Asin Thottumkal
Date of birth: October 26, 1985.
is an Indian film actress from the state of Kerala. She is currently
considered to be one of the most sexy actresses in the South Indian
film industry.
Asin was born into a Syro Malabar, 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
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 debut in Bollywood, with Ghajini, the
remake of its Tamil namesake, subsequently winning the Filmfare Best
Hindi Debut Award.
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. In the same year she won the
Santosham Best Actress Award for her performance alongside Nagarjuna
in her second Telugu film, Shivamani. 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. After a brief
return to Telugu films, to do Chakram, her first failure as a senior
artiste, she appeared in Ullam Ketkumae. 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.
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. 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. 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". 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Dasavathaaram
subsequently went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in
South Indian film history. 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. 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. Furthermore, Asin 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. 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.
Filmography
2001 - Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka [Malayalam]
2003 - Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi[Telugu]
Winner, Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award
Shivamani 9848022338 [Telugu]
Winner, Santosham Best Actress Award
2004 - Lakshmi Narasimha [Telugu]
Gharshana [Telugu]
M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi [Tamil]
2005 - Chakram [Telugu]
Ullam Ketkumae [Tamil]
Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award
Ghajini [Tamil]
Majaa [Telugu]
Sivakasi [Tamil]
2006 - Varalaru [Tamil]
Annavaram [Telugu]
2007 - Aalwar
Pokkiri [Tamil]
2008 - Dasavathaaram [Tamil]
Ghajini [Hindi]
Winner, Filmfare Best Hindi Debut Award
Winner, Star Screen Best Female Newcomer Award
Winner, Stardust Female Superstar of Tomorrow Award
Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
2009 - London Dreams [Hindi]
2010 The 19th Step [Tamil, English, Japanese]
Pre-Production
