Regional actors have always played an important role in the expansion of Bollywood films. As India is a huge country, the makers always keep the fact in mind to employ a certain actor to get more penetration into that regional market. It is not new with regional actors featuring in Bollywood films as the film outreach increases exponentially and we have seen some of the best films and performances with these regional actors. So let's have a look at the top regional actors who make a big in Bollywood.
Predominantly known for working in Bengali films, Jisshu Sengupta made his Bollywood debut with Shyam Benegal's National Award-winning film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004). Now, the actor is a well-known name in Bollywood and has recently acted in Bhumi Pednekar starrer horror film 'Durgamati'.
Asin Thottumkal's acting debut at the age of 15 in the Malayalam-language satirical comedy-drama Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka in 2001. Asin had her first commercial success with the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003). Later on, top-notch acting skills helped her in getting her Bollywood debut film Ghajini opposite Aamir Khan. After that, he also starred in Salman Khan's 'Reddy' and Akshay Kumar's 'Housefull 2'.
Punjabi singer and actor debuted in Hindi cinema with the 2018 film Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, alongside Sonakshi Sinha, Diana Penty and Jimmy Sheirgill. Later on, in 2020, he acted in Panga, starring alongside Kangana Ranaut.
Saswata Chatterjee is a well-known Bengali actor and his acting in many Bengali films has been praised by the critics. But he enjoyed success at the national level in Sujoy Ghosh's 2012 blockbuster Hindi film, Kahaani, where he played an assassin.
Known for his debut Telugu blockbuster Leader, Rana Daggubati made his Hindi film debut with the hit film Dum Maaro Dum (2011), alongside Bipasha Basu. For which he received positive reviews for his performance and won the Best Male Debut award.
Yash is known for working in Kannada cinema and his KGF: Chapter gained him more popularity in Hindi speaking audiences. Well, his Character Rocky from the KGF is one of the most loved film characters in recent times.
A Tamil actor, producer, director, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and playback singer, Dhanush marked his Bollywood debut with Anand L. Rai's romantic drama film 'Raanjhanaa' opposite Sonam Kapoor. His massive performance as Kundan was appreciated by the audience and critics as well.
Known as a renowned Punjabi singer-songwriter and actor, Diljit Dosanjh has grabbed his first Bollywood film Udta Punjab alongside Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, and Alia Bhatt. His performance in the film gained him several awards and now the actor is featuring in several Bollywood films.
Sridevi is known for her portrayals of women in challenging situations, and appeared in a range of genres, from slapstick comedy to epic dramas. Sridevi ranked as the highest-paid woman in the Indian entertainment industry. The actress was first featured at the age of 4 in the Tamil movie Kandan Karunai in 1967 and later on her career graph takes new height with several South and Hindi films.
Rajinikanth is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema but has earned a prestigious name in Bollywood. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. His popularity has been attributed to his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films.
Telugu superstar Prabhas is known for playing one of the major successful roles in South films. The actor gained fame with the Pan Indian film, Bahubali franchise. The actor released his multilingual film 'Sahoo' in the Hindi language too.