The surprise package of the year was Laxmi Manchu. Her transition from a 30-plus TV host into a sought-after actor took place smoothly and she impressed everyone with riveting performances in Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu and later in Dongala Mutta. Impressed by her talent RGV is launching her in B-town with Department and ace filmmaker Manirathnam has also roped her in. The sister of popular Gen X stars Vishnu and Manoj is carving a niche for herself as a “performer” and is moving a step ahead with an author-backed role in Gundella Godari.

Season’s best finds
Although more than 40 actors made their T-town debut in 2011, only Shruti Haasan was announced as the find of the season and grabbed the attention of T-town dream merchants. Probably her lineage gave her more mileage than the hits. After the semi-hit Oh My Friend, the actress is now moving into the big league with Gabbar Singh opposite Pawan Kalyan. Others debutantes who were noticed were Nitya Menon (Ala Modalayindi), Yami Gupta (Nuvvila), Isha Chawla (Prema Kavali), Asmita Sood (Brahmigadi Katha) and Nisha Agarwal — Kajal Agarwal’s sister who had two moderate hits in Ye Mayindi Ee Vela and Solo. Most of the others like Poorna, Preetika Rao, Suma Bhattcharjee, Meera Nandan, Bianca Desai, Ritu Barmecha and Sakshi Gulati sank without a trace.