By Jilawatan

Asin Thottumkal moves from Kollywood to a bigger stage.

TAMIL cinema’s hottest female star is ready to conquer Bollywood.

Asin Thottumkal made her Bollywood debut in Ghajini, starring opposite bankable star Aamir Khan. The remake of the 2005 Tamil action-thriller of the same name grossed US$78.6mil (RM272mil) worldwide, turning it into Bollywood’s all-time highest-grossing movie.

In a recent phone interview from Mumbai, where she is now based, the 23-year-old says she was surprised by the reception.

“This was my first film in a new industry and I have been extremely humbled by the tremendous reception it has received,” says the young star.

On camera, she exudes a natural charm, but was acting with Aamir a little nerve-racking?

“Not at all,” she says with a laugh. “In fact, when I first heard Aamir wanted me to be in the movie, I didn’t give it too much thought. I grew up dancing to Aamir’s songs from films like Ghulam and Dil Chahta Hai. Like so many others, I have been a huge admirer of Aamir. When things fell into place, I decided to focus on the acting. It helped that he has no superstar airs about him.”

Asin was in Singapore last weekend for the International Tamil Film Awards where she received the best actress award for her role in Dasavathaaram (10 Avatars), in which she co-stars with Kollywood megastar Kamal Hassan. The latter won the living legend award for playing 10 different characters in the movie which tracks the lives of several individuals during the week prior to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Asked if doing a double role in the movie was tough, she says: “I only had to tell myself that Kamal Hassan was playing 10 roles. Two roles seemed no big deal compared to that. The film has a lot of computer-generated effects. The tough part was imagining all these things which didn’t exist when I was filming.”

But as Ghajini and Dasavathaaram show, Asin is a natural in front of the camera, having started modelling when she was just 14. Acting turned out to be a natural progression. Though she started acting early, she was focused on her studies as well.

The only child of a businessman and his doctor wife (both of whom have left their careers to focus on hers) says they were a major inspiration when it came to focusing on her education alongside her acting.

Her attendance record was, by her own admission, “appalling”, but she did get a bachelor’s degree in English literature from St Theresa’s College in Cochin.

She made her acting debut in a Malayalam film in 2001 but her breakthrough came in 2004 when the Tamil film M. Kumaran, Son of Mahalakshmi became a hit. This was followed by the Tamil blockbuster Ghajini in 2005.

But the stupendous success of the Hindi version of the movie has changed things dramatically for her. “Till now, I was only known by people in the south. Recently I was filming in Srinagar and Chandigarh and the response I received totally overwhelmed me. I was recognised everywhere.”

She has also been flooded with offers to do films. “I’ve been going through four script narrations a day. But I am in no hurry to sign everything that comes my way.”

She may have shifted base from Chennai to Mumbai, but celluloid’s latest darling is quick to add that this does not mean she will be doing Hindi films only.

“I hate living out of a suitcase and I moved to Mumbai for the sheer convenience of work,” she says. “All my film work and brand endorsements are in and around Mumbai. Being here does not mean I will stop doing cinema in other languages.”

She has finished filming London Dreams, which also stars Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, about childhood friends from Mumbai who struggle to become rock stars in London.

Next up is Walt Disney Pictures’ 19th Step, about a Japanese samurai warrior who travels to Kerala to learn the secrets of Kalaripayattu, an ancient Dravidian martial art, but ends up falling in love with a princess, which she plays.

Asked if talk about her starring opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan in an upcoming film is true, all she would say is: “I would rather let the production house make the announcement.”

And then, of course, there is the question of her dropping out of De Dana Dan (the action-comedy was recently shot in Singapore).

“That fell through because of a clash of dates,” she says.

She may be new to Bollywood, but she does know how to handle her publicity like a pro.