Movies are amazing and India has no shortage of them. Indian cinema scene consists of a different movie industries from different regions of the country. One of these is the Pollywood or simple the Punjabi movie industry. Punjabi cinema is quite underrated and has a lot of talented actors and actresses.
Punjabi Actresses
Here are the best actresses to ever grace the screen in Pollywood:
Neeru Bajwa
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Neeru Bajwa is easily one of the most popular Punjabi actresses to ever be seen on the big screen. Bajwa was born in 1980 in Canada and stepped foot in Bollywood in 1998. Her first movie was Dev Anand starrer Main Solah Baras Ki. After that, she worked in various Hindi daily soaps before shifting her attention to the Punjabi movie industry.
Neeru Bajwa’s debut Punjabi movie was Asa Nu Maan Watna Da. Since then Bajwa has featured in hit movies like Jinhe Mera Dil Luteya, Mel Karade Rabba, Aa Gaye Munde UK De, RSVP and the Jatt & Juliet series. Jatt & Juliet series especially made a mark not only on Bajwa’s career but also on the whole Pollywood industry. Jatt and Juliet was a massive hit and Jatt & Juliet 2 made the record of the biggest opening day collection in Punjabi cinema history.
Simran Kaur Mundi
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Simran Kaur Mundi was born in Mumbai in 1990 and is one of the rising stars of the Punjabi cinema. She made her acting debut in 2011 with the Bollywood movie Jo Hum Chahein. Simran made her Punjabi movie debut in 2013 with Best Of Luck that starred Gippy Grewal and Diljit Jazzy B.
Best Of Luck was one of the highest grossing Punjabi movies at that time.Next year, she starred opposite Punjabi superstars Roshan Prince and Jassi Gill in Mundeya To Bachke Rahin. She also worked in a Tollywood movie Potugadu which was a blockbuster. In 2015, Simran starred opposite comedian Kapil Sharma in Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon.
Ginni Kapoor
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Ginni Kapoor is prominently featured in Punjabi music videos and is one of the best Punjabi video models at present. She started off as a commercial model in 2015 and appeared in various advertisements.
Ginni Kapoor made her cinema debut with 2019 movie Baraat Bandi. Ginni has been a part of a lot of hit songs like Mere Kol, Black Suit, Singh Naal Jodi, Trending Nakhra etc.
Sonam Bajwa
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Born in Uttarakhand in 1992, Sonam Bajwa has slowly become one of the most popular Punjabi actresses today. Sonam Bajwa made her acting debut in the hit Punjabi movie Best Of Luck in 2013.
In 2014, Bajwa starred in the superhit movie Punjab 1984. Punjab 1984 went on to become a favorite worldwide both commerically and among critics. It is still one of the highest grossing and critically acclaimed Punjabi movie to ever be made.
Aside of that, Sonam’s movie resume features amazing movies like Sardaar Ji 2, Carry On Jatta 2, Nikka Zaildar, Manje Bistre, Super Singh etc. She made her Bollywood debut with 2020 movie Street Dancer 3D.
Japji Khaira
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Japji Khaira is an Indian-Australian model and actress born in 1988. Her career started off when she won the title of the 2006 Miss World Punjaban. She became the first NRI Punjaban to win that title. Japji made her acting debut the following year in the Harbhajan Maan starrer Mitti Wajaan Maardi. In 2013, she was seen in Singh Vs Kaur that starred Gippy Grewal.
Japji bagged the lead role in the 2013 movie Fer Mamla Gadbad Gadbad. Her other movies include Bhaji In Problem, Ishq Brandy, Son Of Manjeet Singh, Ardaas 2 etc. Japji Khaira has also acted in the Punjabi web series Gangland In Motherland.
Navneet Kaur Dhillon
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Navneet Kaur Dhillon is a Haryana-born Indian model and actress. Navneet started her modeling career after being crowned Femina Miss India World in 2013. She also finished in the Top 20 of the Miss World pageant held that year.
Navneet made her Bollywood debut in 2016 with Loveshhuda. Navneet’s first Punjabi movie titles Ambarsariya came out later in 2016 itself. Navneet’s other movies include 2019’s High End Yaariaan and the 2020 Bollywood horror flick Amavasya.
Kainaat Arora
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Kainaat Arora was born in 1986 in Uttar Pradesh and is second cousin to the late great Indian actress Divya Bharti. Kainaat Arora is perhaps most known for the 2013 superhit comedy Grand Masti.
Kainaat made her cinema debut in 2010 with a item number in the Akshay Kumar starrer Khatta Meetha. Since then she has appeared in a some Tamil, Telugu and Malyalam movies like Mankatha, Lailaa O Lailaa and Mogali Povvu. Kainaat shifted her focus primarily towards Punjabi cinema and has worked in movies like Faraar, Jagga Jeonda and Kitty Party.
Himanshi Khurana
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Himanshi Khurana has become a household name in India after her stint on the popular Indian reality show Bigg Boss 2020. Himanshi started modeling at the age of 16 and has become one of the most popular Punjabi models over the past decade. She has worked with all the top Punjabi artists like Ninja, Sukh-E, Badshah, Sippy Gill, Jassi Gill etc.
Khurana made her acting debut with the 2012 movie Jeet Lengey Jahan. Her first Pollywood movie was the 2013 flick Sadda Haq. Himanshi has been featured in other movies like Leather Life, 2 Bol and Afsar.
Mahi Gill
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Mahi Gill is one of the most successful, experienced and versatile actresses in the Punjabi cinema. Mahi made her acting debut way back in 2002 with a 1984 riots-based movie titled Hawayein. Her Pollywood debut came with the 2004 movie Khushi Mil Gayee.
Mahi has starred in a lot of commercially and critically successful movies both in Bollywood and Pollywood. Some of her best work can be seen in hit movies like Dev D, Gulaal, Chak De Phatte, Carry On Jatta, Paan Singh Tomar, Buddha in a Traffic Jam and the Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster trilogy. Mahi has also worked in successful web series like Apaharan and Fixerr.
Mandy Takhar
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Mandy Takhar is a British-born Indian actress who has been active in Indian cinema for around a decade. Her first acting role came in the 2010 Punjabi movie Ekam which featured the Punjabi legend Babbu Maan. Her second movie was 2012’s Mirza in which she starred opposite the Punjabi superstar Gippy Grewal.
Her resume consists of hit movies like Tu Mera 22 Mai Tera 22, Ishq Garaari, Sardaar Ji, Ardaas, Rabb Da Radio and Saak. Mandy has also been seen in two Tamil movies Biryani and Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru.
Nimrat Khaira
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Nimrat Khaira is an actress and playback singer primarily active in the Punjabi movie industry. Originally an aspiring singer, Nimrat participated in and won the 3rd season of Punjabi singing talent show Voice Of Punjab.
She is known for her hit songs like Ishq Kacheri, SP De Rank Wargi, Salute Vajde, Dubai Vale Sheikh etc. She made her acting debut with the 2017 movie Lahoriye that starred Amrinder Gill. Her other movies include 2019’s Afsar and Jodi which is slated to release later this year.
Parul Gulati
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Parul Gulati was born in Haryana in 1989. Intrested in acting since the beginning, she graduated from the Royal Academy Of Dramatics and Art in London. Parul made her acting debut with a Hindi daily soap Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam in 2010.
Her first full-length movie was the 2013 Punjabi movie Burrahh. Parul worked in two more Punjabi movies Zorawar and Romeo Ranjha. Gulati has been featured in a bunch of Hindi daily soaps and web series as well.
Nirmal Rishi
Nirmal Rishi is one of the oldest Punjabi actresses to be still active in the Punjabi cinema. Nirmal was born in 1943 in Punjab. She made her cinema debut in 1983 with the popular Punjabi movie Long Da Lishkara. Nirmal Rishi has appeared in over 60 movies in the entirety of her career.
Some of her best work includes Qurbani Jatt Di, Dive Bale Sari Raat, Mela, Woman From The East, Nikka Zaildar, Laung Laachi, Carry On Jatta 2, Aate Di Chidi etc. She also appeared in the superhit Bollywood movie Dangal. She was most recently seen in the 2019 Punjabi movie Guddiyan Patole.
Kanika mann
Kanika Mann was born in Haryana in 1993 and she is one of the youngest stars to be featured in the Punjabi movie industry. Kanika started off her career as a model after winning the title of Miss Continental in the 2015 Miss India Elite pageant.
Kanika’s first piece of work was in the music video of Roohafza song of Punjabi superstar Sherry Mann. She appeared in several other hit music videos like Viah, Tera Naam, Crush, Pagal etc.
Kanika made her acting debut with the Hindi daily soap Bado Bahu. She appeared in various other soaps before bagging the female lead role in the hit daily soap Guddan Tumse Na Ho Paayega. Her work can be seen in Punjabi movies like Rocky Mental and Daana Paani.
Sargun Mehta
Sargun Mehta is a well known actress and model who has been active in India since over a decade.
Sargun started off her acting career with theater before getting signed up for a Hindi daily soap 12/24 Karol Bagh in 2009. Since then, Sargun has worked in a lot of daily soaps on different networks.
Sargun made her movie debut with the 2015 Punjabi movie Angrej. Since then she has been prominently active in the Punjabi cinema.
She has acted in successful movies like Lahoriye, Jindua, Qismat, Kala Shah Kala, Surkhi Bindi and Jhalley. Qismat 2, a sequel to Qismat featuring Sargun is slated to release this year as well.
Tulip Joshi
Tulip Joshi is a veteran actress who has been a part of the Indian cinema for around 2 decades now.
Tulip Joshi got into movie by chance when she gave an audition for the 2002 movie Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai and got selected. She then acted in a bunch of Hindi movies like Dil Maange More, Dhokha, SuperStar etc.
Her first Punjabi movie was the 2009 movie Jag Jeondeyan De Mele. Her other Punjabi movies include Yaara O Dildaara, Jatt Airways etc.
She has also acted in South Indian movie industry with movies like Villain, Mission 90 Day, Konchem Koththaga, Super, Bachchan etc.
Upasana Singh
Upasana Singh is a veteran actress that has spent over 30 years in the Indian cinema. She might have not bagged lead roles in movies but she still managed to become a household name with her talent and skill.
She made her Bollywood debut in 1986 with the movie Babul. Since then she jas appeared in movies like Loafer, Judaai, Mr. And Mrs. Khiladi, Sarfarosh, Badal, God Tussi Great Ho, Golmaal Returns, Judwaa 2 etc.
She has also been active in Punjabi cinema since her beginning years. She has acted in successful Punjabi movies like Badla Jatti Da, Chakk De Phatte, Jatt & Juliet, Daddy Cool Mundey Fool, Disco Singh, Control Bhaji Control, Carry On Jatta 2 etc.
Roopi Gill
Roopi Gill is a model and actress that has created a big fanbase for herself over the past few years. Roopi Gill was born in 1993 and had an interest in modeling. After completing her studies, Roopi started her modeling career in 2015.
Soon she bagged a role in Karan Aujla’s song Yaaran Ch Fik which made her popular among masses. She has been featured in other hit songs like Taareya De Des, Diamond, Scratch, Rang, Kamli, Stranger etc. with stars like Akhil, Prabh Gill, Diljit Dosanjh, Mankirt Aulakh etc.
Surveen Chawla
Surveen Chawla is one of the most popular Punjabi actresses of the decade. She has done remarkable work in both Bollywood and Pollywood which has gained her a well-deserved recognition and fame. She made her Bollywood debut in 2011 with Hum Tum Shabana.
Same year, she made her Punjabi debut with Dharti. Since then she has received acclaim for her work in movies like Ugly, Hate Story 2, Singh Vs Kaur, Lucky Di Unlucky Story, Hero, Parched etc.
She has also worked in daily soaps like Kasauti Zindagi Ki, Kahin To Hoga, 24 etc. She gained more popularity due to her portrayal of Jojo Mascarenhas in the second season of hit Indian web series Sacred Games.
Sunanda Sharma
Sunanda Sharma is a Punjabi playback singer and actress who is enjoying perhaps the best phase of her career at present.
Sunanda started off by uploading covers of Punjabi songs on Youtube which kicked off her popularity. She followed it up by releasing a solo song named Billi Ankh which was a hit. She has sung over a dozen of hit songs yet for both Bollywood and Pollywood. Recently her song Mummy Nu Pasand was featured in the Bollywood movie Jai Mummy Di.
She made her acting debut with the 2018 movie Sajjan Singh Rangroot starring with Diljit Dosanjh.
Dhrriti Sahran
Dhrriti Sahran is a Punjabi actress and playback singer. She has been active in the Pollywood since 2013. Dhrriti shifted to acting profession after completing her engineering degree and has proved to be successful in it.
Dhrriti made her acting debut in 2013 with a Punjabi movie titled Pure Punjabi.
Her second movie was Sadda Haq for which she earned the Best Actress award at the 2014 PTC Punjabi Film Awards. Her other movies are Teri Meri Ek Jindari and Vaapsi.
Simi Chahal
Simarpreet Kaur Chahal aka Simi Chahal should not need no introduction to avid Punjabi movie lovers today. Riding off the success of the blockbuster Chal Mera Putt with its sequel slated to release soon, Simi Chahal must be at the ninth cloud at this point.
Simi started off her career in 2014 by appearing in various Punjabi music videos. She bagged her first acting role in 2016 in a Punjabi movie Bambukat. She starred alongside Ammy Virk in the movie and the movie proved to be successful at box office.
Her other successful movies are Sarvann, Rabb Da Radio 1 & 2, Daana Paani, Manje Bistre 2, Bhajjo Veero Ve etc.
Kulraj Randhawa
Kulraj Randhawa was born in 1983 in Dehradun and is known as one of the finest Punjabi actresses today. One of the best works of Kulraj’s was seen in the Hindi comedy serial Kareena Kareena where she played the lead role.
She made her big screen debut in 2006 with the Punjabi movie Mannat. In 2009, she made her Bollywood debut in a movie named Chintuji. She has played roles in successful Hindi and Punjabi movies like Yamla Pagla Deewana, Double Di Trouble, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Chaar Din Ki Chandani etc.
Nisha Bano
Nisha Bano is an underrated Punjabi actress and singer who has slowly and gradually built up an impressive resume for herself. Nisha Bano made her acting debut on the small screen with a Punjabi TV show named Hasde Hasande Ravo.
She appeared on the big screen as a part of the hit Punjabi movie Jatt And Juliet. She has appeared in various other movies like Jatt Airways, Bhaji in Problem, Jatt Boys, Angrej, Fer Mamla Gadbad Gadbad, Bazz, Nikka Zaildar, Manje Bistre etc.
Monica Bedi
Monica Bedi is an Indian actress that has been actively working in the cinema since 1994. Monica made her acting debut in 1994 with a Hindi movie named Main Tera Aashiq.
She has worked in Bollywood movies like Surakshaa, Ek Phool Teen Kaante, Tirchhi Topiwale, Zanzeer, Jaanam Samjha Karo etc. She made her Punjabi movie debut in 2012 with Sarphire. Her other Punjabi movies are Romeo Ranjha and Bandookan.
Punjabi cinema is underrated and deserves to get the recognition it has earned. These were some of the gems of this talented industry that you need to know of if you are interested in Pollywood.