Meera Jasmine aka Jasmine Mary Joseph -with her
simple, but beautiful looks and a huge amount of talent is one of the hottest
stars in South Indian films. Her entry into films was quite unexpected. This
girl whose ambition was to become a doctor, was hand picked by famous Malayalam
director Lohithadas when she and her friends went to see a shooting of his film,
and was offered the role in his next film.
Shestarted her film career in 2001 with Lohithadas's
Malayalam movie 'Sutradharan' with Dileep in the lead.
Though the film failed to make a mark at the box office,
it brought her into the spotlight. It was her Tamil debut
'Run' (2002) a huge hit in Tamil Nadu directed by
Lingusamy opposite Madhavan, that turned her luck for the
better. Her subsequent films showcased her talent as an
actress and soon established her as an actor to reckon
with.
Meera
has acted with top directors of Malayalam films like
Lohithadas, Sathyan Anthikkad and Kamal. She got some real
attention in movies like 'Kasthoorimaan' (2003) where she
enacted both comedy and sentiments with equal fervor. And
in Kamal's 'Swapnakoodu' (2003)-among the five main
characters, one who scored the most was again Meera. The
same year, her role in T.V. Chandran's 'Padam Onnu Oru
Vilapam' got her the National award for Best Actress. In 'Perumazakkalam'
(2004) she gave a soul stirring performance as Raziya,
definitely one of her best roles till date. In the movie 'Achuvinte
Amma'(2005), she has enacted the young, adorable
character Achu, with extraordinary ease that she seemed to
live the character, instead of acting. She paired with
Malayalam superstars-Mohanlal in 'Rasathantram'
(2006) and Mammootty in 'Ore
Kadal' (2007).
Her main
plus points are facial expressions and spontaneity- in
acting and dialogue delivery. Over the years she has
matured as an actor and she believes in doing worthy roles
and being part of good Cinema. She is being sought out by
reputed film makers all over the South. Her notable films
in Tamil are Mani Ratnam's 'Aayitha Ezhuthu' (2004),
Lohitadas's 'Kasthoori Maan' (2005), a remake of the
Malayalam version. 'Sandakozhi' (2005) completed within
200 days was a big hit as was S.S Stanleys 'Mercury Pookal'
(2006) where her down to earth role was very much
appreciated.
She
entered Telugu cinema in 2004. Some of her Telugu films
are 'Ammayi Bagundi' (2004), 'Gudumba Shankar' (2004), 'Bhadra'
(2005), 'Maharadhi' (2007) etc. 'Mourya' (2004) with
Puneet Rajkumar, marked Meera's debut in Kannada. Her
Kannada film, 'Arrasu' (2006), was also a success.
She has
been honoured with several awards for her portrayals.
National Film Award and State Award for Best Actress in
2004 for her role in 'Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam'(2003).
This simple girl hailing
from a small village Kuttapuzha in Tiruvalla, Kerala has
come a long way, and is sure to go places with her down
to earth demeanor and natural acting talent.