Gopika

Gopika
Gopika in 2008
Born	Girly Anto (1984-08-21) 21 August 1984 Ollur, Thrissur, Kerala
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2003–2009, 2013
Religion	Saint Thomas Christian[1][2][3]
Spouse(s)	Ajilesh Chacko (2008–present)

Gopika Kularuban (born 26 August 1984^[4][5] as Girly Anto) is an Indian film actress, who has predominantly starred in Malayalam films. Starting her career as a model, she ventured into acting with the film Pranayamanithooval (2003). She went on to appear in over 35 films, working in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries as well.

Early life

Gopika was born as Girly Anto in a Syrian Christian family^[6] to Anto Francis and Tessy Anto in Ollur in Thrissur, Kerala. She has one sister, Glini. After completing her 12th standard in St. Raphael's Convent Girls High School, Ollur, she studied sociology from the Calicut University. She learnt classical dance from her teacher Kamalher. She was crowned as Miss College during her farewell. The beauty contest Miss Thrissur was turning point in her life. Though she did not win the title, she stood as the first runner up in the contest which gained her few modeling assignments. She claims that she never wanted to be an actress, and her ambition was to be airhostess.^[7]

Career

Her first film was Pranayamanithooval, in which she starred with Jayasurya and Vineeth. Pranayamanithooval, directed by Director Thulasi Das did not do well but got her recognition in the film industry. She got a second film 4 the People which was a blockbuster and had its prints dubbed in many different Indian Languages. The film was directed by Jayaraj and she acted opposite Bharath. The song "Lejjavathiye Ninde Kalla Kadaikkannil" from the film was also a big hit in Kerala. Renowned Tamil movie director Cheran signed her up for his film Autograph which was another big hit in 2004. She also acted in Kana Kandaen.

Among her other movies she has acted in Kannada film Kanasina Loka and the Telugu remake of Azhagi. Her Telugu film Leta Manasulu directed by Raju Upati crashed at the box office. She starred in the Malayalam movie Kirtichakra opposite Superstar Mohanlal. Directed by Major Ravi the movie tells the story about a soldier against the backdrop of Kargil war. Apart from Kirtichakra, she also did another movie with Dileep Pachakuthira. Her previous film with Dileep Chanthupottu was a big hit. Veruthe Oru Bharya was a phenomenal hit and it also fetched her the Asianet Best actress award of 2008.She has acted in many advertisements

Personal life

On 17 July 2008, Gopika married Ajilesh Chacko, a doctor working in Northern Ireland. She has come back to the cinema industry after marriage, acting in the movie Swantham Lekhakan and says that she will continue to act in more films if she gets good opportunities and likes the script. She says that her husband doesn't mind her acting and that she is getting a lot of support from him and her family. A daughter, Amy, was born to them in Belfast on 14 April 2010. Gopika made a comeback to the Malayalam cinema in the movie Bharya Athra Pora along with Jayaram, directed by Akku Akbar.^[8]

Awards

• 2004 – Asianet Best Supporting Actress Award – Vesham
• 2006 – Asianet Best Star Pair Award – Keerthi Chakra
• 2009 – Asianet Best Actress Award – Veruthe Oru Bharya
• 2008 – Vanitha Film Award for Best Actress – Veruthe Oru Bharya

Filmography

References

External links

• Gopika at the Internet Movie Database

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