Hansika Motwani

Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. She made her film debut as a leading actress in the Telugu film Desamuduru (2007), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut - South. She then appeared in several high-budget Telugu films, including Kantri (2008) and Maska (2009). She started her career in Tamil cinema with Mappillai (2011) and then appeared in several commercially successful Tamil films including Velayudham (2011), Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012), Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013) Singam II (2013) and Maan Karate (2014) establishing herself as one of the leading contemporary actresses of Tamil cinema.

Personal life

Hansika Motwani was born to Pradeep Motwani, a businessman and Mona Motwani, a dermatologist. She has a brother Prashant Motwani. Her mother tongue is Sindhi and she is a Buddhist. She was born in Mumbai.

Hansika attended the Podar International School in Mumbai. She went on to study at the International Curriculum School in Mumbai.

Hansika is involved in many philanthropic activities. She provides monetary support for the education of 25 underprivileged kids and also takes care of the medical needs of 10 women affected with breast cancer. She is the brand Ambassador of 'Chennai turns Pink', an awareness programme to create breast cancer awareness among urban women.

Hansika has a devout fan base who has built a temple for her in Madurai, Tamil Nadu which became operational from January, 2013.

In 2014, she was featured in Forbes' list of 250 celebrities that make it to the 100 Most Influential Celebrities nominees list.

Career

Hansika began her television career with a serial called Shaka Laka Boom Boom. She later acted in the Indian serial Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, for which she received the Favorite Child Award at the Star Parivaar Awards, and appeared as one of the children in Koi Mil Gaya with Preity Zinta and Hrithik Roshan.

Hansika made her debut in a lead role in Puri Jagannadh's Telugu film Desamuduru, opposite Allu Arjun, earning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut - South for her performance. Hansika made her debut as a leading actress in Bollywood with Himesh Reshammiya in Aap Kaa Surroor -- a moderate hit. She next signed the Hindi film titled He: The Only One, where she was to essay the role of a killer, hell-bent on taking revenge for her family, but the film was later shelved.

Hansika's first 2008 release was Bindaas, starring Puneet Rajkumar, her first and only Kannada film to date. Later that year, she was paired with Jr. NTR in the film Kantri. She made her Tamil film debut in the unsuccessful 2011 film Mappillai, opposite Dhanush. Her next Tamil film, Engeyum Kadhal, opposite Jayam Ravi, was also unsuccessful. The 2011 film Velayudham, in which she starred alongside Vijay, became a box-office success; this was her first time playing the role of a village belle.

2012 Hansika had two releases, one in Tamil and Telugu each. Her first release was M. Rajesh's romantic comedy Oru Kal Oru Kannadi, which became her first runaway hit and earned her positive reviews from critics for her performance. In Telugu, she was featured in Denikaina Ready, opposite Vishnu Manchu, which also earned a positive response from the public. She received her first Best Actress nomination at the 60th Filmfare Awards South for her performance in the film. In 2013, she played the lead roles in four Tamil films, Settai, opposite Arya, Sundar C.'s Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru, opposite Siddharth, Hari's Singam II starring Suriya and Venkat Prabhu's Biriyani with Suriya's brother, Karthi.

Her first 2014 release was the Telugu comedy film Pandavulu Pandavulu Thummeda and her first Tamil release was the fantasy film Maan Karate with Sivakarthikeyan which became a "blockbuster" success at box office. She was selected to play Maya, a gangster, in Silambarasan's Vettai Mannan, with whom she is also acting with in Vaalu. She started shooting for Sundar C's psychological thriller Aranmanai in October 2013 and apart from Aranmanai, she is also working on three other Tamil films Romeo Juliet, Meagamann and Uyire Uyire, the remake of the Telugu film Ishq under Jaya Prada's production. She has also signed a Telugu film, Power, starring opposite Ravi Teja.

Galleries of Hansika