Priyanka Bose Priyanka Bose was taking a chance when she moved from Delhi to Mumbai with no connections in the film industry. She did a few assorted item numbers and blink-and-miss roles to begin with, but it was the Tanishq commercial in 2013 that turned the wave for her. In the ground-breaking ad film, Bose plays a single mother who's remarrying. “The response for the commercial was unlike anything I had received before. Slowly, I started to realise what my calling as an actor was. There was a time when outsiders found it difficult to make it in Bollywood, but now, with young writers and directors, a lot of that is changing,” she says. Her play Nirbhaya addressed sexual violence and gained worldwide popularity, and helped in giving her a new lease of life as an actor. “I have been a catalyst in demanding a change of attitude towards sexual violence against women and children through my work. I owe my training in theatre to this experience,” adds Bose, who is associated with the Bachpan Bachao Andolan and is currently producing films for them.
Wildest act on set: “I recently did a film where I was on set for 16 hours with prosthetics and make-up for three days, back to back.” What's next: Next year, she will be seen in Lions, a Hollywood film starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman.
Aditi Vasudev In her debut film Do Dooni Chaar (2010), Aditi Vasudev stood her own against veterans Neetu and Rishi Kapoor. She was barely 20, but came across as an actor with a mind of her own. Growing up in Dehradun, she recalls being drawn to the arts, and it wasn't long before she decided on pursuing acting full-time. “I dropped out of college pretty soon and moved to Mumbai when I was 18. A lot of plays and short films happened at that point, which also gave me a chance to discover myself as a performer,” says Vasudev, who also managed to stand out in a multi-starrer like Talaash (2012), where she plays a sex worker. However, it was her role as a budding photographer in Amit Masurkar's slacker comedy Sulemani Keeda (2014) that made her a recognisable face in the independent film circuit. “It was a part I could relate to the most, so I guess [the performance] came to me naturally,” she adds.
Wildest act on set: “During one of my ad film shoots, I jumped into the pool with my costume and make-up on because I couldn't bear the heat.” What's next: She has two short films, Watchdogs and Skindeep, out this year.
Radhika Apte Pune girl Radhika Apte had people sit up and take notice ever since she won a state award for Marathi film Gho Mala Asala Hawa (2009). Soon, she won rave reviews for her Bollywood debut with Shor In The City (2011), where she plays an innocent but curious housewife. A Kathak and contemporary dancer, Apte has appeared in films in over six Indian languages, but the last year has been the highlight of her career. “Badlapur [in Hindi] really put me on the map. Though I've got both criticism and praise for my films over the past year, the good thing is that people are finally beginning to offer me the kind of work I like,” she says.
Wildest act on set: “I once shot for 60 straight hours between two films without any sleep. I was delirious after three days.” What's next: This year, she will star in Indo-American co-production Parched and multi-director film X.
Kalki Koechlin Kalki Koechlin has always been a bit of a wanderer. And her journey, says the Indian actor of French origin who grew up in Pondicherry, has been a constant process of discovering herself with acting at the heart of it. From playing a sex worker in her debut film Dev D (2009) to a girl affected by cerebral palsy in her latest film, Margarita With A Straw, the performer in her has always been hungry for the tougher, more unexplored roles.
“There was a point when I did not have the luxury to choose my roles. But even then, by virtue of my looks and my personality, I only got offered parts that were a bit away from the regular Hindi film heroine. Today, when I pick my characters I need to be able to empathise and grow with them,” says Koechlin, who splits her time between the stage and the screen. Koechlin also uses her craft to spread awareness about issues she feels strongly about (such as sexual abuse), thus keeping the activist with-in her alive.
Wildest act on set: “I had to seduce a man on the phone in Tamil in my first film. I think that was pretty crazy considering I was just starting off.” What's next: She will be seen in Jia Aur Jia with Richa Chadda, and Waiting with Naseeruddin Shah.
Saba Azad From a family of theatre veterans, Saba Azad took to the stage at a very young age as part of her theatre group Jana Natya Manch in Delhi. Her second film, Mujhse Fraandship Karoge (2011), became rather popular and Azad immediately became the new girl to watch out for. “I started getting ads and was being offered films almost as soon as I moved to Mumbai, but I took a break to put together my band Madboy/Mink with Imaad (Shah). I love the camera, but the rush of live performance is unparalleled for me,” says Azad, who has also started playback singing, writing and co-producing films under her company Mad Eye Productions.
Wildest act on set: “Well, not on set, but every time I perform at a gig, it ends up being the craziest night of my life.” What's next: A few short films she has written and produced with Imaad Shah.
Sayani Gupta Performing on stage since the age of three, ac ing is second nature for Sayani Gupta, who attracted movie offers almost immediately after she graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. However, it was her sharp and measured performance as a homosexual blind student activist in Shonali Bose's Margarita With A Straw that had stalwarts from the industry rooting for her. “When Mr Bachchan appreciates your work or Vidya Balan personally calls you, it feels like you must have done something right,” says Gupta, who isn't rigid about the kind of cinema she wants to do. “I don't want to stick to Hindi films only. I want to do Korean, Japanese and French films. A role on a TV series like Game Of Thrones would be my dream,” she adds.
Wildest act on set: “During Margarita..., I would do everything on set with my eyes closed—from eating my meals to trying out my costumes. In fact, some of the assistant directors did not realise I wasn't actually blind till a few weeks before pack-up.” What's next: Next year, she will be seen in Parched and as Ranbir Kapoor's sidekick in Anurag Basu's Jagga Jasoos.