Among the harvest of newcomers, 2005 gave us Randeep Hooda (D), Mohit Ahlawat (James), Vidya Balan (Parineeta) and Shreyas Talpade (Iqbal) seemed to have made a lasting impact. 2006 will have its own share of faces that are destined to go places. Here's a pick of the lot.
Ranbir Kapoor
Incredible Kapoorian pedigree, and a dream launch in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic musical Saanvariya will ensure that this fourth-generation Kapoor will follow his cousins, Karisma and Kareena's footsteps, if not scale the heights of Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.
Ranbir, according to first-hand information reports, is born to face the camera. In his personality, he accumulates the vivacity and acting talents of both his spontaneous parents Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh.
Sonam Kapoor
She assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali during Black and today she's his leading lady. Sonam is a mesmeric mix of Smita Patil and Rekha.
Swan-like in her grace and swoon-like in her demeanour, Sonam is bound for the big picture.
Mimoh Chakraborty
This star-kid's marked advantage is quite obvious. His dad Mithun didn't have a godfather to guide him. As a result, the senior Chakraborty waded through a series of 'B' graders to make his way to the top.
However, Mimoh has been trained not to make the same mistakes. A cherubic mix of mom Yogeeta Bali's looks and dad Mithun's personality, he is slated to be launched in a Telugu remake.
Upen Patel
This outsider who has the cocky confidence to say, "I want everyone out there in the audience, man or woman, to want to sleep with me" will be seen as the "grey" lead in Abbas-Mustan's 36 China Town.
With Kareena, Shahid and Akshaye Khanna already in the cast, one wonders how much of Mr Patel will be visible on screen! That's one to sleep over. Suneel Darshan has shown a keen interest in casting this new Gujarati pin-up boy in town. Will he be the next Gujju chokra in Bollywood after Jackie Shroff?
Hansika Motwani
After Sridevi and Urmila Matondkar she could be the latest child star to graduate into adult glory. Will Hansika Motwani, who played the gang-raped child in Mehul Kumar's gruesome Jaago, go the Sri-Urmila way? Or will she fall prey to the ravages of under-age over-exposure? Hansika gets to play the lead opposite Mimoh Chakraborty in He: The Only One. She is the only industry outsider this year.
Harman Baweja
Another industry insider, son of producer Harry Baweja, Harman starts shooting for his dad's hi-tech production later this month, opposite Kareena Kapoor.
Like Hrithik Roshan, he has been around long enough to know the ropes of filmmaking, which may give him a head-start. Kareena finds the youngster to be "total star material." Hope the audience agrees.
Neil Mathur
This scion of the Mathur family comes from a family of singers. Grandpa is the legendary Mukesh and pa is Nitin Mukesh. Will Neil's career sing? Does he get a hero's welcome when he makes his debut this year in Sriram Raghavan's gangster-thriller Johnny Gaddar?
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