Karthika Adaikalam (born 3 May 1991), better known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

as Karthika, is an Indian actress who has appeared in

Tamil films Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...

. She is probably best known for her performances in ''

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

'' and '' Raman Thediya Seethai''.

Career

Karthika made her debut as an actress through

Sanjay Ram Sanjay Ram is an Indian film director and producer who has worked on Tamil films and was active in the late 2000s. Throughout his career, he worked on several films which failed to have a theatrical release. Furthermore, several of his films h ...

's ''

'', a village action drama, where she appeared opposite choreographer-turned-actor Harikumar. She was cast in the film after the makers had spotted her in a commercial. The relative success of the film prompted Karthika to be labelled as 'Thootukudi' Karthika or 'Karuvappaiya' Karthika by the media, after a popular song from the film. A song titled "Ulaga Azhagi" from her second film, ''

Pirappu ''Pirappu'' ( ''Birth'') is a 2007 Tamil language romantic drama film directed by L. V. Ilangovan. The film stars newcomer Prabha, Karthika and newcomer Priya Mohan, with Mahadevan, Saranya Ponvannan, Vijay Krishnaraj, Sulakshana, Shanmugaraj ...

'' (2008) also won her recognition, despite the relative low-key release of the film. She was recognised by director

Bala Bala may refer to: Films * ''Bala'' (1976 film), an English-language dance documentary * ''Bala'' (2002 film), a Tamil-language action film * ''Bala'' (2019 film), a Hindi-language black comedy Life forms *Bala shark (''Balantiocheilos melano ...

, who cast her in the leading female role of a bling beggar opposite

Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...

in ''

Naan Kadavul ''Naan Kadavul'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Bala and produced by K. S. Sreenivasan under Vasan Visual Ventures. The film is based on the Tamil novel ''Yezhaam Ulagam'' by Jeyamohan, who also penned the fi ...

'' (2009) during mid-2007. However, despite being completing a test shoot, where she was asked to beg in the streets of

Periyakulam Periyakulam () is a major town and a municipality in Theni district, in the Madurai Region, South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 42,976. Periyakulam is the northern gateway of the district. Etymology ...

, Bala later dropped her from the project. Some of the other films she worked on during the period including Raghavan's ''Alaiyodu Vilaiyadu'', ''Jawahar Pattalam'' and ''Machan'' also failed to have a theatrical release. Karthika featured in '' Raman Thediya Seethai'' (2008) alongside an ensemble cast including Cheran,

Pasupathy Pasupathy (born 18 May 1969) is an Indian actor. He appeared in critically acclaimed roles in many noted films in Tamil cinema, playing supporting, antagonistic, comedic as well as protagonistic roles. He has won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award ...

and

Vimala Raman Vimala Raman is an Australian actress and former model who has worked in Indian cinema. She appears in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil language films. Born and brought up in Australia, she made her debut in 2006 with the Tamil film ''Poi''. An est ...

. She then signed on to appear in ''

Madurai Sambavam ''Madurai Sambavam'' () is a 2009 Tamil language action film written and directed by Youreka in his directorial debut. It stars Harikumar, Anuya Bhagvath and Karthika, while Radha Ravi, Kadhal Dhandapani, and Raj Kapoor play supporting rol ...

'' (2009), once again appearing alongside Harikumar. Post-release, she revealed that she had accepted the brief role as a goodwill gesture to Harikumar, who had played a role in beginning her acting career. Karthika took an extended break from the film industry after getting married in 2012. In mid-2019, Karthika announced plans of making a comeback to acting. She will next be seen in the fantasy film, ''Mayamukhi''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adaikalam, Karthika 21st-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Tamil actresses Living people Actresses in Tamil cinema 1991 births Actresses from Tamil Nadu People from Nagapattinam district