Tinseltown has always been a male dominated industry. But of late, a few heroine-centric projects is ushering in a welcome change. However, this was not the case in 90s.
Still, a few actresses broke the glass ceiling and made their presence felt in all the South Indian languages.
Check out 5 successful actresses who made a mark in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industry after making their acting debut as heroines in 90s.
Meena started her acting career way back in 1982 as a child artiste in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language movies. She made her debut as a heroine inTelugu movie Navayugam opposite Rajendra Prasad in 1990. Though the movie tanked at the box office, Meena never looked back. From 1990s to 2005, she had atleast seven releases or more every year in all South Indian language movies, and even in Hindi as well. Recently, her daughter Nainika also won the hearts of many with her debut performance as a child artiste with Vijay in the Tamil hit Theri.
Nagma
Nagma made her debut in Bollywood movie Baaghi: A Rebel for Love released in 1990. The superhit Telugu movie Peddintalludu announced her arrival in the big stage. She became part of many other blockbusters in languages across South India. The actress has a few hits in Bhojpuri and Punjabi industries.
Jyothika
Like Nagma, her younger sister Jyothika, made her debut in the 90s with the 1999 Tamil movie Vaali, for which she bagged many awards under the female debut actress category. Though she was only part of three movies in the 90's, Jyothika was one of the busiest actresses in South India till 2007. After a gap, the actress made her comeback in 2015 with Rosshan Andrews' 36 Vayadhinile, Tamil remake of Malayalam movie How Old Are You, starring Manju Warrier.
Vinaya Prasad
Though Vinaya Prasad made her acting debut in 1988, she rose to fame in Kannada industry in 90s. The versatile actress then forayed into all South Indian industries, apart from her television stints in Malayalam and Kannada. She is still remembered for portraying the role of Sreedevi in the 1993 hit Malayalam movie Manichithrathazhu.
Shalini
Shalini conquered the hearts of Keralites with her first movie, Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku (1983) as a child artiste. She continued to be part of many hit movies in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. When she made her grand debut as a heroine opposite Kunchacko Boban in the 1997 Malayalam movie Aniyathipravu, Malayalis welcomed her with open arms. Until her marriage to Tamil superstar Ajith, she was active in Malayalam and Tamil industries.
