Meenakshi, also known as Sharmilee or Sharmili, is an Indian former actress, who worked in

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

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

films. The Kerala Film Critics Association named her their 2005 debutante artist. In all of her Tamil-language films, she was credited as Sharmilee. In Malayalam, she rechristened herself as Meenakshi, the character she played in ''Kakkakarumban'' (2004).

Early life

Born in

Kozhenchery Kozhencherry is a census town in Pathanamthitta district of South Central Kerala in Kerala state, India. census, the population was 12,021 of which 5,594 are males while 6,427 are females. Etymology The name ''Kozhencherry'' is believed to have ...

into a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family, Meenakshi's mother hails from

Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...

. Meenakshi left for

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

to pursue higher studies. She graduated in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from the

Stella Maris College, Chennai Stella Maris College is an institution of higher education for women in Chennai, India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Madras and is partly residential. The college, which is under the direction of the Society of t ...

. and received a

Master of Computer Applications A Master of Science in Information Technology (abbreviated M.Sc.IT, MScIT or MSIT) is a master's degree in the field of information technology awarded by universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiar ...

(MCA) degree from

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a government aided private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the France, French Jesuits, Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other ...

. While in school, she received several acting offers, which she rejected so that she could concentrate on her studies. She did modelling and later hosted a popular phone-in programme, ''Kasumele'' 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 ...

.''Kalki'' magazine
/ref> People were instantly attracted by her cheerful and youthful approach to anchoring. After graduation, she started her career in films.

Career

Her debut

movie was '' Aasai Aasaiyai'' in 2003 with

Jiiva Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. ...

, who also made his debut with this film. This movie was not very well received in the box office even though the story and Sharmeelee's acting got good reviews from critics. This was then followed by '' Anbe Anbe'' with

Shaam Syria, ( or ''Shaam'') also known as Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine, is a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. Howe ...

was classified as a medium hit in the box office. Her third Tamil movie was Diwan with

Sarathkumar Ramanathan Sarathkumar (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, politician and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, Kannada cinema, Kannada and Hindi cinema ...

. This movie won her rave reviews for her performance. It was followed by her

entry through the movie '' Taarak'' in 2003. In 2004, she made her debut in Malayalam industry with two movies - '' Vellinakshatram'' and ''Kaakkakarumban''. Her first movie ''Vellinakshatram'' was a mega hit and her performance was appreciated by many. After that she established herself in Malayalam movies with a string of hit movies. The same year, '' Youth Festival'' and ''

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

'' (cameo appearance) were also released. Later however, she tried her luck in other regional languages. In 2005, she appeared in the movie ''

Junior Senior Junior Senior was a Danish pop duo. The duo consisted of Jesper "Junior" Mortensen (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, percussion) (born 7 February 1979) and Jeppe "Senior" Laursen (vocals, programming) (born 25 December 1977). T ...

'', where she acted aside

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

and

Kunchacko Boban Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is referred to as Chackochan, and during the early 2000s, he was called "chocolate boy" because of his romantic image. He ...

. This movie was a remake of Hindi classic hit, '' Yes Boss'', where Meenakshi reprised the role played by

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla Mehta ( Chawla; born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen ...

. Same year, '' Ponmudipuzhayorathu'' was also released. Most of the songs she acted in were hits. "''Oru Chiri Kandaal"'' was one of the top songs of Malayalam in the year 2005. So was "''Kalla Kalla Kochu Kalla''".

Personal life

She got married and settled down in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. In 2004, Meenakshi told an interviewer that "I love to act in more

Malayalam films Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

as the characters here have depth and the heroines have much more to do than just look good."

Filmography

Other work

She has acted in some

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

including Kumarikalpam Tonic, Plaza Jewellery, Pooja Milk, Vanamala Washing Powder etc. she acted in

Devi Sri Prasad Gandham Sriprasad (2 August 1979), known as Devi Sri Prasad or more commonly by his initials DSP, is an Indian music composer, singer, and lyricist primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema, along with Tamil cinema. He has received numerous ...

's music video for "Ey: Unnada" from the album ''Mr. Devi'' (1998). She hosted Kaasu Mele, live show.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meenakshi Living people Actresses from Kozhikode University of Calicut alumni Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Stella Maris College, Chennai alumni Actresses in Tamil cinema Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)