Yashika Aannand (born 4 August 1999) is an Indian actress, model and television personality, who works predominantly 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 ...

and

television shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

Early life

Yashika Aannand was born into a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious g ...

family on 4 August 1999 in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. After her family moved to

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, she completed her schooling in Sherwood Hall school in

Chetpet, Chennai Chetpet is a neighbourhood in the Indian city of Chennai It is served by the Chetpet (Chennai Suburban Railway), Chetpet railway station in the Beach–Tambaram line of Chennai Suburban Railway. Chetpet has a pond between the Chetpet railway sta ...

Career

Aannand began acting after being an

Instagram model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone el ...

. At 14, she was filmed for ''

Inimey Ippadithan Inimey Ippadithan () is a 2015 Indian Tamil language romantic comedy film written and directed by the duo Muruganand (Murugan and Prem Anand) of Lollu Sabha fame. Santhanam, who also produced the film, plays the lead role in it, alongside Ashn ...

'' (2015) alongside Santhanam but her role was later deleted after she could not attend a song shoot. She then portrayed a swimming instructor in ''

Kavalai Vendam ''Kavalai Vendam'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Deekay. The film stars Jiiva and Kajal Aggarwal, while Bobby Simha and Sunaina play supporting roles. The film, which is said to be an urban r ...

'' (2016), which became her first theatrical release. Aannand's breakthrough was in the 2016 film, ''

Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru ''Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru'' (), also known as ''D-16'', is a 2016 Indian neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Karthick Naren, and starring Rahman. Featuring a predominantly new cast and crew, the film features music composed by ...

''. Shot on a small budget, the film was successful and won recognition for its cast members. She then appeared in '' Paadam'' (2018) and

Thambi Ramaiah Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, '' Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Mani ...

's '' Maniyaar Kudumbam'' (2018). Aannand then appeared in ''

Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuththu ''Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu'' (; Fierce masturbation or sexual encounter (punch; euphemism) in a dark room) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language adult horror comedy film written and directed by Santhosh P. Jayakumar and produced by K. E. Gnanav ...

'' (2018), an adult comedy film. Shot in Thailand, the film featured her alongside other actresses such as

Vaibhavi Shandilya Vaibhavi Shandilya (born 27 May 1993) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Kannada and Marathi-language films. After making her debut in the Marathi film ''Janiva'' (2015), she has been in films including '' Ekk Albela'' (2015), '' Sakka Po ...

and

Chandrika Ravi Chandrika Ravi is an Australian actress of Indian origin. She was born and raised in Australia before moving to Los Angeles for her acting and modelling career. She became known for her role in the 2018 Indian film '' Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Ku ...

and the film performed well at the box office. In 2018, Aannand appeared in the second season of the ''

Bigg Boss Tamil ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian Tamil-language version of the reality television program of the same name. The program follows the '' Big Brother'' format developed by Endemol in the Netherlands. Since its premiere on June 25, 2017 the show has r ...

'' reality show hosted by

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

. She had earlier been approached to be in the inaugural season, but she refused the offer. She was evicted on day 98, finishing the show in fifth place. She also received the cash prize of 5 lakhs for winning certain tasks during the second season of the premiere program before getting evicted. She later appeared as a mentor in Star Vijay's ''Jodi Unlimited'' TV series, which aired in 2019. Aannand then appeared in the animated

zombie film A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror ...

''Zombie'' as the lead actress. In 2018, she was listed by the '' Chennai Times'' as the "most desirable woman on television." In 2021, she received the Best Actress Award at the ''Las Vegas Independent Film Festival 2021'' for the film ''Bestie.''

MeToo allegations

In 2018, Aannand identified herself as a victim during the

MeToo movement in India The IndianMeToo movement, #MeToo movement began in late 2018 (and continues to the present day) to manifest in areas of the Indian society including the government, the media, and the Bollywood film industry. In India, the Me Too movement is s ...

, where she alleged that a director had tried to abuse her by asking for sexual favors in order to gain a part in his film. She refused, and accused the director of harassing her.

Personal life

On 24 July 2021, Aannand was involved in a car crash in

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of ...

near

and was critically injured during the crash. She was traveling with friends when their car rammed into a divider and fell in the nearby pit. News reports state that one of her friends died on the spot. Onlookers reportedly said that the actor's SUV was speeding and lost control, thus causing the crash. Aannand has regularly raised awareness for

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

in society.

Filmography

Film

Television

Short films

Web series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aannand, Yashika 1999 births Living people Indian film actresses Actresses from New Delhi Female models from Delhi Punjabi women Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian child actresses Actresses in Tamil television People involved in road accidents or incidents