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PIX: The Hottest Southern Heroines

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Namitha
Southern actresses are a scorching lot! And they're quite talented too, as many of them spread their wings across the different industries -- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

When we asked you to choose the hottest actresses, we got quite a response.

Here then, in a special four part series, we showcase the hottest actors of southern cinema.

Namitha

Did you know Namitha was crowned Miss Surat in 1998, and later tried her luck in the 2001 Miss India beauty pagaent?

After appearing in ads, this Gujarati girl tried her luck in films. She has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada as well as Malayalam films, and today, is one of the hottest actresses in southern cinema.

Kaveri Jha

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Kaveri Jha
One of the most interesting facts about Kavera is that she juggles a regular job as an Air India air hostess with her acting job!

The Bihari girl, who was crowned Miss Maharashtra earlier, started her career in the Bollywood film Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Hijack. Hindi films did not bring her any success, so she moved on to Telugu films.

Lakshmi Rai

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Lakshmi Rai
Lakshmi Rai hails from Karnataka but she has acted mostly in Tamil and Malayalam films.

Her most popular Malayalam films are 2 Harihar Nagar, Annan Thambi, Evidam Swargamanu and Chattambinadu. She will be soon seen in one of the most awaited movies of the year, Casanovva, opposite Mohanlal.

Shruti Haasan

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Shruti Haasan
Daughter of Kamal Haasan, Shruti started her acting career with the Hindi film Luck. Now, she is concentrating on her Telugu and Tamil movies. She will soon be seen in the much-awaited Tamil film 7aam Arivu, co-starring Suriya.

Shriya Saran

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Shriya Saran
Besides a thriving career down south, Shriya has also done Hollywood films. She acted opposite Jesse Metcalfe in The Other End of the Line, produced by Ashok Amritraj.
 
She will be seen next in Deepa Mehta's Winds of Change, based on Salman Rushdie's best-selling novel Midnight's Children.

Charmee

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Charmee
Did you know that Charmee lived in Vasai in the western suburbs of Mumbai? She is a Mumbai-born Punjabi. 

Her first acting assignment was a Telugu film Nee Thodu Kaavali at the age of 15 where she played a housewife. Her first eight films in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam were huge flops.

She got her first hit in a Telugu film Gowri and she never looked back again ever since.

Nayanthara

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Nayanthara
Did you know that Nayantara's actual name is Diana Mariam Kurian and she was a Jacobite Christian by birth?

In August this year she converted to Hinduism at the Arya Samaj Temple in Chennai and her stage name Nayanthara is her official name now.

She is in love with actor/director Parbhudeva and sports tattoo of his name on her wrist.

Tamannaah Bhatia

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Tamannaah Bhatia
Did you know that Tamannaah is a Sindhi girl born and brought up in Mumbai? 

She mainly acts in Tamil and Telugu films even though she started her career with Hindi film Chand Sa Roshan Chehra she never again got a chance to work in any Hindi film, she is  a very popular actress down south.

Mamta Mohandas

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Mamta Mohandas
Did you know that Mamta is a trained singer in Carnatic and Hindustani musisc and her first song is in Telugu film Rakhi, for which she won Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer Award.

Mamta is a cancer survivor, she was sick with Hodgkin's lymphoma. She had to cut her hair during chemotherapy. In fact in some scenes of her film Anwar, she wore wigs.

Priyamani

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 12:55 IST
Priyamani
Did you know that Priyamani is Vidya Balan's cousin?

She speaks all the four main south Indian languages, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and of course Hindi.

She won National award for her Tamil film Paruthiveeran

Even though she is 27 now she is still pursuing a degree in BA in psychology.