfriend’s (Jiah Khan) alleged suicide. Downer: Too controversial even before his debut.