1. Andrea Jeremiah
It is sometimes fascinating to read about how film stars, especially in the South, get into the industry from totally diverse fields, and with no conscious intentions to be in movies. Andrea Jeremiah’s career seems to fit into this category. Her childhood ambition was to go for higher studies and get to become a psychiatrist. But music was always in the background, as she started learning classical Western piano when she was just eight, and she quickly showed her prowess when she formed her own troupe called Young Stars which also was a precursor for her later singing and music composing career.
However, entry into acting came to her via the theatre route, as it was hard to refuse offers from Girish Karnad, in whose “Nagamandala” she performed first, and then went on to perform all over the country, during whi...
2. KS Chithra
Chithra is a worldwide known Indian soulful singer. Her original name is Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra. Born in July 1963, Chithra has grown into a versatile singer who can sing all variants. Though she is a born Malayali, she sang in more than 13 languages so far, and the number is still going on. She is fondly known as Chinna Kuyil and Keralathinte Vanambadi, which translates into English as Little Nightingale and Nightingale of Kerala. This is due to her exceptionally melodious singing which has never known any boundaries. She made the excellent contribution to the Music industry in languages like Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Odia, Assamese, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Badaga, Tulu, Punjabi, and Urdu. She has a record of being able to record more than 25,000 songs and the number...
3. Tejasvy Jayakumar
Tejasvy Jayakumar is an Indian actress who works generally in the Tamil film industry. Tejasvy Jayakumar was born and grew up in Tamil Nadu, India. She is known for “Thiruttukkalyanam,” a romantic drama which was released in 2019, and directed by Shakthivelan. S. Balasubramanian, K.A. Sasiprakash, and C. Venkidupathi were the producers of the film. Tejasvy Jayakumar played one of the leading roles in the film. This film was her debut film as an actress in the Tamil film industry.
...4. Harish Raghavendra
Born on 7 January 1976, Harish Raghavendra is a playback singer. The songs Hey Azhagiya Theeye, Devathaiyai Kanden, Nirpathuve Nadappathuve, Melliname Melliname, Sakkarai Nilavu made him a household name in Tamil Nadu. He has tried his luck in acting too; he acted in few Tamil movies.
Harish entered the music industry at the age of 21 and his first song was for a Telugu film. Then he did a song in Tamil and was absent from the industry for quite some time. He added a degree to his name and embraced Software Engineering too. In fact, Harish would have been a software engineer if not entering the music industry.
5. Vandana Srinivasan
Vandana Srinivasan is a budding Carnatic singer. The background singer works for the Tamil Film Industry and delivers her melodious voice in South Indian songs. The independent singer became much loved by the audience in the South. She took birth in Qatar, the Middle East on 22nd May 1988.
Her career involves hit songs in over fifteen Tamil movies such as Thodari, Rummy, Thandavam, Tubelight, etc. A girl born and brought up outside India has developed Hindustani music skills which are loved by the audience. Vandana Srinivasan’s music takes modern Hindustani music to another level. As a child, she received training in Carnatic music from her guru Mrs. Seetha Krishnan in Qatar. After getting training in Carnatic music, she moved to Madras, India in 2006.
She did an undergraduate course in psychology from the Univers...
6. A Venkatesh
A. Venkatesh is the well-known director of Tamil films. He is famous for directing the movies in very short period. He started his career by working as an assistant director under K. Rajeshwar for two films project namely “Idhaya Thamarai” (1990) and “Nyaya Tharasu” (1989). Further, he also worked with Pavithran for “Vasanthakala Paravai” (1991) and “Suriyan” (1992). Then he worked as an associate director in “Kadhalan” (1994) and “Gentleman” (1993) with director Shankar. The film “Kadhalan” turned out to be a fortunate one for him as, during this movie the producer, G. K. Reddy approached him to direct a film. And so, in 1996, his success journey began. He directed his debut by the film “Mahaprabhu” with Sukanya...
7. Aadukalam Naren
Aadukalam Naren was born in Chennai the heartland of Tamil cinema, in a family which took keen interest in movies. He was interested in acting and was also encouraged by his family members, and so he decided to go through formal training before he could enter the industry.
In fact he was originally christened Narayan, but as was the prevailing practice he abbreviated it to Naren, and that was the name by which he came to be well known. He received his formal training in acting an...
8. Nizhalgal Ravi
Nizhalgal Ravi is a veteran actor in TV serials and films and has acted in hundreds of movies alongside the greatest of actors in the industry. Born on April 16, 1956, he first started out under legendary director Bharathiraja in ‘Nizhalgal’ which later stuck on to his name because of the instant hit with people. He has played many impressive roles in blockbuster movies like Vedam Puthithu, Nayakan, Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi, etc. His versatility has won him praises from all over the industry and from people. He has acted in over 20 movies in Malayalam in the 80s before moving into mainstream Tamil movies.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts majoring in economics from PSG Arts College. He then acted in K Balachander’s telefilm ‘Rail Sneham’ in the late 80s and 90s. He became popula...