Vinodhini, also known by her stage name, Shweta is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films and Tamil serials. Beginning her acting career as a child artist, she went on to become one of the popular actress of 90's .apart from lead she also played supporting roles before acting in television series as well. She was credited as Shwetha in Kannada films.

Career

Vinodhini began her acting career as a child artist, appearing in films including ''

Manal Kayiru ''Manal Kayiru'' () is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Visu in his directorial debut. The film stars S. Ve. Shekher and Shanthi Krishna, with Visu, Manorama, Kishmu and Kuriakose Ranga portraying suppor ...

'', '' Puthiya Sagaptham'' and ''

Mannukkul Vairam ''Mannukkul Vairam'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Manoj Kumar in his debut and produced by Kovaithambi. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sujatha, Rajesh, and Murali. It was released on 12 December 1986. Plot Chittu retu ...

'', before going on to enact lead roles 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 ...

. In 1992, she was directed by

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan Tamil cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil ...

in ''

Vanna Vanna Pookkal ''Vanna Vanna Pookkal'' () is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film, directed by Balu Mahendra, starring Prashanth, Mounika and Vinodhini. The film, produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, was released on 15 January 1992, and won the Nation ...

''. Although the film was critically as well as commercially successful—it won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The National Film Award for Best Tamil Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kama ...

and completed a 100-days run in theatres—it failed to propel Vinodhini's career. That year, she debuted in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

with ''

Soorya Manasam ''Soorya Manasam'' is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Viji Thampi and written by Sab John. The film stars Mammootty, along with Raghuvaran, Vinodini, Sowcar Janaki, Vaishnavi (Malayali actress) ...

'' and the

Kannada film industry Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based ...

with ''

Chaitrada Premanjali ''Chaitrada Premanjali'' is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language romance drama film directed and written by S. Narayan making his debut in direction. The film stars newcomers Raghuveer and Shwetha along with Lokesh and Abhijeeth in other pivotal r ...

'', where she took on the stage name Shwetha. Both films were successes. After appearing in several Tamil films, including Balu Mahendra's ''

Marupadiyum ''Marupadiyum'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, filmed and directed by Balu Mahendra. The film stars Revathi, Nizhalgal Ravi, Arvind Swamy and Rohini. A remake of the 1982 Hindi film '' Arth'', it focuses on Thulasi, a w ...

'',

Visu Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan (1 July 1945 – 22 March 2020), best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian screenwriter, film director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to ...

's ''

Pattukottai Periyappa ''Pattukottai Periyappa'' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Visu. The film stars Lakshmi, Anand Babu, Mohini and Visu. It was released on 23 September 1994. Plot The story portrays the rivalry between ...

'',

Rama Narayanan Rama Narayanan (3 April 1949 – 22 June 2014) was an Indian film director and film producer. In the 1980s, he was known as a director who specialized in shooting commercial films in which animals played vital roles, while in the 1990s, several ...

's ''

Vaanga Partner Vaanga ''Vaanga Partner Vaanga'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed and produced by Rama Narayanan. The film stars Visu, Radha Ravi, S. S. Chandran and Vennira Aadai Moorthy. It was released on 14 January 1994. Plot Ponnappan, ...

'', and two

K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor who primarily works in Tamil cinema and few Telugu films. He is one of the most commercially successful directors of Indian cinema. He has won m ...

films, ''

Suriyan Chandiran ''Suriyan Chandiran'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar from a story by S. Ramanath. The film stars Anand Babu, Keerthana and Saravanan. It was released on 25 February 1993. Plot Cast ...

'' and ''

Muthukulikka Vaariyala ''Muthu Kulikka Vaarieyala'' () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, from a story by Chandra Kumar. The film stars Khushbu, Vignesh and Sanghavi. It was released on 10 March 1995. Plot ...

'', most of them featuring her in secondary characters, she shifted her focus to Kannada films by the mid-1990s, where she continued to play lead roles. Her work in Tamil films in the late 90s was limited to minor supporting roles and

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s. Films in she made brief appearances include

Praveen Gandhi Praveen Gandhi (also credited as Praveenkanth) is an Indian film director, and actor known for his works in Tamil cinema. Career Praveen Gandhi entered the industry with the aim to become an actor. Since he lacked the background, he worked as t ...

's action film ''

Ratchagan ''Ratchagan'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced by K. T. Kunjumon, and directed by Praveen Gandhi in his directoral debut. The music and background score is composed by A. R. Rahman. It stars Nagarjuna an ...

'',

Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...

's comedy flick ''

Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga ''Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Sundar C, starring Karthik and Rambha in the lead roles with Goundamani, Vivek, Vinu Chakravarthy, Anju among others in supporting ro ...

'' and

N. Mathrubootham N. Mathrubootham (2 July 1944 – 18 November 2004) was an Indian psychiatrist, writer, actor and director who was known for his work on sex education. He also acted as a comedian in some Tamil films. Early life Mathrubootham was born in Ti ...

's ''

Puthira Punithama ''Puthira Punithama'' is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language erotic drama film written and directed by Mathrubootham. The film stars Mathrubootham himself in the lead role, alongside Nizhalgal Ravi and Vinodhini. It was released on 28 July 2000. Ca ...

''. Vinodhini soon started acting in television serials, such as the drama series '' Chithi'', ''Agal Vilakku'' and ''Kannadi Kathavugal'', and the comedy series ''Vidathu Sirippu'' by

Crazy Mohan Mohan Rangachari (16 October 1952 – 10 June 2019) known professionally as Crazy Mohan, was an Indian actor, comedian, screenwriter and playwright. An engineer by profession, Mohan started writing plays and established his own drama troupe calle ...

. Besides, she hosted a television show for eight years. She made a return to Tamil films with a supporting role as the female lead's (

Meera Jasmine Jasmine Mary Joseph,
, rediff.com; 1 August 2004. known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian ac ...

) sister in ''

Kasthuri Maan ''Kasthuri Maan'' is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language film directed by A. K. Lohithadas. The film, a remake of the director's own Malayalam film of same name, and his only Tamil project to date, stars Prasanna and Meera Jasmine, who reprised her ...

'' in 2005. In its review,

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

stated that she gave a "very appealing performance" in the film. Since, she has appeared in minor roles in two

Karu Pazhaniappan Karu Palaniappan is an Indian film director, actor, and television host who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also hosted the show Thamizha Thamizha on Zee Thamizh. Biography Palaniappan hails from Karaikudi and is the eldest among the ...

films.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * at CineSouth {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinodhini Living people Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian child actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Malayalam television