Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 1, 2015)

1. KAPIL SHARMA
After having everyone in splits with his hit TV show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, he will make his Bollywood debut with thrill-seekers Abbas-Mustan who are venturing into comedy for the first time. Will the trio laugh all the way to the box-office? We'll keep you posted!

2. NIDHI DUTTA
JP Dutta and Bindya Goswami's daughter was an assistant to her father during the making of Umrao Jaan. But as she told Mirror, "At the age of two, I was dancing to Chaiya Chaiya in a diaper." Well, she'll now be dancing, and not in diapers, in Binoy Gandhi's travelogue, Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le, produced by her daddy.

3. GURMEET CHOUDHARY
While he's yet to arrive on the big screen, there's no questioning Gurmeet's small-screen popularity. With shows like Ramayana, Geet Hui Sabki Parayi and Punar Vivah, he is a household name. He'll break onto the big screen with the Bhatts' supernatural thriller Khamoshiyan.

4. MAHIRA KHAN
A popular name across the border, Mahira will be playing Shah Rukh Khan's wife in Rahul Dholakia's Raees. The actress, who romanced reigning eye-candy Fawad Khan in Humsafar (Pakistani TV series), couldn't hope for a better B'town arrival. We all know which way the careers of Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone went after stepping into B'town with King Khan!

5. AKSHARA HAASAN
Kamal Haasan and Sarika's younger daughter Akshara will feature in R Balki's Shamitabh where she will be sharing screen with Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush. Now, how many newcomers can claim that honour? Maybe, being Kamal Haasan's daughter helps.

6. AJIT SODHI
Nafisa Ali's son who was signed up for LOC 2 is now the leading man of Nidhi Dutta's love story. Mummy couldn't be happier. 

7. POOJA HEGDE (HER DEBUT FILM MIGHT NOT RELEASE IN 2015)
When Ashutosh Gowariker announced his period drama Mohenjo-daro with Hrithik Roshan, names like Sonakshi Sinha and Katrina Kaif were doing the rounds for the role of the female lead. But Gowariker took everyone by surprise by casting former beauty pageant contestant Pooja Hegde opposite the Indian Greek God. The actress who has done a few films down South, was locked for the `historical' unveiling 7. 

 8. SOORAJ PANCHOLI
His personal life made headlines after his name being embroiled in Jiah Khan's alleged suicide. But today, Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab's son is a Hero in the making. He will be seen in the remake of the Subhash Ghai film by the same name, produced by Salman Khan.

9. ATHIYA SHETTY
Suniel and Mana Shetty's daughter will romance Sooraj Pancholi in the Hero remake.She has done a two-year course in acting from New York and is known to be a talented dancer too. 

ALSO IN THE RUNNING FOR 2016
1. HARSHVARDHAN KAPOOR
With the surname comes great expectations because he happens to be Anil Kapoor's son and Sonam Kapoor's brother. Harshvardhan was spotted by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on the sets of Sonam's Delhi 6 and will debut in Mehra's Mirziya, a retelling of the folklore Mirza Sahibaan.

2. SAIYAMI KHER
Saiyami is yesteryear actress Usha Kiran's grand-daughter and Tanvi Azmi's neice. She will be launched as Sahiba in Mirziya.

3. SAYYESHAA
At 18, Saira Banu's grand-niece is all set to be paired opposite Ajay Devgn in Shivaay, a period drama which the actor will star in and also direct.