Yashika Aanand (born 4 August 1999) is an Indian actress, model and television personality, who works predominantly in

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

and television shows.

Early life

Yashika Aannand was born into a Punjabi Hindu family on 4 August 1999 in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. After her family moved to

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 ...

, she completed her schooling in Sherwood Hall school in

Chetpet, Chennai Chetpet is a locality in the Indian city of Chennai It is served by Chetpet railway station in the Beach–Tambaram line of Chennai Suburban Railway. Chetpet has a pond between the Chetpet railway station and the Poonamallee High Road, one of the ...

Career

Aannand began acting after being an

Instagram model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though mo ...

. At 14, she was filmed for ''

Inimey Ippadithan Inimey Ippadithan () is a 2015 Indian Tamil language romantic comedy film written and directed by the duo Muruganand (Murugan and Prem Anand) of Lollu Sabha fame. Santhanam, who also produced the film, plays the lead role in it, alongside Ashna ...

'' (2015) alongside

Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to: People * K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician * Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician * Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...

but her role was later deleted after she could not attend a song shoot. She then portrayed a swimming instructor in ''

Kavalai Vendam ''Kavalai Vendam'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Deekay. The film stars Jiiva and Kajal Aggarwal, while Bobby Simha and Sunaina play supporting roles. The film, which is said to be an urban r ...

'' (2016), which became her first theatrical release. Aannand's breakthrough was in the 2016 film, '' Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru''. Shot on a small budget, the film was successful and won recognition for its cast members. She then appeared in ''

Paadam ''Paadam'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Rajasekhar and produced by Gipin P.S. The film stars newcomers Karthik and Mona as school students, Vijith, Nagendran in the lead roles while Yashika Aannand and Ja ...

'' (2018) and

Thambi Ramaiah Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, ''Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Maniy ...

's ''

Maniyaar Kudumbam ''Maniyaar Kudumbam'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Thambi Ramaiah and produced by Thenmozhi Sungra. This was only the third directorial venture for Ramaiah after the film '' Indiralohathil Na Azha ...

'' (2018). Aannand then appeared in ''

Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuththu ''Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language adult horror comedy film written and directed by Santhosh P. Jayakumar and produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja. The film stars Gautham Karthik and VJ Sha Ra, with Yashika Anand, ...

'' (2018), an adult comedy film. Shot in Thailand, the film featured her alongside other actresses such as Vaibhavi Shandilya and

Chandrika Ravi Chandrika Ravi is an Australian actress, model and dancer of Indian origin. She was born and raised in Australia before moving to Los Angeles for her acting and modelling career. She became known for her role in the 2018 Indian film ''Iruttu A ...

and the film performed well at the box office. In 2018, Aannand appeared in the second season of the '' Bigg Boss Tamil'' reality show hosted by

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

. She had earlier been approached to be in the inaugural season, but she refused the offer. She was evicted on day 98, finishing the show in fifth place. She also received the cash prize of 5 lakhs for winning certain tasks during the second season of the premiere program before getting evicted. She later appeared as a mentor in Star Vijay's ''Jodi Unlimited'' TV series, which aired in 2019. Aannand then appeared in the animated

zombie film A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...

''Zombie'' as the lead actress. In 2018, she was listed by the ''

Chennai Times ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

'' as the "most desirable woman on television." In 2021, she received the Best Actress Award at the ''Las Vegas Independent Film Festival 2021'' for the film ''Bestie.''

MeToo allegations

In 2018, Aannand identified herself as a victim during the MeToo campaign in India, where she alleged that a director had tried to abuse her by asking for sexual favors in order to gain a part in his film. She refused, and accused the director of harassing her.

Personal life

On 24 July 2021, Aannand was involved in a car crash in

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is o ...

near

and was critically injured during the crash. She was traveling with friends when their car rammed into a divider and fell in the nearby pit. News reports state that one of her friends died on the spot. Onlookers reportedly said that the actor's SUV was speeding and lost control, thus causing the crash. Aannand has regularly raised awareness for

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

in society.

Filmography

Film

Television

Short films

Web series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aannand, Yashika 1999 births Living people Indian people Indian women Punjabi people Punjabi Hindus Indian film actresses Female models from Delhi Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from New Delhi 21st-century Indian child actresses Bigg Boss (Tamil TV series) contestants Actresses in Tamil television