Shalini (born 20 November 1979), also known as Baby Shalini, is a former Indian child artist and actress who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. During the 80s, Shalini was the most successful child artist in the Malayalam film industry. After taking a brief hiatus from child acting, Shalini made a come back in 1997 through Malayalam and Tamil Language films as lead heroine roles. She married popular Tamil actor

Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...

, on April 24, 2000 and retired from films after her marriage.

Early life

Shalini was born in a Protestant Malayali Christian family to Babu and Alice on 20 November 1979. Her father is from

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

. Her father migrated to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

with an ambition of becoming an actor and the family settled there. Later, he fulfilled his ambition through his children. Shalini attended Fatima Matriculation Higher Secondary School (K.G to 8th), Adarsh Vidyalaya, Chennai (9th to 10th) and Church Park, Chennai (11th and 12th). She completed college at Annamalai University. She is the middle child. Her younger sister Shamili and her elder brother Richard are also actors in the film industry. Shalini has stated that she enjoys badminton and has played in a few state-level tournaments., The Hindu, 10 October 2006.

Career

Shalini started her career as a child artist in '' Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku'' and she acted in all the films under the direction of Fazil. She also played the lead character in the TV serial ''Amloo'' telecast in the late 1980s on Doordarshan. Her iconic hairstyle, a short bob with a front fringe, was popularly known as the “Baby Shalini hair cut”. Shalini soon went to study, and she returned to acting with '' Aniyathipravu'', which was a blockbuster. In her next film '' Kaliyoonjal'' (1997), she co-starred with

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

and Dileep and it released to mixed reviews. After the success of the Malayalam '' Aniyathipravu'', Fazil remade it in Tamil as '' Kadhalukku Mariyadhai'' (1997). Initially, Fazil was keen on casting a débutante in the lead female role, but Shalini insisted that she should also star in the Tamil version. Like the Malayalam version, '' Kadhalukku Mariyadhai'' was also a blockbuster, and Shalini’s performance was also praised with Indolink.com recommending the film and citing that "Shalini returns in this film with a good performance". For the movie '' Amarkalam'' (1999), Saran initially approached Shalini, who was studying at the time and she refused, however, after a three-month pursuit, he finally got her to sign on as well. She was offered a role in '' Padayappa'', which she rejected. The success of the film ''Kadhalukku Mariyadhai'' prompted Fazil to make another film with the lead pair, Vijay and Shalini, in 2000: '' Kannukkul Nilavu''. Under Mani Ratnam’s direction, Shalini acted in'' Alaipayuthey'' (2000). She subsequently won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for her role in the film. In 2001, her last film '' Piriyadha Varam Vendum'' was released, a remake of the Malayalam movie '' Niram,'' also starring Shalini.

Personal life

In 1999, during the shoot of Saran's '' Amarkalam'', Shalini began to date her co-star

. He proposed to Shalini in June 1999 (before their movie release in Aug. 1999) and, following consultations of both sides of the families, she accepted. They got married on 24 April 2000 at Chennai. After their marriage, Shalini retired as an actress following the completion of two unfinished projects. The couple have two children: a daughter born on 3 January 2008 and a son born on 2 March 2015.

Filmography

As a child artist

As a leading actress

Awards

* Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist - '' Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku'' (1983) * Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actress - '' Alaipayuthey'' (2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalini People from Thiruvalla Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Kerala State Film Award winners Indian Christians Indian film actresses Actresses from Kerala Living people Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema 1979 births Indian child actresses Child actresses in Malayalam cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Women artists from Kerala Child actresses in Tamil cinema Child actresses in Telugu cinema Child actresses in Kannada cinema Child actresses in Hindi cinema