Meera Jasmine Profile

Meera Jasmine was born on Feb.15, 1984 in Kuttappuzha, Thiruvalla in Kerala. Born as Jasmine Mary Joseph to Joseph and Aleyamma, the Marthomite by birth completed her schooling in Mar Thoma Residential School, Thiruvalla.Meera Jasmine was not born into a family of actors. Nobody encouraged her to act or dance during her school days. Unlike other heroines, she is not a 'Kalathilakam' or a model. Before her entry into films, nobody noticed her talent. Her entry into films was quite unexpected. She was introduced by Lohithadas.She was attracted to the industry and accepted a film offer against her father's wishes.Meera joined the industry without much expectations of success. She was ready to go back to her studies if her film did not do well, but the amazing response she received after her debut made her choose acting as her career.Meera made her debut in the Malayalam film Soothradharan in 2001 directed by Lohitha Das. Her debut film bombed at the box office, but that did not affect her career. She has starred in a dozen Malayalam films in her six-year career and the movies is made on home turf is different from the films made in other languages. After her foray into other language films her presence in Malayalam films has been limited. For the last three years, Meera was doing one Malayalam film each year. Calcutta News in 2007, Rasathanthram in 2006, Achuvinte Amma in 2005 and Perumazhakkalam in 2004. Her role in Perumazhakkalam won her Vanitha-Chandrika Award. Her performance in Achuvinte Amma won her Filmfare and Lux-Asianet Film Award for best actress. All her Malayalam films were noticed for different reasons. She was repeatedly casted by same directors in their movies. Her debut Soothradharan was directed by her mentor Lohitha Das and he completed a hat-trick by casting her in Kasthooriman and Chakram. Her performance in Kasthooriman selected her for Lux-Asianet Film Award for Best Actress. Lohitha Das never repeated heroines in his earlier films.Meera played female leads in three Kamal directed films Gramaphone, Swapnakoodu and Perumazhakkalam. Sathyan Anthikkad casted Meera as a heroine in his earlier films Achuvinte Amma and Rasathanthram. Meera played a boy's role in the first half of Rasathanthram and it was noticed by her first screen appearance with Mohanlal. Sathyan completed hat-trick by repeatedly casting Meera as a heroine in latest film Vinodhayathra. Although Meera has appeared four times opposite Dilip, none of their films became a box office hit. But Sathyan Anthikad's latest Vinodhayathra, where Meera played Dilip's female lead, was a success. In Paadam Onnu Oru Vilapam, directed by veteran TV Chandran, Meera fetched the prestigious National Best Actress Award. She portrayed a 15 year old Muslim girl Shahina and won the nations greatest recognition of an actress at the age of 20 by defeating experienced and efficient contenders. She also won the Filmfare Award, Mathrubhumi-Medimix Award and Lux-Asianet Film Award for best actress for her portrayal of Shahina in Paadam Onnu Oru Vilaapam.Meera's Tamil film entry made her a well-known star in the South. The success of Tamil films Run and Bala in 2002 give her the chance to work with popular actors of the Tamil industry. She won the Filmfare Best Female debut actress award for Run. The success of the films lead her to work with famed directors like Mani Ratnam's Aayudha Ezhuthu and SS Stanley's Mercury Pookkal. Meera has acted in more than ten Tamil films. Her recent Tamil film Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram, with Dhanush as her male lead was a hit. In her forthcoming film Nepali, she is the love interest of Bharath.