Shamili

Shamili, better known as Baby Shamili, is an Indian actress, who has worked in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is probably best known for her critically acclaimed performance as the mentally challenged child Anjali in the 1990 film Anjali that fetched her the National Film Award for Best Child Artist, and as a child trapped inside a bore-well in the 1992 film Malootty that fetched her a Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist.

Early life

Shamili hails from a family of actors, being the younger sister of actor Richard Rishi and actress Shalini. She was born to Malayali parents Babu & Alice.^[1] Her father migrated to Madras with an ambition of becoming actor and the family settled there later he fulfilled his ambition through his children.^[2][3]

Acting career

Shamili started acting at the age of two. In 1990, she acted in Bharathan's Malootty, a film based on Jessica McClure. Her performance won her critical appreciation and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist. Her breakthrough in Tamil came with Mani Ratnam's 'Anjali', in which she portrayed a mentally challenged child, which earned her the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. She also acted as a teenager in Fazil's Harikrishnans as Mammooty and Mohanlal's sibling. In Kannada has acted with well-known actors like Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Sithara, Shruti, Srinath, Geetha, Meghna, Vinaya Prasad, Sunil, Sathyapriya, Bhavya, Lakshmi and Abhijith. In Kannada, she acted in Dakshayini, Kadambari (1993), Karulina Kudi (1995), Bhairavi (1991),Chinna Nee Naguthiru (1993), Bhuvaneshwari (1994), Mathe Haditu Kogile (1990), Hoovu Hannu (1993) and Jagadeshwari (1998).

She played her first female lead role in Anand Ranga's directorial debut Oy! (2009) alongside Siddarth, though the film's mixed response at the box office prompted her to embark on yet another sabbatical.^[4] Between 2010 and 2015, Shamili studied and worked in Singapore and turned down numerous opportunities to return to acting. She later returned to Chennai, and is now working on the production of Veera Shivaji alongside Vikram Prabhu

Filmography

As Child Artist

As Heroine

References

External links

• Shamili at the Internet Movie Database