Vishal Jethwa: Breakout Star

 Vishal Jethwa entered Bollywood with a vicious turn in Mardaani 2 (2019). He was excellent in the Hotstar web series Human (2022), but it is as Chandan Kumar in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound that he has really broken out. Jethwa initially auditioned for the role of Mohammed Shoaib, which went to Ishaan Khatter. Jethwa then portrayed the character of Mohammed’s Dalit friend. “I mani­fested playing Chandan’s role,” he says. He got the part after a series of auditions, including one “chem­istry test” with Khatter. Jethwa, whose mother worked in a super­market and whose late father worked on embroidery machines, is delighted at his success, but knows everything is ephemeral. “Now when I need a coffee, I know my spot boy will know before I do. These are things one could get used to,” he says.

 Game On

She was a lawyer, has done a cameo in a Mani Ratnam film, and now is the star of a new Netflix Tamil series, The Game: You Never Play Alone. Shraddha Srinath plays a game developer who is being trolled for her success. The child of an Army officer, Srinath spent much of her time living in cit­ies like Bhopal, Belgavi, Assam, Masimpur, Secunderabad and Srinagar, which may explain her ease work­ing across languages and film industries.

 Playing Forger

He was noticed as Zain Sareen in the cult hit I May Destroy You, but in ITV’s Frauds Karan Gill seems to have found his feet. This new series stars Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, as two women planning one last heist. In Frauds, Gill, a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama, plays the world’s greatest forger Bilal.