Gayatri Jayaraman (born 27 September 1984) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil language films and television shows. She is best known for her role in the film Manadhai Thirudivittai (2001) and her glamorous appearance in the song Manja Kaattu Maina from the same film gave her massive recognition.[2]
Gayatri Jayaraman | |
|---|---|
 Gayatri in the film Swamy (2005) | |
| Born | 27 September 1984[1] |
| Other names | Gayatri Jayaram |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, model |
| Years active | 2001 – Present |
| Spouse | Samit Sawhny (m.2007) |
| Children | Ishaan, Inara |
| Parent(s) | Jayaraman Chitra |
Early life edit
Gayatri Jayaraman was born in a Tamil family. She studied in Adarsh Vidyalaya and the Church Park in Chennai. She was raised in Shahabad near Gulbarga until she was four years old, before her family headed to Madras. She spent a year in Bangalore.Gayatri at first wished to pursue a career in medicine and despite gaining 94% in board exams, she did not get a medical seat, and hence began reading a B.Sc. in life science at IGNOU. Gayatri balanced her time between modelling and education and thus also went on to study physiotherapy at SRM College in Chennai. About her decision to simultaneously pursue qualifications she revealed that "the average life of an actress on screen is maximum four years" and that "she can always return to physiotherapy once my career as an actress is over".
She took up her first modelling assignments for Nalli Silks, followed by Kumaran Silks, Pothys and Chennai Silks while also participating in the beauty pageants, winning the Miss Tamil Nadu title in October 1997 and Miss South India title in 1998. She entered the final stages of Femina Miss India 2000, after being selected among the 26 finalists from 8000 entries and made it through to the final 5, eventually finishing fourth. She has also been a video jockey on television, having appeared for Fanta "Ilamai Pudhumai" on Sun TV and "Telephone Manipol" on Vijay TV.
Career edit
Gayathri began her career as an actress with director K. Balachander's tele-serial Azhukku Veshti and rejected offers from prominent directors such as Arjun before deciding to make her debut by featuring in Nagabharana's Neela. Neela, a Kannada film about a tribal singer with cancer.[2] It was selected as one of the thirty-two Indian films to feature at the International Film Festival of India. Gayatri won a Cinema Express Award for her performance, with a critic describing it as a "matured performance gives an impression of her being an experienced actress". She made her Tamil film debut after being approached by producer KRG to feature in his Manadhai Thirudivittai opposite Prabhu Deva. Gayatri, post-release, remarked that her role in the film was changed, with Kausalya playing the role that she had signed on to portray. The film became a commercial failure, although her appearance in the song "Manjakattu Mynaa" got her noticed.
Her Telugu film debut was with Srikanth in Aaduthu Paaduthu,[3] before she also went on to feature in a supporting role in Shree alongside Suriya, with Gayatri revealing that her role was chopped by the editors in post-production. She featured in another small role in Vaseegara alongside Vijay and Sneha, before going on to feature in a series of unsuccessful Kannada and Malayalam films.
She retired from films after her marriage and is now a certified scuba diving instructor in the Andaman Islands and briefly returned to compere the Chennai Super Kings Cheer Leaders talent show on Vijay TV in 2009. She also notably, anchored the show Super Kudumbam on Sun TV in early 2013.[4]
Personal life edit
In May 2007 she married Samit Sawhny, an Indian entrepreneur and author, in the Andaman Islands in a small and private wedding function.[5]
Filmography edit
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Neela | Neela | Kannada | |
| Asoka | Gypsy Dancer | Hindi | Special appearance | |
| Manadhai Thirudivittai | Shruthi | Tamil | ||
| 2002 | Aaduthu Paaduthu | Gayatri / Vasanthi | Telugu | |
| Shree | Stella | Tamil | ||
| April Maadhathil | Nimmi | |||
| 2003 | Vaseegara | Asha | ||
| 2004 | Njan Salperu Ramankutty | Sangeetha | Malayalam | |
| 2005 | Lokanathan IAS | Durga | Malayalam | |
| Swamy | Aishwarya | Kannada | ||
| 2006 | Naidu LLB | Telugu | ||
| 2021 | Uppena | Sangeetha's mother | Telugu | [6] |
| Lanke | Kannada | [7] |
Television edit
- Serials
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Shree Ganesh | Devi Adishakti | Hindi | Sony TV |
| Micro Thodargal-Azhukku Vetti | Rasathi | Tamil | Raj TV | |
| 2001 | Micro Thodargal-Nizhal Vilaiyattu | Gayathri | ||
| 2017–2018 | Nandhini | Bhairavi | Sun TV | |
| 2019–2020 | Azhagu | Shakunthala Devi | ||
| 2021–2022 | Kayal | Sivasankari | ||
| 2022 | Valli Thirumanam | Vasundhara | Colors Tamil | |
| 2024–Present | Thangamagal | Bhairavi | Star Vijay |
- Shows
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilamai Pudhumai | Host | Tamil | Sun TV | |
| Telephone Manipol | Host | Tamil | Vijay TV | |
| 2006 | Grandmaster | Herself | Tamil | Vijay TV |
| 2009 | Chennai Super Kings Cheer Leaders Talent Show | Vijay TV | ||
| 2012 | Super Kudumbam | Sun TV | ||
| 2016 | Achcham Thavir | Contestant | Vijay TV | |
| 2018 | Nandhini Kudumbam | Herself | Sun TV |
- Web Series
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dollhouse Diaries | Damayanthi | Tamil | MX Player |
References edit
- ^ "Azhagu fame Gayatri Jayaraman enjoys a vacation in Vietnam; see pics". Times Of India.
- ^ a b "பாலே டான்சர் பராக்!". Kalki (in Tamil). 11 November 2001. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Amid the glitz and glamour". The Hindu. 16 April 2002.
- ^ "Three cheers!". The Hindu. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ "Tamil movie news gayathri jayaram actress gayathri jayaram manadhai thirudivittai vaseegara picture gallery images". behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
- ^ #DhakDhakDhak Video Song | Uppena Movie | Panja VaishnavTej | Krithi Shetty | Vijay Sethupathi| DSP. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "'ನೀಲಾ', 'ಸ್ವಾಮಿ' ಬಳಿಕ ಸ್ಯಾಂಡಲ್ವುಡ್ಗೆ ರೀ-ಎಂಟ್ರಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ನಟಿ ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ ಜಯರಾಮನ್". Vijaya Karnataka (in Kannada). Retrieved 14 September 2021.
External links edit
