28 Years For Venkatesh, 20 For Kajol! Indian Stars Who Made Cross-Industry Comebacks
From Kajol’s Tamil return to Venkatesh’s Bollywood reunion, revisit Indian stars who returned to familiar film industries after years away.
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An actor can be everywhere and still be missing from one particular film industry. While their career flourishes in another language, the audience that first welcomed them keeps waiting for a familiar face to return. Sometimes, the wait stretches across generations of moviegoers. The eventual reunion might bring a glamorous leading lady back as a formidable businesswoman, or turn a romantic hero into a father with a difficult confession to make. From language anxieties to unexpected scripts and scheduling complications, these journeys back reveal that a long absence rarely has one simple explanation.
Here are stars whose returns came after roughly a decade or more.
1. Kajol - Tamil Cinema, After 20 Years
Tamil audiences first met Kajol as Priya, the young woman contemplating a religious vocation in Rajiv Menon’s ‘Minsara Kanavu’, released on January 14, 1997. Sharing the screen with Arvind Swamy and Prabhu Deva, she became part of a musical love triangle that remained memorable long after its theatrical run. Her next Tamil outing arrived with Soundarya Rajinikanth’s ‘VIP 2’, released on August 11, 2017, alongside Dhanush and Amala Paul. This time, she was the formidable businesswoman Vasundhara.
Getting her back required some persuasion. Kajol told Gulf News that learning her earlier film’s dialogue had felt like hours of homework, making her reluctant to repeat the experience. Dhanush and Soundarya reassured her about the language; she eventually performed the lines in Tamil. From an aspiring nun to a corporate powerhouse, this was quite a transformation.
2. Tabu - Telugu Cinema, After 12 Years
Tabu’s Telugu return came with a change of cinematic worlds. Her previous outing was K. Raghavendra Rao’s ‘Pandurangadu’, released on May 30, 2008, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sneha and Tabu. She returned in Trivikram Srinivas’ ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’, which opened on January 12, 2020, with Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde, Jayaram and Murali Sharma among its principal cast.
As Yasoda, the mother at the centre of the film’s switched-at-birth family drama, she brought quiet authority to a world full of larger-than-life confrontations. Her character’s emotional importance made the return more substantial than a passing appearance: the family everyone was fighting over needed to feel worth fighting for.
3. Venkatesh Daggubati - Hindi Cinema, After 28 Years
Venkatesh’s Hindi-film journey had included ‘Anari’ (1993) and K. Murali Mohana Rao’s ‘Taqdeerwala’, released on May 12, 1995, opposite Raveena Tandon. Then came a very long interval. He returned with Farhad Samji’s ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ on April 21, 2023, joining Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde, Bhumika Chawla and Jagapathi Babu.
Here, Venkatesh played Pooja’s elder brother, with Bhumika as his wife. The casting gave the family entertainer an additional reunion to celebrate: Hindi audiences were seeing a Telugu star who had once led Bollywood films return nearly three decades later, carrying a very different screen persona.
4. Jyothika - A Hindi Return After More Than Two Decades
Jyothika began with Priyadarshan’s ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’, released on November 27, 1998, opposite Akshaye Khanna. Her return is frequently measured from that debut, but her filmography also includes Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s ‘Little John’ (2001), made in Tamil, Hindi and English, with Bentley Mitchum and Anupam Kher. That intervening credit makes “more than two decades” a more careful description than an uninterrupted 26-year absence.
Her major Bollywood return arrived in Vikas Bahl’s ‘Shaitaan’, released on March 8, 2024, with Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan and Janki Bodiwala. Playing a mother confronting a terrifying threat to her daughter, she returned with emotional intensity. Jyothika later told ETimes that Hindi filmmakers may have assumed she didn’t speak Hindi or was too busy working in the South – an extraordinary misconception about an actor whose career began in Bollywood.
5. Amala Akkineni - Malayalam Cinema, After 26 Years
Amala’s two Malayalam films from 1991, Fazil’s ‘Ente Sooryaputhrikku’ and Kamal’s ‘Ulladakkam’, left a lasting impression. The latter paired her with Mohanlal and Shobana. Her next Malayalam feature, Antony Sony’s ‘C/O Saira Banu’, released on March 17, 2017, alongside Manju Warrier and Shane Nigam, bringing her back as advocate Annie John Tharavadi.
The courtroom dialogue initially worried her. In an Onmanorama interview, Amala explained that an assistant director coached her in Malayalam over Skype from 5 am to 7 am. Those early lessons helped her feel confident about pronunciation – a lovely reminder that returning to familiar territory can still require starting from the basics.
6. Raveena Tandon - Kannada Cinema, After 23 Years
Raveena’s first Kannada appearance came in Upendra’s self-titled ‘Upendra’, released on October 22, 1999, with Upendra, Prema and Damini. She returned in Prashanth Neel’s ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, released on April 14, 2022, joining Yash, Sanjay Dutt and Srinidhi Shetty. Her new character, Prime Minister Ramika Sen, was someone even Rocky had to take seriously.
When she spoke to Cinema Express during the film’s making, Raveena still remembered a song from ‘Upendra’. The affection for that earlier experience was intact; the role awaiting her had changed dramatically. Her return put her at the political centre of a sprawling action saga.
7. Shilpa Shetty - Kannada Cinema, After 21 Years
Shilpa’s Kannada credits included ‘Preethsod Thappa’ (1998), ‘Ondagona Baa’ (2003) and, most recently, D. Rajendra Babu’s ‘Auto Shankar’ (2005) with Upendra and Radhika. She finally returned in Prem’s ‘KD: The Devil’, released on April 30, 2026, alongside Dhruva Sarja, Sanjay Dutt, V. Ravichandran and Ramesh Aravind. The release-year gap was therefore 21 years, rather than the 18 quoted when her casting was announced in 2023.
Her character, Satyavati, came with a striking retro appearance. Shilpa’s enthusiasm was evident when she wrapped filming: she shared a celebratory video and described Satyavati as one of her favourite roles. For an actor returning to an industry after such a long interval, that is a promising kind of attachment to the part.
8. Ramya Krishnan - Hindi Cinema, After 24 Years
Before Sivagami made her familiar to a new generation, Ramya Krishnan had already worked in Hindi films including ‘Khalnayak’, ‘Chaahat’ and ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’. Her final Hindi release of that phase was N. Chandra’s ‘Wajood’, released on December 11, 1998, with Nana Patekar, Madhuri Dixit and Mukul Dev. She returned through Puri Jagannadh’s Telugu-Hindi bilingual ‘Liger’, released on August 25, 2022, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday.
As the fighter’s fiercely protective mother Balamani, she brought an aggressive energy to the film. Speaking to PTI, Ramya explained that she had felt more secure concentrating on her established Telugu career than abandoning it to pursue Bollywood. Her return followed a career built elsewhere, rather than a disappearance from acting.
9. Nagarjuna - Hindi Cinema, After 19 Years
Nagarjuna’s previous Hindi appearance was in J.P. Dutta’s ‘LOC: Kargil’, released on December 26, 2003, whose enormous ensemble included Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan. He returned with Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’ on September 9, 2022, alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan and Mouni Roy.
His appearance as artist Anish Shetty, wielder of the Nandi Astra, was brief but pivotal. Nagarjuna told PTI that Hindi projects needed to offer him a satisfying experience, and ‘Brahmastra’ represented a rare opportunity. The gap between accepting the film and its eventual release also explains why early reports called this a 15-year return; by release year, it was 19.
10. Arvind Swamy - Hindi Cinema, After 16 Years
Arvind Swamy’s previous Hindi outing was T.K. Rajeev Kumar’s ‘Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya’, released on December 22, 2000, opposite Manisha Koirala. His return, Tanuj Bhramar’s ‘Dear Dad’, opened on May 13, 2016, with Himanshu Sharma and Ekavali Khanna. The scale was intimate, and the material offered something far removed from a conventional star vehicle.
The story follows a father and teenage son on a road trip complicated by the father’s revelation about his se**ality. Reporting linked Swamy’s decision to the unusual subject. A familiar face returning after years can generate nostalgia; ‘Dear Dad’ used that familiarity to lead audiences towards a difficult family conversation.
11. Sharmila Tagore - Bengali Cinema, After 16 Years
Sharmila’s last Bengali film before ‘Puratawn’ was Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s ‘Antaheen’, released on January 23, 2009, with Rahul Bose, Radhika Apte and Aparna Sen. Suman Ghosh’s ‘Puratawn’ reached theatres on April 11, 2025, with Rituparna Sengupta and Indraneil Sengupta accompanying her in a story about ageing, memory and family relationships.
The reunion was personal to its makers. Ghosh explained that Rituparna had told him Sharmila was interested in doing Bengali films and asked whether he could write something with her in mind. The film also screened at MAMI in 2024, before its theatrical release – hence the different gap figures attached to its festival and cinema appearances.
12. Bhavana - Tamil Cinema, After 15 Years
Bhavana’s previous Tamil film was Saran’s ‘Aasal’, released on February 5, 2010, starring Ajith Kumar, with Sameera Reddy also in the cast. She returned with the horror thriller ‘The Door’, released on March 28, 2025, alongside Ganesh Venkatraman and Jayaprakash. The project had a strong family connection: her brother Jaiiddev directed it, and her husband Naveen Rajan produced it.
Bhavana told Cinema Express that the absence had developed almost accidentally. After she parted ways with a manager, misunderstandings apparently left some filmmakers believing she wasn’t interested in Tamil projects; others didn’t know how to contact her. She was also reluctant to overstate ‘The Door’ as a grand comeback, describing it as a modest horror film.
13. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Tamil Cinema, After 12 Years
Aishwarya’s previous Tamil release was Shankar’s ‘Enthiran’, which opened on October 1, 2010, opposite Rajinikanth, with Danny Denzongpa in a key role. She returned in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan: I’, released on September 30, 2022, joining Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi and Trisha in the Chola-era epic.
As Nandini, she became central to the film’s dangerous mixture of personal longing and political calculation. There was a career-circle appeal too: Mani Ratnam had introduced her to cinema with ‘Iruvar’ in 1997. Returning to Tamil films through another of his ambitious ensembles gave the occasion a connection reaching back to the very beginning.
14. Nazriya Nazim - Tamil Cinema, After 12 Years
Nazriya supplies the freshest example. Her previous Tamil release was Anis’ ‘Thirumanam Enum Nikkah’, which opened on July 24, 2014, opposite Jai. She returned with Jithu Madhavan’s ‘Scene’, released on November 6, 2026, starring Suriya and Naslen, with Lal, John Vijay and Anandaraj in supporting roles. She plays Maya in the film.
The wait came with a playful pre-release exchange. After Suriya joked that ‘Nazriya’ had rejected three earlier opportunities to work with him, she clarified that dates and other complications had prevented those collaborations. Their eventual pairing, she said, wasn’t the result of finally agreeing to work with him after deliberate refusals.
15. Kangana Ranaut - Tamil Cinema, After 13 Years
Kangana entered Tamil cinema with Jeeva’s ‘Dhaam Dhoom’, released on August 29, 2008, alongside Jayam Ravi and Raai Laxmi. Her next Tamil project, A.L. Vijay’s ‘Thalaivii’, released on September 10, 2021, with Arvind Swamy, Bhagyashree and Samuthirakani among its principal cast. The film was shot in Tamil and Hindi, placing her return within a bilingual production.
The change of role was considerable. The young woman of her debut gave way to J. Jayalalithaa, whose journey from cinema to political leadership powered the biopic; Arvind Swamy portrayed M.G. Ramachandran. A return after years can mean rediscovering a language, but this one also involved stepping into the image of one of Tamil Nadu’s most recognisable public figures.
16. Unni Mukundan - Tamil Cinema, After 13 Years
Unni Mukundan’s career actually began in Tamil cinema with Subramaniam Siva’s ‘Seedan’, released on February 25, 2011. It starred Unni and Ananya, with Dhanush in an extended appearance. His return came through R.S. Durai Senthilkumar’s ‘Garudan’, released on May 31, 2024, alongside Soori and Sasikumar, with Sshivada and Samuthirakani also featuring.
Unni told Cinema Express that Tamil cinema had given him his professional identity, even as his career developed in Malayalam and Telugu. His work in ‘Malikappuram’ helped bring Garudan to him through producer K. Kumar’s recommendation. Returning as Karunakaran in a story of loyalty and betrayal offered a substantial new chapter in the industry where he started.
17. Khushbu Sundar - Telugu Cinema, After About 11 Years
Khushbu’s last Telugu appearance before her return was a cameo in S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘Yamadonga’, released on August 15, 2007, starring Jr NTR, Mohan Babu, Priyamani and Mamta Mohandas. She personally regarded A.R. Murugadoss’ ‘Stalin’, released on September 20, 2006, with Chiranjeevi and Trisha, as her previous substantial outing. Her return came in Trivikram Srinivas’ ‘Agnyaathavaasi’, released on January 10, 2018, with Pawan Kalyan, Keerthy Suresh and Anu Emmanuel.
Playing Pawan’s stepmother, Indrani, she returned to a prominent part in the family-and-business conflict. Khushbu said Trivikram had approached her earlier too, but those roles hadn’t persuaded her. This time, the character and the overall team made the offer difficult to resist.
18. Pooja Hegde - Tamil Cinema, After A Decade
Pooja made her acting debut in Mysskin’s ‘Mugamoodi’, released on August 31, 2012, with Jiiva and Narain. Her second Tamil feature arrived almost a decade later: Nelson Dilipkumar’s ‘Beast’, released on April 13, 2022, starring Vijay, with Selvaraghavan, Yogi Babu and Aparna Das also featuring. In between, her career had expanded considerably in Telugu and Hindi cinema.
Pooja expressed her excitement about returning to Tamil films during ‘Beast’ promotions. There was an appealing full-circle quality to it: the industry that introduced her was welcoming her back after she had built a much wider profile elsewhere. Her partnership with Vijay also gave the return a memorable musical calling card in “Arabic Kuthu”.
