A mix of freshers and former child artistes are set to burst on to the big screen in prominent Bollywood roles this year

Every year, the industry welcomes new talents, be it star kids or rank outsiders, who hope to make a mark in the industry.

A look at some of the most awaited acting debuts of 2016.

Saiyami Kher

The youngster, who stars in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Mirziya', has a lot of industry connections - she is the granddaughter of yesteryear actress Usha Kiran and niece to Tanvi Azmi. Saiyami's mother Uttara Kher is a former beauty pageant winner and her father Adwait is a model-turned-restaurateur. Born and brought up in Nashik, Saiyami graduated from St Xavier's College in Mumbai and began her career as a model. Mehra selected Saiyami to play the female lead in his film from among three aspirants.

Harshvardhan Kapoor

Bollywood runs in his blood. Set to be launched in 'Mirziya', Harshvardhan is Anil Kapoor's son. He studied screenplay writing and acting in the US, and worked as an AD in Anurag Kashyap's 'Bombay Velvet'. In 2012, Katrina Kaif's younger sister Isabel and Harsh featured in a short film, 'Coming Home'.

Ritika Singh

The boxer-turned-actress features in Rajkumar Hirani's production 'Saala Khadoos' with Madhavan. She was chosen from among 100 ringsters. She is a national-level kick boxer and a black belt in karate. Ritika has also learnt MMA.

Pooja Hegde

A beauty pageant winner, she will be seen as Hrithik Roshan's ladylove in Ashutosh Gowariker's epic drama 'Mohenjo Daro'. The model was handpicked by the director during auditions.

Mahira Khan

One more actress from across the border in Bollywood this year. Mahira, better known to the Indian audience as Khirad from Pakistani TV series Humsafar, makes her debut in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Raees'. She grew up watching Hindi films and her show's popularity here brought her to the attention of Indian filmmakers.

Fatima Shaikh - Sanya Malhotra

Mumbai girl Fatima (left), who has dabbled in acting and photography, will be seen as one of Aamir Khan's daughters in 'Dangal'. Fatima featured as a child artiste in 'Chachi 420' (1997) and has done bit roles in films like 'Bittoo Boss' (2012) and 'Akaash Vani' (2013) and the TV show 'Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo'. Sanya (right), a trained ballet dancer from Delhi, who has done a bit of modelling, will play her sister.

Nidhi Dutta-Ajit Sodhi

Daughter of veteran filmmaker JP Dutta and yesteryear actress Bindiya Goswami, she will be seen in her father's production 'Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le'. She has been paired opposite Ajit Sodhi (right), son of yesteryear actress Nafisa Ali.

Sayesha Saigal

She is the daughter of Saira Banu's niece actress Shaheen, who featured in 'Maha-Sangram' (1990) and 'Ayee Milan Ki Raat' (1991) and actor Sumeet Saigal who featured in late '80s films. Sayesha, who has done Telugu films, features opposite Ajay Devgn in his directorial venture, 'Shivaay'. The youngster had been grooming for Bollywood for the last couple of years.

Diljit Dosanjh
The well-known Punjabi singer makes his Bollywood debut in Abhishek Chaubey's 'Udta Punjab' opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan. He is already a name in the Punjabi film and TV industry and now hopes to make a mark in Bollywood.

Shekhar Ravjiani

Shekhar RavjianiOne half of the music composer duo Vishal-Shekhar, turns actor in Ram Madhvani's Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Neerja'. With aspirations to become an actor lately, Shekhar had groomed himself and knocked off a few kilos too. He will play Sonam's love interest in the film.