Kids who were born in the nineties have grown up watching Nayak Raj Razzak in the movies produced here in Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) as well. He was probably the first actor who made it big in the Tollywood industry. Many Bangladeshi actors and actresses have acted in different films after and before him in Tollywood. Bobita, Anju Ghosh and Ferdous Ahmed are some of the names who have earned repute in a foreign film industry, and the list goes on. However in recent times the participation has been remarkably higher than ever before and some of our actors are even making it to the Bollywood film industry. Let’s have a glimpse of those actors/actresses who have already graced our silver screens and now are cooking up a storm in other film industries:

Jaya Ahsan

Jaya Ahsan, an actress with a rare combination of beauty with brains, has already carved a niche for her in the Tollywood film industry. Launched by ArindamSil in Aborto in 2012, Jaya has been sharing her busy time between Kolkata and Dhaka since then. Jaya is one of those very few Bengali actresses who have been revered overseas thanks to her indomitable spirit and acting prowess. Despite the fact thatmany of her fans in Bangladesh frowned at her because of her rather bold role in SrijitMukherji’sRajkahini, she, however, left no stone unturned to declare her strong presence as an actor in Tollywood. Eventually Jaya has already been starred in a handful of movies in the West Bengal and her passion for acting and level of professionalism have impressed many in that industry. According to a report by Times of India, Jaya is on every director’s wish list. ArindamSil, a versatile actor-turned-director from Kolkata, said about her, “I have worked with Jaya in my very first film as a director. She is thoroughly professional and a very dedicated actress.”

Shakib Khan

Shakib Khan, the number one hero in Bangladeshi film industry, is one of those actors to have tried his mettle in joint-venture films. Though he was once dead against production of joint-venture films and screening of Tollywood movies in Bangladesh, he showed his true colours when he himself got the opportunity. He debuted in Tollywood with the joint-venture production ‘Shikari’ in 2016. Audiences in both parts of Bengal were equally mesmerized by him owing to his new avatar. Later on, he went on to do more joint-venture films such as Nabab, Chaalbaaz, BhaijaanElo Re and Naqaab. He paired up with top Tollywood actresses like Sayantika Banerjee, Srabanti Chatterjee and SubhasreeGanguly while their chemistry was equally liked by the critics and the audience as well. Well, his demand in Kolkata has risen so high that some of the directors cannot even afford him. Even producer AshokeDhanuka had to shelve a project after planning it to the minutest of details because of Shakib’s high remuneration claim.

NusratFariaMazhar

NusratFaria is probably one of those actresses who have risen to prominence all of a sudden. She made an abrupt entry into the film industry in 2015 and all at once everyone was running after her. However she has so far acted in many joint-venture films such as Aashiqui, Hero 420, Badsha – The Don and Boss 2.The film ‘Badsha – The Don’, directed by Indian director Baba Yadav, is considered to be the turning point for her career and she even earned a Tele Cine Award for Best Actress from Bangladesh for this movie.She has also been starred in a number of films opposite Jeet, the most popular actor in Tollywood. In fact, audiences have happily accepted the chemistry of Jeet-Faria. Meanwhile she claimed in 2017 that she was offered a role opposite famous B-town star Emraan Hashmi in a Bollywood film. Well, there was a rumourthat there was never a deal between Faria and the producer regarding such a film and it was just a publicity stunt. However, she is now regular in Tollywood and mostly stays there.

Bidya Sinha Mim

Following the path of Joya and FariaMim also stepped into Tollywood in 2015 through Soham-starrer ‘Black’. Though the film utterly failed to live up to everyone’s expectations, Mim made headlines because of her glamour factor. Most recently, she played an important role in superstar Jeet’s big project ‘Sultan TheSaviour’, an action-packed thriller.