Tamannaah Bhatia (born 21 December 1989)
is an Indian film actress and model,
who performs under the mononym
Tamannaah and predominantly appears in Telugu and Tamil cinema. In 2005, she made her acting debut in the Hindi film,
Chand Sa Roshan Chehra, before working in the major South Indian film industries. Also in 2005, Tamannaah made her Telugu debut in
Sri, and in the following year she appeared in her first Tamil film,
Kedi. In 2007, she starred in two college-life-based drama films,
Happy Days in Telugu and
Kalloori in Tamil, which both earned her critical acclaim.
After being part of the several commercially successful films, including
Padikathavan (2009),
Ayan (2009),
Paiyaa (2010) and
Siruthai (2011), she emerged a leading contemporary actresses in the Tamil film industry and became informally referred to as the "Queen of Kollywood".
She staged a successful comeback in Telugu cinema in 2011 with the romance film
100% Love (2011), which won her several accolades. She subsequently became signed up for several high-profile projects thereafter. With
Rachcha (2012), she eventually established herself as one of Telugu cinema's leading contemporary actresses.
Early life
Tamannaah was born on 21 December 1989 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, to Santosh and Rajani Bhatia and she has an elder brother, Anand. Her father is a financial consultant. She is of Sindhi descent.
She did her schooling in Maneckji Cooper Educational Trust School, Juhu, Mumbai whilst she is currently pursuing a BA degree at National College, Mumbai through distance education. She later changed her screen name for numerological reasons, varying it slightly to Tamannaah
.
She has been working since the age of 13 since she was spotted at her
school’s annual day function and offered the lead role which she took
up. She also appeared in the music video of "Lafzon Mein Keh Na Saku" by
Abhijeet Sawantm, the winner of the first Indian Idol.
Career
Early career
Tamannaah started her acting career in 2005, essaying the female lead role in
Chand Sa Roshan Chehra, her only Hindi film to date. The same year, she debuted in Telugu cinema in
Sri, playing the leading female role opposite Manoj Kumar. In 2006, she made her debut in the Tamil film industry in
Kedi, produced by A. M. Rathnam, along with Ravi Krishna and another newcomer, Ileana D'Cruz. In 2007, she had three releases. After her role in the unsuccessful
Vyapari, Tamannaah rose to popularity with the Sekhar Kammula-directed Telugu film
Happy Days which received positive reviews and became her first major box office success. Her next release was the Tamil drama film
Kalloori, directed by Balaji Sakthivel, that won her accolades and critical acclaim in Tamil as well. In 2008, Tamannaah again had three releases, appearing only in cameo roles in two of them.
Lead actress in Tamil cinema
In 2009, she received box office success with
Padikathavan, with Dhanush. Her next Tamil film
Ayan became a huge blockbuster and made her a leading star in the Tamil film industry. Her next release was a Telugu movie
Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam opposite Siddharth. It became a success and she was praised for her refreshing performance
. Her next film was
Ananda Tandavam, which sank without a trace although her performance was praised by critics. Her successive release
Kandein Kadhalai, which was a remake of the 2007 Hindi blockbuster
Jab We Met, was considered a moderate success. She did the role originally played by Kareena Kapoor and was praised by critics for her performance. Her first 2010 release was Lingusamy's romantic-action flick
Paiyaa co-starring Karthi, which went on to become a blockbuster. Her next release was
Sura
opposite Vijay. The film opened to negative reviews and became a
disaster. Her performance was panned by critics. Her next release was
Thillalangadi with Jayam Ravi, which became an above average grosser and her performance was praised.
Comeback in Telugu cinema
Tamannaah appeared in six films in 2011, five of which featured her
in a starring role. Her first release was the Tamil action film,
Siruthai alongside Karthi,
with the film becoming a blockbuster, although her character was
received poorly by critics, with a reviewer citing that she offered
"little more than arm-candy".
Her next release was her first Telugu release after two years, the highly successful romantic comedy
100% Love (2011) with Naga Chaitanya, which fetched positive reviews from both critics and viewers. Tamannaah won the CineMAA Award for Best Actress, besides receiving nominations at various award ceremonies. She was next seen in the historical
Badhrinaadh (2011) opposite Allu Arjun that became a critical and commercial failure, which was followed by a Tamil action-masala film again, Hari's
Venghai (2011). The film was not well received, however critics lauded her performance.
Her final release of 2011 was
Oosaravelli, starring Jr. NTR.
Her first film in 2012 was Ram Charan Teja starrer
Rachaa, which became a huge blockbuster. Her latest release
Endhukante Premanta featuring her opposite Ram, opened to average reviews. Her upcoming films portray her in lead role opposite Prabhas in
Rebel, and Pawan Kalyan in
Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu.
She is also set to star in her second Hindi film,
Himmatwala opposite Ajay Devgn.
Other work
Tamannaah also has experience as a model appearing in various television commercials.
She is endorsing popular brands like Celkon Mobiles and Chandrika Ayurvedic Soap.
Before entering the film industry, she also acted in Tamil advertisements like Shakthi Masala.
Filmography
Awards
- CineMAA Awards
- CineMAA Award for Best Actress - 100% Love (2011)
- Filmfare Awards South
- Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil - Kalloori (2007)
- Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu - Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam (2009)
- Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil - Kanden Kadhalai (2009)
- Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil - Paiyaa (2010)
- Vijay Awards
- Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Actress - Kanden Kadhalai (2009)
- Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Ayan (2009)
- Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Paiyaa (2010)
- Other awards
- South Scope Award for Best Actress - Kanden Kadhalai (2009)