From Mohanlal’s Daughter to Dhanush’s Son: South Cinema’s Star Kids Make Their Big-Screen Debuts

Undeterred by all the clamor around nepotism in the film industry, seven kids, all offspring of South stars, will be launched into filmdom this year. Backed by lineage and legacy,  these new kids on the block — Avantika Sundar, Jaya Krishna Ghattamaneni, Vismaya Mohanlal, Yatra Raja, Hansika Krishna, Arjith Shankar and Jason Sanjay — will be making their big-screen acting and directorial debuts across Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu movies later this year.

Name: Avantika Sundar

Family background: Daughter of  actress Kushboo Sundar and director C Sundar

Acting Debut: Malayalam film “Aarambham,” where Avantika plays the character Arathi in this directorial debut by Sujesh Annie Eapen.  Avantika Sundar will make her Tamil debut with “Attacker,” a volleyball-themed movie, starring alongside Pavish and directed by Thamo Nagabhushanam. The projects are currently under production and will be released later this year.

Name: Jaya Krishna Ghattamaneni

Family background: Son of the late actor-producer Ramesh Babu and nephew of Superstar Mahesh Babu

Acting Debut: Telugu film “Srinivasa Mangapuram,” where Jaya plays the protagonist Srinu in this intense love story directed by Ajay Bhupathi. The film, which releases today, also marks the Telugu debut of Rasha Thadani, daughter of Hindi film actress Raveena Tandon.

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Name: Vismaya Mohanlal

Family background: Daughter of Malayalam actor Mohanlal

Acting Debut: Malayalam film “Thudakkam.” Jude Anthany Joseph is directing this action thriller. The actress has trained in Muay Thai for the action sequences. The film will release in August 2026.

Name: Hansika Krishna

Family background: Daughter of Malayalam actor Krishna Kumar and sister of actress Ahana Krishna

Acting debut: Malayalam movie “Bachelor Party D'eux,” directed by Amal Neerad, which will release on October 15, 2026

Name: Yatra Raja

Family background: Superstar Rajinikanth’s grandson, actor Dhanush and director Aishwaryaa’s son

Acting debut: Yatra’s debut film is likely to be produced by Dhanush himself and will be directed by Rajkumar Periasamy. The pre-production work is reportedly in progress, and the look test has already been completed.

Name: Arjith Shankar

Family background: Filmmaker Shankar's son

Acting Debut: “Lover Boy,” a romantic action drama, which is currently under production, directed by Ashok with Krithi Shetty as the female lead.

Name: Jason Sanjay

Family background: Thalapathy Vijay’s son.

Directorial debut: “Sigma” A Tamil action thriller starring Sundeep Kishan. The film, slated to hit the screens on July 31, will now get a new release date.