Asin Biography :
Asin Thottumkal (
Malayalam:
അസിന് തോട്ടുങ്കല്,
Asin Tōṭṭuṅkal ?,
Tamil:
அசின்; born 26 October 1985
[1]), known
mononymously as
Asin is an
Indian film actress,
model and a stage performer.
Making her acting debut in
Sathyan Anthikkad's Malayalam film
Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001), Asin had her first commercial success with
Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi in 2003, and won a
Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for the film.
After a number of films, she received her second
South Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her critically acclaimed performance in her second
Tamil film,
Ghajini (2005). She played the lead female roles in blockbusters such as the action comedy
Varalaru (2006), the action thriller
Pokkiri (2007) and the big budget production
Dasavathaaram (2008). In late 2008, Asin made her début in
Bollywood, with
Ghajini, the remake of its Tamil namesake, subsequently winning the
Filmfare Best Female Debut Award.
[edit] Early life and background
Asin was born in
Kochi,
Kerala,
India and attended
Naval Public School from L.K.G.(Pre.K) through 10th standard (grade). Then she attended St. Theresa's School in
Kochi for her
Plus Two education. After that she attended St. Theresa's College for Women in
Kochi a college affiliated with
MG University where she earned a
Bachelors of Arts degree in
English Literature. .
[2] Her father, Joseph Thottumkal originally from a
Nasrani (
Syro Malabar) family in
Thodupuzha,
[3] managed several businesses before he decided to manage his daughter's acting career instead where he accompanies her to all her foreign shoots. Her mother, Seline Thottumkal, remains a surgeon who moved settlements from
Cochin to
Chennai to
Mumbai to live with her daughter. Asin has quoted that her name "means pure and without blemish". She claims that "the 'A' in her name is from
Sanskrit meaning "without", and 'sin' from
English".
[4]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early work, until 2004
Asin and Jayam Ravi in M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi
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, 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.
[5] In the same year she won the
Santosham Best Actress Award for her performance alongside
Akkineni Nagarjuna in her second Telugu film,
Shivamani.
[5] Her following two
Telugu films,
Lakshmi Narasimha and
Gharshana, both portrayed Asin as the love interest for police officers.
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.
[6] After a brief return to Telugu films, to do
Chakram, she appeared in
Ullam Ketkumae.
[7] The film, initially launched in 2002, is a college love story, directed by
Jeeva, which 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.
[8]
[edit] Breakthrough 2005–2007
After the release of
Ullam Ketkumae, Asin was cited as a leading heroine after the Tamil industry films
Ghajini,
Majaa,
Sivakasi and
Varalaru respectively.
[9] The film which provided the breakthrough for Asin 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".
[10] The following
Diwali in 2005, Asin 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 Asin's poorly etched out role.
[11][12]
The following year, her long-delayed venture,
Varalaru opposite
Ajith Kumar's hero-centric plot retreated Asin to the sidelines, but The Hindu said she "looks lustrous and sails through her role smoothly".
[13] Asin appeared in
Pawan Kalyan's
Annavaram, another successful venture in which she had a poorly-etched out role.
[14] In January 2007, Asin appeared opposite Ajith Kumar and Vijay in two different films,
Aalwar and
Pokkiri, with the latter becoming a success, whilst
Aalwar became a failure. Whilst Asin's role in
Aalwar was criticized, her performance in
Pokkiri was lauded by critics.
[15][16] Her final project of the year was opposite Surya, 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. Asin, who portrayed a
TV anchor, was appreciated for her role in the film.
[17]
[edit] Success 2008–present
Asin at the
Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream launch event, 2009
Asin appeared in her first dual role in
K. S. Ravikumar's
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.
[18] Dasavathaaram subsequently went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in South Indian film history.
[19] 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.
[20] Asin later appeared in
Vipul Shah's
London Dreams alongside
Salman Khan and
Ajay Devgan, in which she played a member of a five-troupe band.
[21][22]
Kaavalan was released on 15 January 2011.
Behindwoods review of the film praised her performance: "Asin, in Tamil for the first time after
Dasavatharam, convinces us with her portrayal. The chemistry of the lead pair has worked out well; especially the portions where Asin tries various ways to exasperate Vijay; things that ultimately result in love".
[23] She is currently working with Salman Khan on
Ready, which is scheduled to be released on June 03, 2011.
[24]
[edit] Other work
[edit] Philanthropy
Asin Thottumkal has decided to fund the education of Radhika, an eight-year-old orphan girl from Kerala.
[25] She also was part of the camps that were meant to help the Srilankan Tamil people who were affected by the wars in Srilanka during her shoot of her film Ready with Salman Khan.
[26]
[edit] Brand Ambassador
Asin is the brand ambassador for a number of products including Fairever Fairness cream, Clinic All Clear Shampoo, Parachute Hair Oil, Colgate Maxfresh Tooth paste, Mirinda (soft drink), Spinz Talcum Powder, BIG 92.7 FM Radio station, Tanishq, Goldplus Jewellery, Tata Sky and Sure (anti-perspirant)
[27]. The popular soap brand
Lux signed Asin as their brand ambassador in late 2010.
[28] Earlier, Asin was also signed as the brand ambassador for
Amrutanjan.
[29] Asin was also the brand ambassador for
Big Bazzar, with the Indian cricket captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
[30]
[edit] Awards and honours
Asin was honoured with
Kalaimamani award by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in the year 2009.
[31] She also won the Giant award along with
Shahid Kapoor in the same year.
[32] She has won various Filmfare awards and other prominent awards for her acting skills in all three major industries which she has been part of in her career.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Language | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka | Malayalam | Swathi |
|
| 2003 | Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi | Telugu | Chennai | Winner, Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award |
| Shivamani 9848022338 | Telugu | Vasantha | Winner, Santosham Best Actress Award |
| 2004 | Lakshmi Narasimha | Telugu | Rukhmini |
|
| Gharshana | Telugu | Maya |
|
| M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi | Tamil | Bhuvana/malabar |
|
| 2005 | Chakram | Telugu | Lakshmi |
|
| Ullam Ketkumae | Tamil | Priya |
|
| Ghajini | Tamil | Kalpana | Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award |
| Majaa | Tamil | Seetha Lakshmi |
|
| Sivakasi | Tamil | Hema |
|
| 2006 | Varalaru | Tamil | Divya |
|
| Annavaram | Telugu | Aishwarya |
|
| 2007 | Aalwar | Tamil | Priya |
|
| Pokkiri | Tamil | Shruthi | Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine |
| Vel | Tamil | Swathi |
|
| 2008 | Dasavathaaram | Tamil | Kothai Radha,
Andaal | Winner, ITFA Best Actress Award |
| Ghajini | Hindi | Kalpana Shetty | Winner, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award
Winner, IIFA Star Debut Award
Winner, Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female
Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award |
| 2009 | London Dreams | Hindi | Priya |
|
| 2011 | Kaavalan | Tamil | Meera |
|
| Ready | Hindi | Sanjana | Filming, Releasing June 3, 2011 |
| 2012 | Housefull 2 | Hindi |
| Pre-Production[33] |
