Sada

Sadhaf Mohammed Syed, but nearly everyone just calls her Sadha, is basically a household name in South Indian cinema. She’s got this seriously diverse filmography—Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, you name it. Her breakout moment? Definitely the film Jayam, which pretty much put her on the map. Then, of course, there’s Anniyan, the mega-hit Tamil thriller that everyone still talks about when her name pops up. Unnale Unnale is another one people remember, especially if you’re into those feel-good romantic dramas. Sadha grew up in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, in a Marathi Muslim family. Not some fancy film family or anything—just a regular kid going to Sacred Hearts Convent, then heading off to Mumbai for more studies. She didn’t dive into acting right away, but once she got her foot in the door, she didn’t look back. After Anniyan blew up, she started popping up in all sorts of movies, in all sorts of languages. Kannada audiences caught her in Monalisa, and she even dipped her toes into Bollywood with Click (not everyone knows that one, but it’s there on her list). And if you’re into stage stuff, she was part of Mani Ratnam’s Netru, Indru, Naalai, which had a bunch of big names too. Basically, Sadha’s one of those actresses who never really stuck to one lane—she’s always bouncing between languages and genres, keeping things interesting.