Asin
Asin Thottumkal (Malayalam), (born October 26, 1985[1]) is an Indian film actress from the state of Kerala.
Making her acting debut in Sathyan Anthikkad's Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001), Thottumkal 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 the thriller Ghajini (2005) and the action comedy Varalaru (2006). More recently, Thottumkal made her début in Bollywood, with Ghajini, the remake of its Tamil namesake, subsequently winning the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award Award.
Asin Thottumkal debuted in a supporting role in Sathyan Anthikkad's Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka in 2001, at the age of 15. After taking a year out to pursue her education, Thottumkal returned as an actress in, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi opposite Ravi Teja, portraying a Tamil girl in her first Telugu language film, for which she won the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In the same year she won the Santosham Best Actress Award for her performance alongside Akkineni Nagarjuna in her second Telugu film, Shivamani. Her following two Telugu films, Lakshmi Narasimha and Gharshana, Thottumkal's characters were the love interest for police officers.
Thottumkal's first Tamil language film was M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi, in which she co-starred with Jayam Ravi. Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal to Tamil film industry. After a brief return to Telugu films, to do Chakram, she appeared in Ullam Ketkumae. The film, a college love story, directed by Jeeva, was long-delayed.
After the release of Ullam Ketkumae, Thottumkal was cited as a leading heroine after signing films with four leading actors of the Tamil industry in Ghajini, Majaa, Sivakasi and Varalaru respectively. The film which provided the breakthrough for Thottumkal was Ghajini. The film, co-starring Surya and Nayantara and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, earned her the Tamil Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her role was that of a vivacious young model named Kalpana. Sify.com praised her portrayal as "magical", descriving her character as a "lovable chatterbox", played 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". The following Diwali in 2005, Thottumkal had two releases, Sivakasi and Majaa. Despite the latter becoming an average grosser, the former went on to be a successful venture at the box office, despite Thottumkal's poorly etched out role.
The following year, Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal to the sidelines, but her role was well acclaimed by critics.Thottumkal 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. In January 2007, Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal's role in Aalwar was criticized, her performance in Pokkiri was lauded by critics. 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 Thottumkal and Surya put apart their creative differences and appear alongside each other after Ghajini. Thottumkal, who portrayed a TV anchor, was appreciated for her role in the film.
success, 2008 - present
Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal's largest film till date. Despite being overshadowed by Haasan's ten roles, Thottumkal'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.[15] Dasavathaaram subsequently went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in South Indian film history.[16] Since establishing herself as the leading actress in South India, Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal 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 Thottumkal's performance a positive outlook.[17] Thottumkal 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.[18] Furthermore, Thottumkal is committed 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.[19] In the project, Thottumkal 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 south indian martial art of Kalaripayattu from a veteran.
