/> Power-packed last names, glitzy launches, gushing PR-they have none of that. But you remember the characters they have played. In star-sodden Bollywood, they raise the bar for acting. Here's bringing you the new pack of actors the industry can't stop talking about.

Richa Chadda

Instant Recall: The irrepressible Dolly who played Neetu Chandra's sister in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Richa's Story So Far: You have to be a really good actress to make a director run away from you because he thinks you are as crass as the character you played on screen.

It happened with Richa Chadda when she bumped into Bheja Fry director Sagar Bellary. "He was very aloof with me because he thought like Dolly, I was totally obnoxious and would not even know how to converse in English.

I took that as a huge compliment, " says the History Honours student from St Stephen's College, Delhi with a laugh.

The 23-year-old Delhi girl started her acting journey as a tomato. Er, you read that right. That was her role in her school play where she had to dance to a jingle with lines like, 'Tamatar bade mazedar.' She enrolled in Barry John's acting class in Delhi and came out with grade B in acting.

Not happy with the grade, she decided to join the same course again in Mumbai. "I wanted an A. So I did just that and topped my diploma class, " she says. A casting director spotted her in John's play Baghdad Ka Ghulam, which led to an audition with Dibakar Banerjee for Oye Lucky....

"It was a weird audition. Dibakar wanted me to act like a 15-year-old boy who was with the young Abhay in the first half. I didn't know what was happening, " she says. The famous seduction scene also has an interesting back-story. Richa, who was down with fever, kept passing out between shots.

That's when co-star Abhay Deol suggested she take a shot of brandy. "I kept on sipping brandy between shots. It was a surreal experience, " she says.

Richa's desi girl act has earned her congratulatory text messages from Ram Gopal Varma, Kundan Shah, Sudhir Mishra and Anurag Kashyap.

"I've gained respect from directors and that's what matters the most, " she says. Coming up next is an experimental film with Santosh Sivan and a family entertainer with a big banner. "After Oye Lucky! I've been getting similar roles like that of a seductive secretary.

They tell me, 'Madam Four scenes mein impact kar ke chale jaayiye.' But I don't want to be typecast as a four-scene specialist. I'm here to play the lead and I know I have what it takes, " she signs off.

Wish-list: Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met, Kalki Koechlin in Dev.D and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

Industry Verdict: "In that small role, Richa Chadda achieved what many actresses haven't in a decade-long career, " says Piyush Mishra.

Deepak Dobriyal

Instant Recall: Mamdu, a Muslim shopkeeper who worships Hanuman, in Delhi-6, Saif's sidekick in Omkara

Deepak's Story So Far: We loved him first as Dolly's almost-dulha, Rajjo, who was foil to Saif Ali Khan's evil in Omkara. But this year, in three back-to-back releases, Deepak Dobriyal has shown that few can match him in range.

In Delhi-6, he breaks your heart as a shopkeeper attached to a goat; in Gulaal, he keeps you rivetted as Kay Kay Menon's right-hand man Bhati while in 13 B, he blows you away as Ashok, the mentally-challenged murder suspect.

It won't be wrong to call Deepak as the character specialist in movies that believe in telling it like it is. It's a distinction that he relishes.

"The compliment I can't get enough of is when people fail to recognize me. I don't want to get trapped in any image except maybe the one where my audience feels that whatever he does, he'll do it well, " says the 34-year-old.

Originally from Garhwal, Dobriyal grew up in Delhi where he worked with theatre guru Arvind Gaur. He arrived in Mumbai in 2001 and ended up doing bit roles in films like Dil Hai Tumhara, Samay and Charas. He also played a servant in the Balaji soap Koi Apna Sa.

He thought he got a big break in Maqbool where he was Pankaj Kapur's bodyguard. When the film came out, it had Dobriyal only guarding Kapur with not even a single dialogue. But something about him impressed Kapur who recommended him for Rajjo's role in Omkara.

Quiz him on how life has changed after that Vishal Bhardwaj film and he replies, "Pre-Omkara I was a last option for casting.

When they could not get anyone, they would call me, but now directors develop roles keeping me in mind. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra told me that my pictures were already on his soft board as Mamdu for Delhi- 6. That's a thrill for any actor."

He continues his experimental mode with the Kundan Shah-directed silent 10-minute short Hero in Mumbai Cutting. There's also a lead role in Daayen Ya Baayen. Any dream roles?

"I'd love to act in a biopic on the hockey great Major Dhyan Chand. It'll be nice to live with a role for six months, to prepare it so well that you become the character, " he says. Anybody listening?

Wish-list: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Jim Carrey in The Mask and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

Industry Verdict: "Whenever I see Deepak in a film, I feel such joy. He's a true artiste, " says Vishal Bhardwaj.