Asin deeply values her name meaning one without sin, or with no blemishes, firmly projecting this squeaky clean image with books being her favourite companion. She exudes an unraveled mystique that is quite intriguing. If trade pundits are to be believed, she is Bollywood's next big thing.Asin Thottumkal is the princess of her own fairytale who needed no rescuing but who valiantly galloped into the Bollywood films with the surreal success of Ghajini. She is creating a name in India and abroad after taking on film roles and plays them with aplomb.
Asin has the correct face required to be an movie star. One knows it when on sees it. Her beauty is well known: Pale-skinned with perfectly symmertical features, her lustreous long black hair falling straight to her waist in a non-ironed way. She is sharp and meticulous. Her co-stars have praised her as an artist with no fear of heights, one who tries to find empathy with the character but is not afraid to be unsympathetic with it. "Look," the debutante says, "we're all narcissistic in the end, we all want people to have opinions of us, good or bad; we all want ot be the heroes of our own narrative. I leave that up to the audience and the rest is tragedy!"
Such is the case with her latest and highly-anticipated film Ghajini, which happens to be her Bollywood debut.
"The experience of working with Aamir was intense. I enjoyed that he's perfectionist because I'm exactly that way; you've got to give it 200 percent if not more. When I'm working, I don't even realize how many hours have passed". And where did Ghajini get it right? "There's no much yearning, and yearning is the life blood of a film". To be paired opposite Bollywood's stickler actor-director is nothing short of a dream come true. But truth to be told, the doe-eyed heroine is not new to soaring high. At 23, she's an experience actress, having been in 17movies down south. She received India Filmfare Awards twice-in 2003 and again in 2005 for her performances in the Telugu movie Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi and the original Ghajini (in Tamil), both of which were runway hits. And she's never had a film flop. Infact, it was Ghajini that would prove her shining glory, which would cement her Bollywood debut even as multi-award winner Aamir Khan admired her stellar peformance.
"I was sitting in a hotel room in Chennai reading a book when my cellphone rang. It was Aamir. He told me that my performance was the emotional heart of the movie. I was shocked and honoured that an actor of his caliber took the pains to call. We spoke generally for a few minutes, during which time he asked if I could speak Hindi. I told him I did". Asin went back to reading and didn't thing anyting of it but obviously Aamir took to her right away. The film became Tamil cinema's highest grosser in 2005, after whcih Aamir arranged for a privat screening of the film. Then came the memorable offer. " Aamir was very insistent that I play the role. He was a very important part of me getting the Hindi version of Ghajini. Now when I look back, it's all so surreal".
"That's God's grace, parents' blessings, well-wishers, luck! No matter how much you plan, nothing can guarantee a 100 percent success," She says.
