Asin Thottumkal | |
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![]() Asin in 2013 | |
Born | Asin Thottumkal 26 October 1985 |
Alma mater | St. Teresa's College |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2001–2015 |
Works | Full list |
Spouse |
Rahul Sharma (m. 2016) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Full list |
Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononyomusly as Asin, is an Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. Asin is a recipient of several accolades including a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards South and four South Indian International Movie Awards. In 2009, she was honoured with Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Highest Civilian Honour of the State.[1] Asin is considered as one of the leading South Indian actresses of the 2000s and is referred to as the "Queen of Kollywood".[2][3]
A trained Bharatanatyam dancer,[4] Asin made her acting debut at the age of 15 with Sathyan Anthikkad's Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001), Asin had her first commercial success with the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi in 2003, and won a Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for the film. M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi (2004) was her debut in Tamil and a huge success. She received her Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for her most noted critically acclaimed performance in her third Tamil film, Ghajini (2005). She then played the lead female roles in many successful films, the most notable being the action films Sivakasi (2005), Varalaru (2006), Pokkiri (2007), Vel (2008) and Dasavathaaram (2008), hence establishing herself as the leading actress of Tamil cinema.[5] In 2013, Asin was conferred with the Pride of South Indian Cinema award at SIIMA for her contribution to Tamil cinema.[6]
In late 2008, Asin made her debut in the Bollywood film Ghajini (2008), opposite Aamir Khan, which was the first Bollywood film to have collected more than ₹1 billion in the domestic box office, subsequently collecting ₹1.9 billion (US$23 million) worldwide. Asin won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and many accolades for Ghajini. 2011 marked the most successful phase of Asin's Bollywood career, as she starred in Anees Bazmee's romantic comedy Ready, in which she co-starred alongside Salman Khan. The film was a major hit at the box office, collecting ₹1.84 billion (US$22 million) worldwide.[7] In 2012, Asin first starred in Sajid Khan's multistarrer Housefull 2, which collected more than ₹1 billion. She then featured in Bol Bachchan and Khiladi 786, which were also commercially successful with both grossing over ₹1 billion. The 2015 film, All Is Well was her last film, following which she took a retirement from acting.[8]