Malayalam cinema 2017 Half yearly report: Wamiqa, Reshma and Nimisha impress with their performances

The first half of 2017 has been dominated by Parvathy, whose stardom remains unaffected by the likes of newbies like Wamiqa Gabbi, Nimisha Sajayan and Reshma Rajan

Sree Prasad Nair
Jul 20, 2017

The ongoing year has been a good one for the Malayalam film industry with most of the films turning out to be Box Office successes. An interesting thing to note is that besides being commercially successful, these flicks have caught the attention of the viewers due to the brilliant performances of their female protagonists. Besides Angamaly Diaries that featured a whopping 86 debutantes, the first half of 2017 witnessed the acting debut of several actresses. These newbies not only impressed the viewers but also overshadowed some of the A-listers to be included among five female actresses. Here are InUth’s top 5 Malayalam actresses in the first half of 2017

5) Anu Sithara as Malini in Ramante Edanthottam: Ranjith Shankar’s Ramante Edanthottam chronicles the tale of a distressed married woman named Malini, and her journey of defying odds and turn out to be a confident lady. Anu Sithara did full justice to the role and pulled off a powerful performance.Her chemistry with Kunchako Boban in the film was indeed refreshing and the director has succeeded in utilising the potential of the actress. Check out the film’s trailer here.

4) Reshma Rajan as Lichi in Angamaly Diaries: Another actress who hogged the limelight this year is none other than Reshma Rajan, who played Lilly David in Angamaly Diaries. Her acting was flawless in the film, especially the proposal scene. Her charismatic performance in the film resulted in her bagging the lead role opposite Mohanlal in his upcoming film Velipadinte Pusthakam. Watch the Angamaly Diaries trailer right here.

3) Nimisha Sajayan as Sreeja in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum: After having launched Aparna Balamurali in his directorial debut Maheshinte Prathikaram, actor-turned-director Dileesh Pothan has launched yet another fresh face, Nimisha Sajayan in his second outing Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. Despite being her debut film, Nimisha portrayed the role of the small-town girl Sreeja like a seasoned performer. Her face-off with Fahadh Faasil in the pre-interval segments is really commendable and she is definitely here to stay.

Also read: Anushka Shetty, Nayanthara and more: Top 5 stunning South Indian actresses who can give their Bollywood peers a run for their money

2) Wamiqa Gabbi as Athithi Singh in Godha: To make a successful heroine-oriented film is nothing less than a Herculean task for any filmmaker. But Basil Joseph has managed to churn out a super hit film with his second directorial venture Godha. The film features Punjabi actress Wamiqa Gabbi. From its theatrical trailer it was visible that Godha revolves around a Punjabi female wrestler Athithi Singh and Wamiqa made a smashing Malayalam entry with a knockout performance. Be her wrestling scenes or her natural acting with her expressive eyes, Wamiqa stole the hearts of the Malayalam audience just like ‘Malar’ of Premam, Sai Pallavi.

1) Parvathy as Sameera in Take Off: If there is any Malayalam actress who can bag the ‘superstar’ status in near future, then it has to be Parvathy. And no, it’s not because of the Box office verdicts of her films, but her ‘sensible script selections’ makes her the favourite of the viewers. After her terrific acting in three successive blockbusters Bangalore Days, Ennu Ninte Moideen and Charlie, Parvathy continued her stunning act in Mahesh Narayan’s directorial debut Take Off as well. Parvathy as the struggling nurse Sameera stuns the audience with an extraordinary performance to emerge as the best actress in the first half of 2017. Looking at her script selection, it won’t be wrong to mention that Parvathy is set to be the best Malayalam actress among the current female leads of Malayalam cinema.

Apart from the above top 5 heroines, other actresses who had managed to impress the audience in the first half of 2017 are