Malayalam cinema stands tall with its child actors

Their naughty expressions, charming personalities and heart-rending performances have often triggered both laughter and tears in Mollywood movie-goers.
A handful of them retained the affection even after they grew up to become lead actors in the industry in the blink of an eye. As we celebrate yet another Children’s Day today, here is a dekko at some of the more popular child artistes who won over Malayali hearts.
Esther Anil
Drishyam and its epic moments of withstanding police interrogation are what shot Esther Anil to fame. Having said that, she had a body of work to boast of even before the mega hit movie happened. Esther debuted in Nallavan and in her second project itself she shared screen space with megastar Mohanlal and Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy. Her latest project is the Tamil version of Drishyam titled Paapanaasam in which the young bundle of talent acts with none other than Kamal Haasan! She had played the role in Telugu as well, in which she acted with Venkatesh.
Sanusha Santosh
It’s television that made Sanusha popular among Malayalis. The chirpy, talented girl pulled off power-packed performances on mini screen, and the film fraternity could not ignore her for long. Sanusha blew us away with her acting through Vinayan’s Dada Sahib and Blessy’s Kazhcha as a child actress. Vinayan again introduced her as the leading lady in his Tamil movie Nalai Namathae. The two-time State Award winner juggles projects both in Mollywood and Kollywood.
Minon
It’s when he bagged the National Award for the best child actor for his role in 101 Chodyangal that Minon became a name to reckon with. The film had also fetched him a State Award in 2012. Most recently, Minon impressed us by sharing screen space with Mammootty in Munnariyippu. The role might have been short, but Minon made sure he left the imprints of his talent in the film. The actor is also an interesting personality outside the big screen and is not school-educated! A painter and environment enthusiast, Minon has also been taking classes for MBA students about environment management from a tender age.
Nivetha thomas
The role of a petite, lively teenager in Veruthe Oru Bharya helped Nivetha Thomas get noticed and win a State Award in Malayalam. Kollywood also lapped her up soon, offering roles even in big projects like Jilla, featuring Mohanlal and Vijay. Though still young, roles as leading lady have started pouring in; her latest release in Malayalam is Money Ratnam, which opened to rave reviews. She is currently acting with Kamal Haasan in Drishyam’s Tamil version, Paapanaasam.
Anikha
Who can forget the aww-so-cute Sethulekshmi of Anju Sundarikal? Her splendid performance in the film fetched Anikha a State Award for the Best Child Artiste. Apparently, she debuted as an artiste when she was an eight-month-old baby! Her performance in Sathyan Anthikad’s Katha Thudarunnu, as the daughter of Mamta Mohandas and Asif Ali, had also won her critical acclaim. And guess who her co-star is in her latest film — Thala Ajith! Anikha plays Ajith’s daughter in the upcoming Gautham Menon film Yennai Arindhal.
Sanoop Santhosh
Talent runs in his family and so does the habit of fetching awards. The younger brother of actress Sanusha stepped into filmdom solely with the experience of ‘watching’ actors perform in front of camera on film sets, during his trips to visit his sister. However, Sanoop presented a stellar performance as Ryan Philips in the movie Philips and the Monkey Pen, and the Class V student also shared the Best Child Actor award with Baby Anikha this year at the State Awards.
Nazriya Nazim
The Mammootty film Palunku is what introduced the cherubic Nazriya Nazim to Malayalis. Post donning interesting roles as a child star in a few films, anchoring a handful of popular shows and acting in a mega hit music album, Nazriya started her innings as a heroine, right at an early age. Maad Dad with Lal, Neram and Ohm Shanthi Oshana with Nivin Pauly, Nayyandi with Dhanush… Nazriya cemented her position in the industry in no time. She recently got married to actor Fahadh Faasil, but the teenager still prominently figures in the list of Mollywood’s favourite child stars.