Thiruvananthapuram, July 26 - Malayalam superstar Mammootty, who promised to launch fresh faces through his recently launched production company Play House, has started a talent hunt show in search of new faces.

The reality show titled 'Mammootty, The Best Actor Award 2009', went on air on Asianet TV Saturday.

'Sixteen contestants have been selected and each of them will have to perform on the reality show. This is just to give talented youngsters an opportunity to come out,' said the three-time national award winning actor.

Among the 16 selected, 10 are men and most of the participants are in their early 20s. They were shortlisted from among more than 1,000 aspirants.

There will 13 episodes that would be telecast every Saturday. The grand finale will take place in October in Dubai where Mammootty will announce the winners.

Yesteryears actress Sheela, ace comedian Jagathy Sreekumar along with Urvasi, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu and popular director Siddique are judging the show.