Ramya
Quick Facts
Biography
Ramya (born as 29 November 1982), is an Indian film actress and politician. She predominantly acts in Kannada films and also appears in Tamil and Telugu films.
Ramya made her acting debut in the 2003 Kannada-language film Abhi, opposite Puneet Rajkumar. She has become commercial success at the box office. Ramya is a two-time Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Kannada winner.
Early life
Ramya was born in Bangalore, Karnataka on 29 November 1982 . Her mother Ranjitha is a senior member of the Congress Party in Karnataka, while her foster father R T Narayan was an industrialist. Ramya is from the Vokkaliga caste by birth. Her parents originally hail from Mandya. She studied at St. Hilda's school in Ooty, and in Sacred Heart School (Church Park), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Career
In 2004, Spandana debuted in the Tamil film industry, also under the name Ramya, with the film Kuththu alongside Silambarasan Rajendar. The film only managed a mediocre run at the box office as did her next Tamil film Giri. Her debut film, however, gave her the name 'Kuthu' Ramya, by which she was then popularly known in Tamil Nadu. She had two releases in Kannada as well, Ranga S. S. L. C. and Kanti. Kanti, a love story set against the backdrop of borders and language issues, was declared a major success. In 2005 she had four releases, all being Kannada films, with the latter three films Aakash, Gowramma and Amrithadhare becoming major box-office successes, whilst also garnering critical acclaim for Ramya's performance and establishing her as a leading actress in Mandya boysKarnataka.
In 2006 she starred in Julie, a remake of the same-titled 1975 Hindi-language film. She played the role of a single, unwed mother in the film, which failed to attract audiences. After her following release, Datta. her next Kannada release, Jothe Jotheyali was a successful venture, in spite of largely unfavorable reviews by critics. Her final 2006 release, Kavitha Lankesh's Tananam Tananam, an average grosser that released to mixed reviews, fetched Ramya her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She had described her role in the film as "little complex" and "challenging." In 2007, Ramya starred in three feature films; the first releasing, Arasu, co-starring Puneet Rajkumar and Meera Jasmine, was a huge hit. She then appeared as a sex worker , which was made to create awareness about AIDS and was part of Mira Nair's AIDS Jaago project. Her fourth 2007 release was Polladhavan, where she acted against Dhanush. The film, released during the 2007 Deepavali period, was considered a commercial success and made possible Ramya's breakthrough in Tamil. Rajinikanth was all praises for the entire crew of Polladhavan.
Her first 2008 release, the Kannada film Mussanjemaatu with Sudeep, was a big hit, for which she also received a nomination for a Best Actress Award at the 56th Filmfare Awards South. Her next film was the Tamil film Thoondil. Ramya later stated that she regretted accepting the film. Later that year, she starred in the films Bombaat and Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu, with the former went on to perform well at the boxoffice. Her final release in 2008 was Gautham Menon's Vaaranam Aayiram for which she changed her screen name to her actual name Divya again, which is believed to have brought her more luck. She had also dubbed in her own voice for Vaaranam Aayiram, which became a critical as well as commercial success. She did not have any releases in 2009, since both her films Bhimoos Bang Bang Kids and Jothegaara got delayed heavily due to financial problems.
Her first release of 2010 Just Math Mathalli which released on 26 January 2010 was received rave reviews. Her role in the film was also very much appreciated. She had two more releases that year, the long delayed Jothegaara eventually, and Kiccha Huccha. Her next release was the Tamil film Singam Puli opposite Jeeva, which released to mixed reviews, following which the romantic drama Sanju Weds Geetha released. The film opened to highly positive reviews, with Ramya being unanimously praised by critics for her performance, which was widely considered her best or one of her best in her career.
Her first release in 2012 was a comedy drama Sidlingu, in which she portrays the role of a school teacher. The next release in 2012 was a light-comedy movie Lucky, alongside Yash.She was also seen in semi-mythological movie Katari Veera Surasundarangi, opposite Upendra.In August 2013, Ramya announced that she may quit acting if she wins the election, to pursue a career in politics.
In 2016, Ramya made her comeback with Nagarahavu film, which is having the deceased actor Dr.Vishnuvardhan in the lead role through the VFX effect. Film received negative reviews upon the release and failed to attract the audience despite having legendary actor Dr.Vishnuvardhan.
Political career
Ramya joined the Indian Youth Congress in 2012. Ramya became the Indian National Congress' Member of Parliament from Mandya constituency in Karnataka by winning the by-election in 2013. In the 2014 Indian General Election, she again contested from Mandya but was defeated by C. S. Puttaraju by a margin of 5500 votes.
Other work
In 2013, Ramya made her debut in the small screen in a tele serial, Ashwini Nakshatra, and was seen in the role of a sutradhar in the serial, making an appearance every day in the first week, and she went on to introduce the main characters of the serial.
Filmography
No. | Year | Film | Role(s) | Language | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2003 | Abhi | Bhanu | Kannada | |
2 | Excuse Me | Madhumitha | |||
3 | Abhimanyu | Saira Banu | Telugu | Credited as Spandana | |
4 | 2004 | Kuththu | Anjali | Tamil | |
5 | Ranga S. S. L. C. | Padma | Kannada | ||
6 | Kanti | Reema | |||
7 | Giri | Devaki | Tamil | ||
8 | 2005 | Aadi | Aishwarya | Kannada | |
9 | Aakash | Nandini | |||
10 | Gowramma | Gowri Chandan | |||
11 | Amrithadhare | Amritha | Udaya Award for Best Actress | ||
12 | 2006 | Sevanthi Sevanthi | Sevanthi | ||
13 | Julie | Julie | |||
14 | Dattha | Divya | |||
15 | Jothe Jotheyali | Divya | |||
16 | Tananam Tananam | Vanaja | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada | ||
17 | 2007 | Arasu | Shruthi | ||
18 | Prarambha | Short film | |||
19 | Meera Madhava Raghava | Meera | |||
20 | Polladhavan | Hema | Tamil | Credited as Divya Spandana | |
21 | 2008 | Mussanjemaatu | Thanu | Kannada | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada |
22 | Thoondil | Divya | Tamil | ||
23 | Meravanige | Spandana | Kannada | Guest appearance | |
24 | Bombaat | Shalini | |||
25 | Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu | Preethi | |||
26 | Vaaranam Aayiram | Priya | Tamil | ||
27 | 2010 | Just Math Mathalli | Tanu | Kannada | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada |
28 | Jothegara | Priya | |||
29 | Kiccha Huccha | Aishwarya | |||
30 | 2011 | Singam Puli | Swetha | Tamil | |
31 | Sanju Weds Geetha | Geetha | Kannada | SIIMA Award for Best Actress Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada | |
32 | Dandam Dashagunam | Maya | |||
33 | Johny Mera Naam Preethi Mera Kaam | Priya | |||
34 | 2012 | Sidlingu | Mangala | Nominated – SIIMA Award for Best Actress Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Kannada | |
35 | Lucky | Gowri | |||
36 | Katari Veera Surasundarangi | Indraja | |||
37 | Crazy Loka | Special appearance | |||
38 | 2014 | Aryan | Shwetha | ||
39 | 2016 | Nagarahavu (2016 film) | |||
2017 | Dil Ka Raja | Filiming |
DPositions, awards and nominations
- Brand Ambassador for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 IPL team
- Most Googled Celebrity list in 2014, 2015
- Member, Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (2012-2013)
- Member, Consultative Committee of Information & Broadcasting (2013)
- Indian Delegation, 7th SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians Conference (2013)
- Filmfare Best Actress Award twice for her roles in Tananam Tananam (2006) and Sanju Weds Geetha (2011) films.
- Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for Sanju Weds Geetha (2011).