Shriya Saran, who vanished from the Bollywood scene three years ago following a string of duds, has now bagged a film opposite Ajay Devgn. A look at some other actors who returned to the big screen after a long gap...

Of late, Bollywood has been witnessing a surge in the number of actors who created a sensation when they first burst onto the big scene and faded soon after. And then they explored other options to stay afloat in showbiz. All of a sudden, Hindi filmdom seems to be looking at such actors in a new light. Like they say, they are back with a bang, bagging big films opposite big names.


Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran (left).

Take the instance of Shriya Saran. Remember the chartbusters 'Toh Phir Aao' and 'Tera Mera Rishta' from her 2007 film 'Awarapan' with Emraan Hashmi? The film garnered average reviews and the South siren went on to do films like 'Ek: The Power of One' (2009), 'Mission Istanbul' (2008) and 'Gali Gali Main Chor Hai' (2012) before disappearing from the Bollywood scene. She resurfaced only to get jiggy in an item number in 'Zila Ghaziabad' (2013). However, the recent announcement that Shriya has been cast opposite Ajay Devgn in Nishikant Kamat's Hindi remake of the Malayalam film 'Drishyam' has now put her in the spotlight.


Amy Jackson (right), whose last Bolly film was Ekk Deewana Tha (2011), has been signed opposite Akshay Kumar (above) in Singh Is Bling

Bling is in
British actress Amy Jackson is another case in point. She vamoosed from Bollywood soon after her debut in 'Ekk Deewana Tha' (2011) opposite Prateik, her then beau. When the film did not create any ripples at the box office, the youngster packed her bags and headed back home to England - though she did the occasional South film and a bit of modelling. With her Tamil film I opposite Vikram garnering rave reviews, she suddenly finds herself taking another shot in B-Town. Amy has been cast opposite Akshay Kumar in Prabhu Dheva's upcoming film Singh Is Bling. Says Amy, "After the success of I, Bollywood has noticed me again. I am looking at it anew. I was busy with I for over two years as the shoot was being done in different countries."

The light-eyed actress has been thrust into the limelight with buzz suggesting that she has also been cast in the third installment of Housefull which stars the likes of Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh.

Back in tune
Shruti Haasan made her Bollywood debut with 'Luck' (2009). She then went on to do films like 'D Day' (2013) and 'Dil Toh Bachha Hai Ji' (2011). But 2015 seems to have spelt a great time for her career. The actress-singer has three releases lined up for this year. There is 'Welcome Back' with John Abraham, 'Gabbar' with Akshay Kumar and 'Yaara' with Vidyut Jamwal. There is also another project with John in the offing - 'Rocky Handsome'.


Shruti Haasan has bagged 'Welcome Back' with John Abraham along with a couple of other films opposite Akshay Kumar and Vidyut Jamwal

Shruti is also putting her vocal chords to good use, like other B-Town actresses who have been dabbling in singing. She sang for two recent films - 'Joganiyan' in Tevar featuring Sonakshi Sinha and Sannata in 'Shamitabh' that had her sister Akshara Haasan in a key role. Shruti also earned the distinction of being the first singer-actress to lend her voice to contemporary actresses.

A decade later
Rahul Bhat is best remembered for his television show 'Heena' (1998-2003). The actor crossed over to Bollywood, but both his 2002 films 'Yeh Mohabbat Hai' and 'Nayee Padosan' failed to set the box office coffers ringing. Then he went missing from the scene and tried his hand at TV production. After almost a decade, Anurag Kashyap cast him in 'Ugly' which released last December. Rahul is currently shooting for two much-hyped films - Sudhir Mishra's 'Aur Devdas' and Abhishek Kapoor's 'Fitoor'.


Rahul Bhat made his Bollywood comeback after a decade's gap with 'Ugly' directed by Anurag Kashyap

Basking in favour
Salman Khan's discovery Zareen Khan could not get going after a dream debut opposite the star in 'Veer' (2010). Labelled as Katrina Kaif's lookalike, Zareen appeared in the 'Character Dheela' track in the Salman-starrer 'Ready' (2011).


Zareen Khan is part of the third instalment of 'Hate Story' as well as another project titled 'Nonsense'

She followed it up with the ensemble film, 'Houseful 2' (2012). The actress was spotted more at celebrity events than on the silver screen. She did 'DOA: Death of Amar' with Rajeev Khandelwal which is yet to release. She then moved to Punjabi films, but has now landed two Bollywood films in her kitty. She is part of the third installment of 'Hate Story 3' as well as another project 'Nonsense', both produced by Bhushan Kumar.

Key character
Bollywood seems to be rediscovering Tabu, who is known for her acting chops. After Cheeni Kum (2007) came Toh Baat Pakki (2011) and David (2013).


Tabu

The actress followed it up with 'Jai Ho' and 'Haider' (2014). Her bold decision to play Shahid Kapoor's mother in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Haider' for which she was critically acclaimed, has created new vistas for her in the industry. She has taken up interesting roles in Meghna Gulzar's 'Talvar', Nishikant Kamat's 'Drishyam' and Neeraj Pandey's next.