Wednesday 3 September 2014

Shruti Hassan


Shruti Rajalakshmi Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress,singer and musician who works in the South Indian film industriesand Bollywood. Her parents are noted actors Kamal Haasan andSarika.

As a child artist, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role in afilm called Benki Shivanna, before making her adult acting debut inthe 2009 Bollywood action drama, Luck. She later went on towin critical acclaim for her role in the Walt Disney fantasy filmin Telugu, Anaganaga O Dheerudu, Oh My Friend and 7aumArivu. In 2012, she starred in Gabbar Singh, a Telugu remakeof Dabangg, which also was her first major commercial success asan actress. After several successful films like Balupu,Ramayya Vasthavayya, Yevadu and Race Gurram, sheestablished herself as one of the leading contemporary actress in theTelugu film industry. Apart from achieving success in the Telugufilm industry, Haasan is also regarded as one of the most promisingcontemporary actresses of Hindi cinema, with her being signed onto act in several high profile projects like Gabbar andWelcome Back, which are currently under production. In a recentpoll conducted by Chennai Times Shruti topped the list of mostdesirable women.

She has also continued her stint in music through work as a singer inIndian languages, a career in music direction beginning with herfather's production Unnaipol Oruvan and her own music band andalbum.

Early life

Shruti Haasan was born on 28 January 1986 to actors Kamal Haasanand Sarika Thakur in Chennai, India. Her youngersister Akshara represents India nationally for Ballroom Latindancing. Haasan studied at Abacus Montessori School in Chennaiand moved to Mumbai to study psychology at St. Andrew'sCollege.

Haasan focus to cinema and music, and eventually travelled to the USAto continue to learn music at the Musicians Institute inCalifornia, before returning to Chennai.

Career

2009-11: Debut and early career

Haasan's first appearance in a feature film was a cameo role asthe daughter of Vallabhbhai Patel in the Tamil-Hindi bilingualHey Ram, based on a murder attempt of Mahatma Gandhi, directedby her father Kamal Haasan. After rejecting prominent film offers,most notably the lead role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja, reportssuggested in late 2007 that Haasan was set to make her actual actingdebut in 2008 with a film opposite Madhavan directed byNishikanth Kamat. Despite Madhavan admitting that the news"was premature", she eventually did sign up to the film, whichwas titled Endrendrum Punnagai, only to be stalled prior toproduction.

Haasan eventually signed up to feature in Soham Shah's Hindi filmLuck opposite Imran Khan in July 2008, and shot for the filmfor nearly a year. Imran Khan, her childhood friend, hadrecommended her name to the director and Haasan signed on afterlistening to the entire script and accepted to play a dual role in theaction film. Shruti took part in action scenes duringfilming, while she also worked out to get a toned body for a sequencein which she appears in a bikini in the film. The filmopened in July 2009 to unanimously poor reviews from critics and tooka poor opening at the box office, with critics stating that she"deserved a better launch vehicle". Reviewers were criticalof her performance with Rajeev Masand of IBN stating that shedelivers "dialogues with deadpan expressions", while another criticadded that she is perhaps"synthetic and fails toimpress". Haasan then went on to appear alongisideBlaaze in the promotional videos for Unnaipol Oruvan andEenadu, the bilingual films starring her father, which she hadcomposed the music for. She made a further appearance in a promotionalvideo for the horror film Hisss starring Mallika Sherawat,where she had also sung a song composed by DaveKushner.Shruti Haasan TeachAIDS Recording Session in 2010

She made her Telugu debut in January 2011, acting oppositeSiddharth in the fantasy adventure film Anaganaga O Dheerududirected by Prakash Kovelamudi son of director K.Raghavendra Rao. The film, co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures,saw Shruti play a gypsy woman whose life coincides with a task that ablind swordsman, played by Siddharth. The film opened topositive reviews, with her performance being praised with a criticnoting "Shruti looks quite attractive and makes a wonderful screenpresence," while a reviewer from Rediff.com wrote that she "looksbeautiful and has a mystical aura about her". Thefilm however became a commercial failure at the box office, and thefilm failed to capitulate on a hefty promotional campaign that hadbeen undertaken.^clarification needed] Her second Hindi featurefilm, Madhur Bhandarkar's romantic comedy Dil Toh Baccha HaiJi, saw her appear in an extended guest appearance alongside anensemble cast of Emraan Hashmi, Ajay Devgn and ShazahnPadamsee. The film portrayed her as Nikki Narang, the step-daughter ofan ex Miss India model, with Hashmi's character falling for bothmother and daughter. Shruti's performance gained poorresponses from critics with a reviewer citing that her character hasbeen "reduced to post-interval surfacing, last-ditch glamour" whilstanother labelled hers as "so fake that she offers onlydisappointment"; however the film went on to become acommercial success at the box office. In mid-2010, Shrutiwas signed by A. R. Murugadoss to star opposite Suriya inhis next film 7aum Arivu, and the film's shoot began in Junelater that year. The director signed after he felt shelooked the part of the scientist, mentioning that she seemed"intelligent and beautiful". Shruti played Subha Srinivasan,a young scientist in the film, who hopes to re-activate the genes of5th century Buddhist monk Bodhidharma and her performance in thefilm won appreciation from critics. The film opened to mixed reviews,but became commercially successful. A critic fromThe Hindu noted "rarely is a heroine given near-equal footing inTamil films," describing her as "ravishing but that she ought to workharder on spontaneity, and fine-tune her Tamil accent", but concluded"the point is the actor shows promise". Her next Telugurelease was Oh My Friend, a romantic comedy film alongsideSiddharth again, which also co-starred Hansika Motwani andNavdeep. The film told the story of childhood friends and that oftheir platonic friendship that went on in their adulthood as well andfor the role Shruti Haasan went on to learn the dance ofKuchipudi. The film opened to average reviews withseveral critics claiming the film evoked a sense of "déjà vu", thougha reviewer noted "Shruti, on her part displays the sameconviction."

2012-present: Success and recent work

Shruti Haasan was next seen in Aishwarya Dhanush's directorialdebut 3, a romantic drama film co-starring Dhanush.Aishwarya revealed that she had written the script with Shruti Haasanin mind but date problems meant that the film began its shoot withAmala Paul instead. However in a turn of events, Shruti wasre-signed to play the character of Janani, and the film gained muchhype prior to release due to the collaboration of herself andAishwarya, being the daughters of the two leading contemporary Tamilactors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth as did the success ofthe song Why This Kolaveri Di?. The film opened in March 2012 topositive reviews with a critic noting "Shruti Hassan has come a longway," though the film only garnered average returns at thebox office. Her second release in 2012 was Harish Shankar'sTelugu film Gabbar Singh, a remake of the 2010 Hindi filmDabangg, with the version featuring her alongside PawanKalyan. Shruti had signed the film in November 2011 replacingIleana D'Cruz who had opted out, and played the role ofBhagyalakshmi, a village girl, which had been essayed by SonakshiSinha in the original version. The film went on to become a majorcommercial success at the box office and brought in more film offersfor Haasan. Critics also gave her performance a favourableverdict citing that she "justifies her role" and "though she didn'thave much of a role, she has left her mark."Shruti Haasan gives a behind-the-scenes interview at TeachAIDSanimations at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad

In 2013, she appeared in the Telugu action film Balupu oppositeRavi Teja, which eventually became a "super hit" at the Indianbox office. Haasan mainly received positive reviews for herperformance, with critics noting that she "provides the fun in thefilm with glamor and verve". Later that year, Haasan made acomeback to Hindi films, with Prabhu Deva's RamaiyaVastavaiya and Nikhil Advani's D-Day. The filmsemerged as moderate successes and Haasan received generally positivereviews for her performances.

Her first release of 2014, the Telugu film Yevadu oppositeRam Charan Teja, emerged as a major commercial success. Hersecond Telugu release of the year, Race Gurram, had Haasanstar opposite Allu Arjun for the first time in her career. Thefilm was released on April 11, 2014, and eventually emerged as a"blockbuster" success. Along with the rest of the film, Haasanreceived positive reviews for her performance, with one critic notingthat she "plays her part well and looks glamorous".

Upcoming projects

As of June 2014, Haasan has completed work on the Hindi languageaction drama Gabbar opposite AkshayKumar, and is currently shooting for three other Hindilanguage films, Anees Bazmee's comedy Welcome Backopposite John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and NanaPatekar, Tigmanshu Dhulia's drama Yaaraopposite Vidyut Jamwal, Amit Sadh and IrrfanKhan, and Rocky Handsome, opposite John Abraham.Haasan is also currently shooting for Poojai, a Tamilaction masala film opposite Vishal, and theTelugu action comedy film Aagadu oppositeMahesh Babu and Tamannaah, in which she appears in anitem number.

Other work

Singing

Shruti Haasan sang her first song aged just six in her father'sThevar Magan in the composition of Ilaiyaraaja. While inschool, Haasan made her singing debut in the Hindi language film,Chachi 420, singing a duet with her father who also directed thefilm. Shruti sang the bilingual versions of the title theme,Rama Rama with her father, in Hindi and in Tamil for themovie Hey Ram. The album from Ilayaraaja, which wascritically praised, won Haasan accolades for her efforts with ScreenIndia saying that she "has the makings of a good singer, and with sometraining she should go great guns."Shruti Hassan at a concert in early 2007

Shruti sang along with veteran singer K. J. Yesudas for the filmEn Mana Vaanil (2002) under Ilaiyaraaja's music. She has sung forGautham Menon's Vaaranam Aayiram under the composition ofHarris Jayaraj. As of November 2008, Haasan is also midwaythrough her untitled debut album, which she has composed, written andsung, and is set for release in mid-2009. A further song wasrecorded with her voice for her Hindi film, Luck.

In September 2010, Haasan collaborated with Dave Kushner for thefilm, Hisss. Whilst Kushner composed thetrack, Shruti wrote the lyrics, sang and appeared in a promotionalvideo for the film.She recently lent her voice for a Telugufilm Aagadu which was confirmed by director Srinu Vytla viaTwitter .

Music composing

After much speculation, Shruti Haasan was finalized as the musiccomposer of the Tamil film Unnaipol Oruvan, which was released in2009. The bilingual was a remake of the successfulHindi film, A Wednesday!. The soundtracks of both theprojects are separate. Apart from this, Shruti is also the vocalist ofan alternative rock band The Extramentals.

As Playback Singer

Title Year Film Composer Notes"Potri Paadadi Ponna 1992 Thevar Magan Ilaiyaraaja"Jaago Gori" 1997 Chachi 420 Vishal Bhardwaj"Ram Ram" 2000 Hey Ram Ilaiyaraaja"Roattorap Paattuch Chaththam" 2002 En Mana VaanilIlaiyaraaja"Adiye Kolluthe" 2008 Vaaranam Aayiram Harris Jayaraj"Aazma (Luck Is The Key)" 2009 Luck Salim-Sulaiman"Allah Jaane" Unnaipol Oruvan Shruti Haasan Edison Award forBest Introduced Music Director"Unnaipol Oruvan""Vaanam Ellai""Allah Jaane" Eenadu Shruti Haasan"Eenadu""Ningi Haddu""Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" 2010 -- A. R. Rahman"Nenapidu Nenapidu" Prithvi Manikanth Kadri"Beyond The Snake" Hisss Dave Kushner"Evan Ivan" 2011 Udhayan Manikanth Kadri"Yellae Lama" 7aum Arivu Harris Jayaraj"Sri Chaitanya Junior College" Oh My Friend R. Anil"Sokkupodi" Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal G. V. Prakash Kumar"Kannazhaga Kaalazhaga" 2012 3 Anirudh RavichanderNominated--Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer - TamilNominated--SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer"Tan Ye Mera" 3 (Hindi)"Kannuladha Kaaluladha" 3 (Telugu)"Alvida" 2013 D-Day Shankar Ehsaan Loy"Shut Up Your Mouth" 2014 Yennamo Yedho D. Imman"Down Down" Race Gurram S. Thaman"Special Song" Aagadu S. Thaman"Un Vizhigalil" Maan Karate Anirudh Ravichander

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