Hollywood almost famous actress Bar Refaeli has lived up to the concept. She recently stripped naked for a US magazine.
Asin Thottumkal (Malayalam: അസിന് തോട്ടുങ്കല്), (born October 26, 1985[1]) is an Indian film actress from the state of Kerala. She is currently considered to be one of the most popular actresses in the South Indian film industry.
Making her acting debut in Sathyan Anthikkad's Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001), Asin had her first commercial success with Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi in 2003, and won a Filmfare Award for the Best Telugu Actress for the film.
After a number of films, she received her second South Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in her second Tamil film, Ghajini (2005). She played the lead female roles in hits, Ghajini (2005) which is her biggest commercial success to date, and the action comedy Varalaru (2006). More recently, Asin made her début in Bollywood, with Ghajini, the remake of its Tamil namesake, subsequently winning the Filmfare Best Hindi Debut Award.
Contents
1 Early life and background
2 Career
2.1 Early work, until 2004
2.2 Breakthrough, 2005 - 2007
2.3 Success, 2008 - present
3 Filmography
4 See also
5 References
Early life and background
Asin was born into a Roman Catholic, Syrian Christian family in Kochi, Kerala. Her father, Joseph Thotumkal originally from Thodupuzha, managed several businesses and was considered a prominent entrepreneur before he stopped managing his businesses and decided to manage his daughter's acting career instead. Furthermore Asin's father accompanies her to all her foreign shoots. Her mother, Seline Thottumkal, remains a surgeon despite moving settlements from Cochin to Chennai to Mumbai to live with her daughter. Asin has quoted that her name "means without blemish and pure". She claims that "the 'A' in [her] name is from Sanskrit and word ‘Sin’ from English"[citation needed]. She also mentions that she "has not come across anyone with same name".
Career
Early work, until 2004
Asin Thottumkal debuted in a supporting role in Sathyan Anthikkad's unsuccessful Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka in 2001, at the age of 15. After taking a year out to pursue her education, Asin returned with her breakthrough film as an actress, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi opposite Ravi Teja, portraying a Tamil girl in her first Telugu language film, which subsequently fetched her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress.[2] In the same year she won the Santosham Best Actress Award for her performance alongside Nagarjuna in her second Telugu film, Shivamani.[2] Her following two Telugu films, Lakshmi Narasimha and Gharshana, both portrayed Asin as the love interest for police officers, giving her two more solid hit films, cementing her place as a leading actress in the Telugu film industry.
Asin's first Tamil language film was M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi, in which she co-starred with Jayam Ravi. Asin reprised her role from her film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi for the remake, which saw her portraying a Malayali girl instead of the Tamil girl in the original. The movie subsequently went on to become one of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema during 2004, introducing Asin to Tamil film industry.[3] After a brief return to Telugu films, to do Chakram, her first failure as a senior artiste, she appeared in Ullam Ketkumae.[4] The film, initially launched in 2002, was originally meant to be the launch for Asin as a lead actress, along with then-debutants Arya and Pooja Umashankar. The college love story, directed by Jeeva, was long-delayed but eventually became a successful venture at the box-office, creating wider opportunities for her and the rest of the lead cast.[5]
Breakthrough, 2005 - 2007
After the release of Ullam Ketkumae, Asin became publicized as a leading heroine after signing films with the four leading actors of the Tamil industry: Surya, Vikram, Vijay and Ajith in Ghajini, Majaa, Sivakasi and Varalaru respectively.[6] The venture which provided the breakthrough for Asin to become the leading South Indian actress was her Tamil film, Ghajini. The film, co-starring Surya and Nayantara and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, helped Asin secure the Tamil Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her role, that of a vivacious young model called Kalpana who dies, became a trendsetter and was parodied in several other films after the release of Ghajini.[7] Sify.com praised her portrayal as "magical" and that "Kalpana was the lovable chatterbox, [with] sheer ability in the romantic interludes, the poignant and heartfelt scenes when she rescues minor girls from villains and her gory end are touching".[8] The reviewer further went on to mention that "The chemistry between the lead pair in the first half is a delight", a view that became common among film producers who attempted to put their pair opposite each other for the films, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Vaaranam Aayiram, both of which started without Asin.[9] The following Diwali in 2005, Asin had two big releases in Sivakasi and Majaa. Despite the latter becoming an average grosser, the former also went on to be a successful venture at the box office, despite Asin's poorly etched out role.[10][11]
The following year, Asin opted for a less hectic schedule, becoming more choosy with her roles, rejecting several opportunities in the process. Her long-delayed venture, Varalaru opposite Ajith Kumar, became the biggest blockbuster of 2006 in Tamil cinema, after releasing for Diwali 2006. The film's hero-centric plot retreated Asin to the sidelines, but her role was well acclaimed by critics.[12] Asin kept intact with her popularity in Telugu films by appearing in Pawan Kalyan's Annavaram, another successful venture in which she had a poorly-etched out role.[13] In January 2007, Asin appeared opposite Ajith Kumar and Vijay in two different films, Aalwar and Pokkiri, with the latter becoming a super success, whilst Aalwar became a failure. The two projects which released on the same day, had been billed up as rival films due to the rivalry of the lead actors in the films. Whilst Asin's role in Aalwar was criticized, her performance in Pokkiri was lauded by critics.[14][15] Her final project of the year was opposite in Hari's Vel, which had a Diwali 2007 release, subsequently becoming her third successful film which released during the Diwali season in three years. The film saw Asin and Surya put apart their creative differences and appear alongside each other after Ghajini. Asin, who portrayed a TV anchor, was appreciated for her role in the film.[16]
Success, 2008 - present
Asin appeared in her first dual role in K. S. Ravikumar's magnum opus Dasavathaaram opposite Kamal Haasan, who portrayed ten roles. The film, which was under production since September 2006, became Asin's largest film till date. Despite being overshadowed by Haasan's ten roles, Asin's portrayal's in the film were praised as her "best-to-date" with one of her roles being that of a Vaishnavite in the 12th century; whilst the other character was a Brahmin girl from Chidambaram.[17] Dasavathaaram subsequently went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in South Indian film history.[18] Since establishing herself as the leading actress in South India, Asin opted to move into Bollywood, to get nationwide fame. Her first film, Ghajini opposite Aamir Khan was the remake of her breakthrough film of the same name. Upon release, the film garnered positive reactions from critics and masses alike, with Asin being singled out for her "fabulous" portray. Noted critic, Taran Adarsh describes her Hindi debut as "fabulous" and that "to share the screen space with an actor of the stature of Aamir Khan and yet remain in your memory even after the show has ended is no cakewalk. She looks fresh and photogenic and acts her part brilliantly", giving Asin's performance a positive outlook.[19] Asin is committed to Vipul Shah's London Dreams alongside Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, in which she plays a member of a five-troupe band.[20] Furthermore, Asin is commited to Bharat Bala's trilingual international project titled 19th Step made in English, Japanese and Tamil in which she co-stars along with Kamal Hassan and Tadanobu Asano.[21] In the project, Asin reportedly plays the role of an Indian Princess who falls in love with a Japanese Warrior who comes to ancient Tamilakam to learn the ancient Dravidian martial art of Kalaripayattu from a veteran.[22]
Daisy made her Bollywood debut in Priyadarshan’s Garam Masala (film). Her first scene required her to kiss John Abraham. In Mumbai, Daisy has just shifted to a new house and is busy realising her Bollywood dreams. She is all set to star in a Hindi romantic comedy and has recently finished with the photo shoot. Another Telugu film Hrudayam directed by Jai Akash is also on. The actor had earlier done two Telugu films Chanti opposite Ravi Teja Sharma and Relax. Her Tamil film Chakravyuham directed by Udayabhanu Maheshwaran was also released recently.
Pooja Gandhi, also known as Sanjana Gandhi, is a popular actress in Kannada film industry. She hails from Punjab. She studied in New Delhi Public School. Her father, Pawan Gandhi is a businessman. She left her studies midway during her first year graduation when she got an opportunity to act in a Bengali film. Since then, she has never looked back and has been associated with success in the South Indian film industry.
India’s Premium Hindi Movies and Special Events channel on Monday April 13th evening announced a slew of power packed initiatives for the second season of the DLF IPL action on the channel at Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai. Max has brought back the ravishing and articulate first lady of Indian cricket –Mandira Bedi, as a co host for Extraaa Innings T20. Making the broadcast much bigger and better, MAX has roped in the dynamic trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to create musical magic for it’s popular wrap-around programming ‘Extraaa Innings T20’. Based on MAX’s popular campaign for the DLF IPL - “Ek Desh Ek Junoon” - the musical maestros’ powerful composition will be played as an opening montage on every episode of Extraaa Innings T20. Also announced was a fresh new team of anchors for Extraaa Innings T20 - Samir Kochhar who successfully hosted DLF IPL season 1, is back with us for season 2, Meiyang Chang - one of the most popular Indian Idol contestants and the host of the Indian Idol 4 show and Gaurav Kapoor - the very recognizable VJ and presenter for six long years and now ready to set the big screen on fire with two upcoming films.
Geeta gets a pleasant surprise as her Guru Farah Khan joins her on the sets of Zee's Dance India Dance..Zee's Dance India Dance is in election mood with mentors campaigning for their contestants. Everyone is busy making sure that their participants are safe, and amidst this mentor Geeta Kapoor gets a shock of her life."Geeta's friend, philosopher, and guide; the ace choreographer and director, Farah Khan pays her a surprise visit on the sets. Well, thanks to the crew, the surprise was well packaged and kept under wraps until the episode had started rolling. Geeta was blindfolded but she recognized Farah just by her touch. Such is the bond of a guru and a shishya. What ensued after was these little moments that were shared between the master and her master", says Chincky (Are Munnabhai wali naire apni be apni).
Farah dotingly calls Geeta as Geetu. "She fondly spoke about their fun days and said that all her signature choreographies would not have materialized had it not been for Geeta's assistance", adds the source.There is a common thread that binds the two together. "And that's their eternal crush on Grandmaster Mithun Da. Farah fondly remembers the days when she used to go to Mithun Da's place to teach dance to li'l Mimoh", chirps the little birdie from the sets.Geeta also performed on Saroj ji's choreography. "She danced on the tune of Mera piya ghar aaya… with Alisha and Khushboo adding the oomph quotient", adds our source.
Well Farah's presence was the most memorable moment for Geeta, and to witness their awesome chemistry, tune in to watch Dance India Dance Farah Khan special on 18th April, 9:30pm only on Zee TV.
Now You think tha i mantioned in title "Beauty with Brain" why so; check the below her profile:
