TV Actors Who Pleased The Critics With Their Bollywood Debuts

We can call cinema the ‘big screen’ but the truth is television can hardly be considered ‘small’ by any stretch of the imagination. The television stars are becoming more and more popular than ever and there is no dearth of TV stars who can give Bollywood biggies a run for their money in terms of fan following.

As a result, many TV actors find it easy to enter into Bollywood given they are already and bankable names. While some manage to give big hits, some miss the mark and a lucky few manage to convince the audience that they are indeed good actors before anything else. Here are a few television actors who received widespread critical acclaim in their debut films.

Mrunal Thakur

Mrunal Thakur made her screen debut with the serial KumKum Bhagya which turned out to be a massive hit with the audience. Her character Bulbul became a household name almost instantly and despite playing the second fiddle her vivacious and chirpy persona in the serial was loved by all. But the recently released Love Sonia has rendered her almost unrecognizable. She has been a revelation in terms of acting talent and critic have since then not stopped raving about her. To be honest, so far we were excited about Super 30 for Hrithik Roshan mostly, but after Love Sonia Mrunal Thakur’s presence in the movie is making more excited about it than ever.

Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput became an instant household favorite with his super hit show Pavitra Rishta. It was so refreshing to see an actor trying to keep it real and subtle in the world of television in which hamming and overacting are pretty much the norm. Although we knew that he was a good actor, nothing prepared us for the performance that he gave in his debut film Kai Po Che and then followed it up with M.S. Dhoni which made us realize that it was not a fluke the first time around and the critics were right in dubbing him as a talented actor.

Rajeev Khandelwal

For everyone who was growing up in the early to mid-2000s, it was impossible to avoid Kahiin To Hoga and the romantic drama between Kashish, Sujal, and Piyush. Almost every girl had a massive crush on Sujal a.k.a. Rajeev Khandelwal. However, when he made his debut with Aamir everyone sat up and took notice of the fact that he wasn’t just another pretty face but was quite a strong performer.

Prachi Desai

She was the darling of Indian TV and there was hardly an avid Hindi serial audience who did not love Bani from Kasam Se to death. Sweet and simple, Bani was hardly any different from the stereotypical heroines of most serials but we got to see a totally different side of her when she made her debut with Rock On that went on to become a cult favorite and Prachi managed to receive the Best Female Debut Award as well.

Yami Gautam

Yami became supremely popular with her character in Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam, Lehar. Her chemistry with co-star Gaurav Khanna a.k.a. Abeer was loved by the audience. However, when the time for her Bollywood debut came, she went for an unusual choice with Vicky Donor. Once the film released, not only was it appreciated for its fresh content but Yami’s performance was also liked by the critics a lot.