Yasmin Ponnappa is an Indian model and actress from

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. After appearing in print media and television commercials, Yasmin first worked as an actress in

Thiagarajan Kumararaja Thiagarajan Kumararaja is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed neo-noir gangster film ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011), which earned him the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of ...

's gangster film ''

Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language gangster film written and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja in his directorial debut. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The pl ...

'' (2011).

Career

Yasmin Ponnappa began her career as a model in

, before shifting to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

to seek better opportunities. She landed a contract with the Elite Model Management agency, and initially appeared in commercials for Nivea Deodorant and Tropicana juice. She later garnered attention for her work with Opulex diamond bracelets, under the direction of Vishesh Verma. During her time as a model, Yasmin was shortlisted by

Loveleen Tandan Loveleen Tandan is an Indian film and casting director. She is the co-director (India) of ''Slumdog Millionaire'' along with Danny Boyle. She has also been the casting director for several other films, including '' Monsoon Wedding'' (2001) and ' ...

for the role of Latika in

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

's English film ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...

'' (2008), as she was previously known to Tandan from another shelved film project. Yasmin took part in initial script reading sessions with Boyle, before she was replaced by

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

in the role. Yasmin later made her acting debut in

's Tamil gangster film ''

'' (2011), after being approached by the director who had spotted her face on a hoarding in Chennai. Once she was on board, Yasmin prepared for her role under the tutelage of

Guru Somasundaram Guru Somasundaram is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil and Malayalam film industries. He made his debut in ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011) winning critical acclaim for his role, before also appearing in the Tamil action film ''Pandiya Naadu'' ( ...

in a ten-day workshop. The film narrates the tale of a drug lord Singaperumal, played by

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...

, who is well past his prime and imprisons the young Subbu, played by Yasmin and abuses her at will, eager as he is to prove his potency. The film was honoured with two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

for Best Editing and Best Debut Film of a Director category respectively. Yasmin won rave reviews for her portrayal of Subbu, with Sify.com stating she "is fantastic in her debut role" and "she brings out the innocence and the cunning cruelty of the character very well". Likewise, Rediff.com noted "Yasmin Ponnappa makes you gnash her teeth as the dumb blonde but it's a measure of her success that you feel the exasperation". Later entertainment portals Fully Filmy and Behindwoods both listed Yasmin's role in the film as amongst the strongest female characters ever written in Tamil cinema. In August 2014, Yasmin shot for a music video titled " The Madras Song", produced by the Murugappa Group as a tribute to the city of Madras, which was celebrating its 375th year. In 2017, Yasmin worked on a short film titled ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' directed by Dhilip Kumar and co-starring

Kishore Kishore () may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * '' Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * '' Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language juvenile week ...

. Scripted by

Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan () is an Indian film critic and writer. A chemical engineering graduate with no formal training in filmmaking or cinema writing, he has a diverse career in advertising, IT consulting, and cinema writing. He has authored two boo ...

, the short film featured her in dual roles of Kalki and Radhika and was released in May 2017.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnappa, Yasmin Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Models from Bengaluru Living people 21st-century Indian actresses Year of birth missing (living people)