Dr. Sharmila is a doctor, actress, social activist and

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She debuted in a

STAR Vijay Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

show, ''Puthira Punithama?'' along with

N. Mathrubootham N. Mathrubootham (2 July 1944 – 18 November 2004) was an Indian psychiatrist, writer, actor and director who was known for his work on sex education. He also acted as a comedian in some Tamil films. Early life Mathrubootham was born in an ...

, which made her popular. She went on to act in various television series in both

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

, and a couple of Tamil films.

Early life

Sharmila was born on 15 November 1974 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

), the capital city of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, into a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family who later settled in

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 ...

(now

Chennai 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 ...

), Tamil Nadu. Her father Kothandaraman owned a pharmaceutical concern. Sharmila had a younger brother Hari who died sometime before 2022.

Education

Sharmila attended C.S.I. Ewart Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai, and was a topper there. She also learnt

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

for ten years under Nandana Gopalakrishnan.

Medical career

Sharmila went on pursue an

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree in

Orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

Kilpauk Medical College Government Kilpauk Medical College (GKMC), founded in 1960, is a government medical institution in India. There are four hospitals attached to GKMC - Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. They are Government Royapettah Hospital, Govern ...

(Chennai) in 1993. Later, she worked as a house surgeon at

Government Royapettah Hospital Government Royapettah Hospital is a major state-owned hospital situated in Royapettah in Chennai, India. The hospital with 712 beds is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1911 and is attached to Directora ...

around 1996.

Television career

Sharmila started anchoring quiz shows on

Jaya TV Jaya TV HD is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV HD is also broadcast to the expatriate Tamil community via various media partnerships. Hemant Sahai of HSA had Jaya TV HD as his first client. Jaya TV ...

(formerly JJ TV), following which she conducted a talk show ''Indha Vaaram Ivar'', in which she interviewed celebrities. She was subsequently selected by reputed psychiatrist Dr.

, who wanted to conduct

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

discussions on television, to read the letters from the public. The show, ''Puthira Punithama?'' brought Sharmila, who was dubbed "gutsy" for hosting the show, to popularity. Director

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

took notice of her and offered her roles in his tele-serials such as ''Jannal'' and ''Irandaam Chanaakiyan''. Sharmila considers Balachander as her mentor and guru who taught her the nuances of acting. ;Shows * ''Hero Heroine'' ( Sun TV) * ''Candit Camera'' ( Sun TV) * ''Puthira Punithama?''(

Vijay TV Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

) * ''Quiz program'' ( JJ TV) * ''Indha Varam Ivar'' (

) * '' Kitchen Super Star - Doubles'' (

) * ''Puthandu Saval'' ( Sun TV) * ''Roja Rojadan'' ( Sun TV) * ''Maathi Yosi'' ( Sun TV) * ''Kalviya? Selvama? Veerama?'' ( Sun TV)

Filmography

*''All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.''

YouTube career

On 24 February 2022, Sharmila announced her

Youtube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...

named "Sharmila Talkies". The channel's content includes politics, society, art, literature, food, life, health,

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, and cinema.

Awards

* Won, Asianet Television award 2015 for ''Best Character Actress (special Jury)'' for ''

Karuthamuthu ''Karuthamuthu'' () was a 2014 Indian television Malayalam language series, which premiered on 20 October 2014 on Asianet channel. It is the second longest running television soap opera in Malayalam television completing successful telecasting ...

'' * Nomination,

Vijay Television Awards for Best Negative role Vijay may refer to: People *Vijay (name) *Vijay (actor) (born 1974), an Indian Tamil actor *Vijay (director), Kannada film director Fiction * ''Vijay'' (1942 film), a 1942 Indian Hindi film * ''Vijay'' (1988 film), a 1988 Indian Hindi film direc ...

2017 for ''

Pagal Nilavu ''Pagal Nilavu'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language gangster film directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Murali, Revathi and Sathyaraj. It is about a carefree youth caught between his loyalty to a mafia don and his love for a cop's sister. The f ...

Personal life

Sharmila married AL Mohan, a TV production executive, but later they filed and were granted a divorce. Later, she married S. S. Balaji, a member of the

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (; VCK) formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India or the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam (; DPI) is an Indian social movement and political party that seeks to combat caste based discrimination, active in the state o ...

(VCK). Sharmila has one child, a daughter, born on 28 December 2004.

References

External links

Sharmila Talkies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharmila, Dr. 1974 births Living people Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses Indian YouTubers