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Ranjib Mazumder

It was a year of debuts. When it came to making an impact on television's prime time these youngsters were the clear winners. A.L. Choughule presents the year's best debutants who have made a mark.

Mouni Roy
As Krishna Tulsi she is the mini version of Kyunki's powerful Tulsi. Ekta found her second Tulsi in Mouni Roy, a post-graduate in mass communication, when she went for a Balaji audition to Delhi. "I was keen on doing theatre and choreography," she says. But the audition helped her get a role in a show that was to be launched a few months later. But Ekta decided to cast her as Krishna Tulsi. "I am really lucky to get such an important role in a popular serial. Destiny has played a major role in it," says Mouni adding, "Whatever success I have got so far has made me more confident."

Priya Badlani

The bratty, selfish, impulsive and demanding Ananya Shroff of Jab Love Hua who lands up in a village may have discovered true love in the village bumpkin Raghu. But it's for sure that Priya Badlani is a successful television debutant. A popular face in the world of advertising, Priya says modelled for the Coke commercial with Aamir Khan which was the turning point in her life. "Ashutosh Gowarikar, who directed the ad told me to take up acting. says Priya adding, "Acting gives me a high. It's my life, it keeps me alive," she says.

Rajashree Thakur
Quite unexpectedly she came and conquered it all. With her dusky complexion and average looks, she became the face of Zee's prime time simply because her personality suited the character and the story. Saloni, the protagonist of Saath Phere, became the darling of viewers. And Rajshree Thakur who had done an Indo-French film Hawa Aane De before Saloni's role came her way became a television star overnight. "Purnedu Shekhar, the serial's writer, approached me to play Saloni," recalls Rajshree, adding that she did not expect so much name, fame and success. "But behind the success there is lot of hard work. I have done my job very sincerely and genuinely. When you work hard success follows," she says.

Gauri Negudkar

A post-graduate in chemistry, Gauri also wanted to do her doctorate in the subject. She had acted in a National award-winning Marathi film Uttarayan which made Gauri gravitate towards acting. "I decided to work on television because I was getting a lot of offers," says Gauri who chose Betiyaan Apni Ya Paraya Dhan for her television debut.

Prachi Desai
She is soap queen Ekta Kapoor's major discovery who has made her presence felt on prime time television this year. "It's very rare that a starter gets to play the lead role in Ekta's serial. I didn't even dream about it," gushes the petite starlet who had not even dreamt of playing the lead role of Bani in Kasamh Se. In fact, she gave her first audition for the role in Pune where she was studying for her HSC exams. But when Balaji called she couldn't even wait till she finished her higher secondary exams. "I got something for which people struggle for years. It's a dream-come-true for me," says Prachi.

Pallavi Subhash

Like Rajshree Pallavi Subhash is yet another example of unexpected prime time success. She was happy doing regional theatre and television till Ekta Kapoor who was desperately hunting for an actor to play Gauri in Karam Apna Apna saw her in a miniscule role in Tumhari Disha. Ekta didn't wait and Pallavi didn't get much time to think before saying yes. "It was as if I was destined to play Gauri," smiles Pallavi who had never imagined that a central role will come her way in a Balaji show without even trying for it. "I get recognised easily and people want to talk to me which was not the case before," she smiles. "My phone keeps buzzing and known and unknown relatives visit my home." Her life has changed completely. "I go home only to sleep. There is no time to meet my friends but I'm not complaining," says Pallavi.

Pulkit Samrat

Post-generation leap, as Laksh he plays the central character in Kyunki's third generation of spoilt brats. Sahil and Ganga's son, in terms of character importance Laksh is only next to Mihir. A graduate in advertising Pulkit Samrat who plays Laksh gave an audition for the role in Delhi. The next thing he did was to travel to Mumbai to play the role. "There was lot of pressure in the beginning but now I have got used to working in a daily. It is great fun," says the young actor ading, "But this is just the beginning and I have a long way to go. Right now I am concentrating on my role totally. Laksh is a very important character and I am doing my best to do justice to it. Television is here to stay so there will be no dearth of work," he quips.

Vikas Manaktala

He believes in being at the right place at the right time. As a fashion model he has walked on the ramp besides doing quite a few commercials, including the prestigious Reid and Taylor with Amitabh Bachchan. Vikas was getting lot of offers for serials. "There was no dearth of roles for me but I wasn't very keen on working in serials," he says. Having rejected several roles he found the role of Hooda in Left Right Left appealing and interesting. "But I had to give several auditions before I was finalised for the character," reveals the actor who has seen his popularity soaring in the last couple of months. "This is just the first step. There is a long road ahead and I will make my moves slowly and wisely," he adds.

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