Popular Tamil Child Artists Who Turned Into Lead Actors

Shalini made her debut in Malayalam as a child actor and continued to act as a child in 36 films. She played an important role in the film Raja Chinna Roja which was the first animation integrated film in Tamil. She debuted as a heroine in Tamil with Kadhalukku Mariyadhai and was one of popular actress of those days.

Sridevi started her career as a child artist at the age of four, playing the role of a daughter in many of the films of legendary actors Shivaji and MGR. Her cute performance as Lord Muruga in the film Muruga was loved by all and soon she became one of the favourite child actor. After her performance as a child artist in many films, she groomed herself into a beautiful actress playing the role of Mayil in 16 Vayathinile. With quite a number of hits in Tamil, she continued her success in Hindi films and became a popular actress in North India too.

Meena debuted as a child artist with Nenjangal but it was only Anbulla Rajinikanth that gave her a breakthrough and became a major pointer to her career growth. Her first successful film as a heroine was En Rasavin Manasule which led a clean path for her to share the screen space with most of the superstars of Kollywood.

Shamli popularly known as baby Shamli was appreciated for her performance as the mentally challenged child in the film Anjali. She also received the National award for the best child artist for the film. After acting in few films as a child artist she went on to Singapore to pursue her studies. She made a comeback with the film Veera Shivaji opposite to Vikram Prabhu which released in 2016.

It is not possible for one to forget the cute baby face of the kid who sang Ammavum Neeye Appavum Neeye in the film Kalathur Kannamma. Since his days as a child actor, Kamal was able to deliver good performances. After few projects as a child actor, Kamal got his first breakthrough with the film Apporva Ragangal where he played the lead actor of the film. Since then the actor is been scaling high and is now popularly known as Ulaga Nayagan.

Vijay started off as a child actor and has acted mainly in his father’s films. He debuted as hero with Naalaya Theerpu and was not able to get proper recognition for his films during the initial days of his career. It was Kadhalukku Mariyadhai that gave him a good break and since then he is considered as one of the successful and highly paid stars in Kollywood.

Silambarasan the elder son of the actor-director T.Rajendran, inherited the passion towards film industry from his father. As a child actor he mainly concentrated on his father’s films. His song ‘I am a little star aavene superstar’ was liked by everyone mainly for his dance steps and cute expression. Through his directorial venture Manmadhan, he became one of the leading actors of the industry.

Tarun has acted in many Telugu film as a child artist before receiving the national award for best child artist for the Tamil film Anjali. He made his debut as a lead actor with Punnagai Desam but his work mainly confides to Telugu films.

Hansika was a popular child actress in Bollywood. She appeared as one of the children in Koi Mil Gaya with Preity Zinta and Hritik Roshan. She received the favourite child actor award for her memorable performance in the serial Shaka laka Bhoom Bhoom. Her debut film as heroine in Tamil was Mappillai starring opposite Dhanush which was declared a box office hit. Since then she has been one of the leading actress in Tamil Industry.

Mahendran has acted in over 100 films as a child actor and has twice received the National award for the best child actor. Though he was very popular and loved by everyone for his cute performances, many of his films as a lead hero failed drastically at the box office.

Sridevi Vijaykumar youngest daughter of the star couple Manjula – Vijaykumar debuted as a child actor with Rickshaw Mama. Though she was able to deliver cute performances, she enjoyed very limited success right through her career. As a grown up, she was not able to sustain as a heroine as most of her films did not do well at the box office.

Geetu Mohandas started her career as a child actor performing in Malayalam films. Her first Tamil film Enn Bommukutty Ammavukku was a blockbuster hit of those days. She debuted as heroine with Nala Dhamayandhi and is now busy with her directorial ventures.

Ajith debuted as a child artist in the film En Veedu En Kanavar where he would be spotted dragging a cycle alongside a girl. He made his debut as an actor with Amaravathi but it was only Aasai that gave him recognition as an actor. Fondly known as Thala of Kollywood, this actor is now one among the leading actors of the industry.

Nithya Menen started her career as a child artist playing the role of Tabu’s sister in an Indian English language film, The Monkey who knew too much. After acting in a number of films in Malayalam, she appeared in 180 as a heroine in Tamil. Her performance in the film O Kadhal Kanmani was liked and appreciated by everyone.

Sri Divya debuted in Tamil industry as a heroine with ‘Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam' in 2013. But not many know that she started her career in 2000 as a child artist with the Telugu movie ‘Hanuman Junction’. Later she acted in several movies as child artist. At present, she is settled as a lead heroine in Telugu. For now, we couldn't get our hands on a video. Due to that, we have posted a snap of her childhood on-screen self.