Popular actor Lakshmi Menon was born to a dance teacher-mother and was first noticed by Malayalam director Vinayan at a bharathanatya performance. He felt that she would be the right choice for a supporting role in his film Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya. Lakshmi, who was in high school then, had no intentions of pursuing a career in cinema. And when her maiden film tanked, it was back to school and books. A second Malayalam film, this time with the popular hero Vineet, titled Ideal Couple and directed by Ali Akbar, also failed.
But as fate would have it, Tamil director Prabhu Solomon, who had directed the super-hit Myna, chanced upon her photograph on the cover of a magazine and immediately decided that he had found his heroine ‘Alli’ for his film Kumki. Lakshmi was cast in the role of a young village girl who develops a crush on the hero, a mahout.
Thrust into stardom
But the perfectionist Prabhu Solomon usually takes his time canning his projects, and Lakshmi’s debut in Tamil actually turned out to be another film: Sundarapandian, directed by Prabhakaran. This movie was set against a rural backdrop and Lakshmi’s role was anything but glamorous. Both Sundarapandian and Kumki tasted success at the box office. Consequently, this new heroine, who was still grappling with her school final exams, became the talk of the town. Another film with Sasikumar soon materialised. Though Kutti Puli was not as huge a hit as Sundarapandian, it had a fairly decent run at the box office.
Lakshmi soon became a favourite of directors who wished to swerve from the beaten track, and Suseendran signed her for Pandianadu. The role was that of a shy, demure school teacher named Malarvizhi. All these four films were released within a span of a year, and Lakshmi soon found her fan base swelling.
But the Tamil film industry, notorious for stereotyping its artistes, began to saddle her with the same kind of roles in films with pastoral settings. Even her attire, make-up, etc, were so shorn of glamour that she began to look a bit jaded though she was still at a nascent stage in her career.
Varied roles
However, Lakshmi was fortunate to find acceptance among the young heroes in Kollywood and this enabled her to land roles with top-notch heroes like Vishal (Naan Sigappu Manithan), Vimal (Manjapai), Siddharth (Jigarthanda), Gautam Karthik (Sippai), Karthi (Komban) and Jayam Ravi (Miruthan). She also essayed the role of Ajith Kumar’s sister in Vedalam, a big box office hit.
In Komban, Lakshmi found a great opportunity to reveal her histrionic talents, but the film had caste overtones and ran into controversy. Incidentally, her performance in the Jayam Ravi-starrer was acclaimed by critics, and the film featured her in the role of a doctor. It was a clear departure from the kind of roles that she had become accustomed to.
The latest film that she has signed is Yung Mung Sung, which she hopes will bring her back into the reckoning. The film is being directed by newcomer M S Arjun, who has signed Prabhu Deva in the lead role of a kung fu master. Lakshmi is confident of matching strides with Prabhu in this film.
Lakshmi is also a talented singer. Her numbers like ‘Kukkuru Kukkuru’ in the film Oru Oorla Randu Raja, composed by D Imaan, and ‘Desi Girl’ (Saagasam) have become popular among the youngsters. The young actor, who had drawn flak from critics for being on the heavier side, now sports a much leaner look and is keen to do roles that showcase her glamorous side. She feels that she can carry off such roles with ease now.
Having won two consecutive ‘Best Actress’ awards from the Tamil Nadu state government, Lakshmi is now eager to please her fans by portraying varied characters and also to hone her talents as a playback singer. Shine on, we say!
But as fate would have it, Tamil director Prabhu Solomon, who had directed the super-hit Myna, chanced upon her photograph on the cover of a magazine and immediately decided that he had found his heroine ‘Alli’ for his film Kumki. Lakshmi was cast in the role of a young village girl who develops a crush on the hero, a mahout.
Thrust into stardom
But the perfectionist Prabhu Solomon usually takes his time canning his projects, and Lakshmi’s debut in Tamil actually turned out to be another film: Sundarapandian, directed by Prabhakaran. This movie was set against a rural backdrop and Lakshmi’s role was anything but glamorous. Both Sundarapandian and Kumki tasted success at the box office. Consequently, this new heroine, who was still grappling with her school final exams, became the talk of the town. Another film with Sasikumar soon materialised. Though Kutti Puli was not as huge a hit as Sundarapandian, it had a fairly decent run at the box office.
Lakshmi soon became a favourite of directors who wished to swerve from the beaten track, and Suseendran signed her for Pandianadu. The role was that of a shy, demure school teacher named Malarvizhi. All these four films were released within a span of a year, and Lakshmi soon found her fan base swelling.
But the Tamil film industry, notorious for stereotyping its artistes, began to saddle her with the same kind of roles in films with pastoral settings. Even her attire, make-up, etc, were so shorn of glamour that she began to look a bit jaded though she was still at a nascent stage in her career.
Varied roles
However, Lakshmi was fortunate to find acceptance among the young heroes in Kollywood and this enabled her to land roles with top-notch heroes like Vishal (Naan Sigappu Manithan), Vimal (Manjapai), Siddharth (Jigarthanda), Gautam Karthik (Sippai), Karthi (Komban) and Jayam Ravi (Miruthan). She also essayed the role of Ajith Kumar’s sister in Vedalam, a big box office hit.
In Komban, Lakshmi found a great opportunity to reveal her histrionic talents, but the film had caste overtones and ran into controversy. Incidentally, her performance in the Jayam Ravi-starrer was acclaimed by critics, and the film featured her in the role of a doctor. It was a clear departure from the kind of roles that she had become accustomed to.
The latest film that she has signed is Yung Mung Sung, which she hopes will bring her back into the reckoning. The film is being directed by newcomer M S Arjun, who has signed Prabhu Deva in the lead role of a kung fu master. Lakshmi is confident of matching strides with Prabhu in this film.
Lakshmi is also a talented singer. Her numbers like ‘Kukkuru Kukkuru’ in the film Oru Oorla Randu Raja, composed by D Imaan, and ‘Desi Girl’ (Saagasam) have become popular among the youngsters. The young actor, who had drawn flak from critics for being on the heavier side, now sports a much leaner look and is keen to do roles that showcase her glamorous side. She feels that she can carry off such roles with ease now.
Having won two consecutive ‘Best Actress’ awards from the Tamil Nadu state government, Lakshmi is now eager to please her fans by portraying varied characters and also to hone her talents as a playback singer. Shine on, we say!