Meera Jasmine

Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films.

She went on to star in various commercial and critically successful films in south Indian languages making her one of the most bankable and noteworthy actresses of the 2000s.

She appeared for her Higher Secondary Exams in March 2000.

She had enrolled for a BSc degree in Zoology at Assumption College, Changanassery and completed nearly three months when she was spotted by director Blessy (who was then an assistant director to director Lohithadas) and offered a role in Soothradharan.

Meera had initially wanted to study and become a doctor and never had dreamed of becoming a film star.

She stated, "I was just an ordinary girl. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being in films. I had not acted even in school plays. I never was the artistic type, I never thought I could dance, and I had not even thought of myself as being beautiful".

She also said that Lohithadas "is like a father figure and my guru. He initiated me into films with Soothradharan and I owe it all to him".

Meera Jasmine made her debut in the Malayalam film Soothradharan.

Her second film was Gramophone, directed by Kamal, in which she appeared alongside Navya Nair and Dileep.

Her role as a Jewish girl was appreciated by Malayalam critics.

Her third film was Swapnakkoodu, a romantic comedy alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kunchako Boban, Jayasurya, and Bhavana under director Kamal.

Her performance was appreciated and the film was a high commercial success.

Among the five main characters, the one who scored the most was again Meera.

She rose to fame in Malayalam cinema with the film Kasthooriman directed by her mentor Lohithadas, where she played a happy go lucky yet emotionally complex character.

She received her first Filmfare award for her performance in Kasthooriman.

The film was a success at the box office, running for 100 days.

The same year, she acted in T. V. Chandran's acclaimed Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam.

She played a 15-year-old Muslim girl who was forced to marry an older man, for which she was awarded a State Award and the National Award in addition with several other awards.

It was followed by her performance as Raziya in Perumazhakkalam alongside Kavya Madhavan.

Meera made her debut in 2001 with the Lohithadas film Soothradharan.

She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam, and is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

She also received the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Meera Jasmine was born in Kuttapuzha village, Thiruvalla, Kerala to Joseph and Aleyamma.

She was the fourth of five children.

She has two sisters, Jiby Sara Joseph and Jeny Susan Joseph, who has also acted in films, and two brothers, one of them, George worked as an assistant cinematographer.

She completed her schooling in Bala Vihar, Thiruvalla and Marthoma Residential School, Thiruvalla.

In the film Achuvinte Amma (2005), she enacted the young, adorable character Achu.

She then paired with Mohanlal in Rasathanthram (2006).

She played as a girl pretending to be a boy due to the pressure of circumstances in the first half of the film.

The film went on to become a commercial success.

Her next film with Dileep – Vinodayathra, which again was directed by Sathyan Anthikkad.

She was next featured opposite Mammootty in the critically acclaimed film Ore Kadal.

The film was showcased in film festivals and won awards.

Her performance as an innocent middle-class woman won praise from audiences.

Media quoted her as, "Matching step with the megastar in this histrionic race is Meera Jasmine, who amazes you with a stunning delineation of her difficult role".

Her next film was Calcutta News with Dileep.

Blessy, who introduced her to film field, was the director of Calcutta News.

In Innathe Chintha Vishayam (2008), she collaborated with Sathyan Anthikkad for his fourth consecutive film, again opposite Mohanlal, but failed to succeed.

Her next films Minnaminnikoottam with Kamal and Rathri Mazha with Lenin Rajendran, which released after a long post-production delay, were box office failures.

More than a year later, she played the role of a playback singer in Rajeev Anchal's Paattinte Palazhy.