Vishakha Singh

Vishakha Singh

Vishakha Singh in July 2013
Occupation Actress, producer

Vishakha Singh is an Indian film actress and producer.

She appeared in South Indian language films, before starring in Bollywood projects with Oscar nominee director Ashutosh Gowariker's 2010 period piece Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. She was nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance of the Year in 2010, for the same role by StarDust Awards.[1]

She also works as a part time venture capitalist in her father's company based out of London and Dubai. She is well known for her support of The Dark is Beautiful campaign , The Kalpavriksha Project for The LGBT community and Women's Rights issues. She is a frequent figure on the Red Carpet at the Cannes Film Festival[2] and was part of the producers workshop at the Festival de Cannes in 2014.

Career

She did her schooling from Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS) and Delhi Public School.[3] She completed her graduation in business studies from Delhi University.[4] She said that she wanted to be a teacher and did her post graduation in advertising and public relations.[5] She started modelling in 2007 and appeared in many television and print commercials.[6] She made her feature film debut with a Telugu film Gnaapakam in 2008, which did not do well.[6] After that, she starred in one Tamil, and two Kannada films, 'Antaraatma' and 'Housefull'.

She made her Hindi film debut with Hum Se Jahan, which was never released on DVD and only in theatres, in 2008.[6] However she got noticed in director Ashutosh Gowarikar's Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey for which she received a "Best Breakthrough Performance – Female" nomination from Stardust Awards (2011).[7][8][9][10][11] She acted in Abhijeet Sengupta's Do Aur Do Paanch,[12] which did not release.

In 2012 Vishakha ventured into film production. She has co-produced Peddlers, directed by Vasan Bala, along with Guneet Monga and Anurag Kashyap Films (AKFPL). The film was selected at the critic week at the Cannes Film Festival 2012.[13] She has also co produced Haramkhor, directed by Shlok Sharma, with Guneet Monga and AKFPL.[14] The film is set to release in 2015. After three years she made a comeback to acting in Tamil films. Vishakha's second Tamil film Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya released on 13 January 2013 and which went onto become the first blockbuster of the Tamil film industry in that year. Back in Bollywood she signed on three films that released in succession in 2013. Her first two films were Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Fukrey and Vikram Bhatt's Ankur Arora Murder Case both the films released on 14 June 2013. Her third film was director Shahant Shah's Bhajathe Raho which released the next month. She said that Fukrey made a lot of difference and changed people's perceptions and that she turned down nine films after Fukrey.[14]

Vishakha is also set to make her Malayalam debut in director Rajesh Pillai's forthcoming film Motorcycle Diaries, and her next Tamil film is with Vaaliba Raja, with the same team that worked on Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya.[15] She returns to Telugu films with Rowdy Fellow, opposite Nara Rohit[4] and has stated that she plays "a girl who looks like an angel but is a devil in disguise".[6] She is also acting in The Maya Tape, a horror thriller, directed by Nikhil Alag, in which she plays a journalist.[14] She was signed for an important role in the film, albeit a cameo role, in R. Kannan's Oru Oorla Rendu Raja.[16]

Filmography

Year Film Role Language Notes
2007 Gnaapakam Sarangi Telugu
2008 Pidichirukku Manju Mariyadas Tamil
2008 Humsey Hai Jahaan Esha Singh Hindi
2009 Housefull Aishwarya Kannada
2010 Antharathma Mahi Shyam Kannada
2010 The Genius of Beauty English
2010 Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Pritilata Waddedar Hindi Nominated, Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance – Female
2013 Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya Sowmiya Tamil
2013 Ankur Arora Murder Case Dr. Riya Hindi
2013 Fukrey Neetu Hindi
2013 Bajatey Raho Manpreet Hindi
2014 Rowdy Fellow Telugu
2014 The Maya Tape Hindi Filming[17]
2014 Motorcycle Diaries Malayalam Filming[18]
2014 Vaaliba Raja Shalu Tamil Filiming[19]
2014 Thuram Telugu Filming[20]
2014 Oru Oorla Rendu Raja Kalpana Tamil Nov 7th

References

  1. ↑ "Bollywood's Best Actresses, 2010 – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Vishakha Singh at Cannes 2014: A complete surprise, bollywood.celebden.com, retrieved 28 March 2015
  3. ↑ "Film pedigree doesn't ensure BO success: Vishaka – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Vishakha Singh returns to Telugu movies – The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Film pedigree doesn't ensure BO success: Vishaka – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "|". Deccanchronicle.com. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Vishakha Singh is a complete natural. She catches one's attention instantly.,". Taran Adarsh, Oneindia.com. 2 December 2010.
  8. ↑ "Vishakha create a smouldering,". Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India. 2 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Vishakha Singh does very well as Pritilata Waddedar,". Raja Sen Rediff.com. 3 December 2010.
  10. ↑ "Vishakha Singh are superb". Sarita Tanwar, Mid Day. 4 December 2010.
  11. ↑ "Vishakha Singh has her moments; she has an expressive face and equally expressive eyes.". Komal Nahta, koimoi.com. 3 December 2010.
  12. ↑ "'I Am A Maverick' – Vishakha Singh – Planet Bollywood Features". Planetbollywood.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. ↑ sudhish kamath (26 May 2013). "Cup runneth over". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "I am not your typical actress: Vishakha Singh – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Vishakha is game for a motorcycle ride – Times of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  16. ↑ Vishakha’s special role in Kannan’s film, The Times of India, 19 April 2014
  17. ↑ Bollywood (8 August 2013). "'Fukrey' girl Vishaka Singh's next to be a supernatural thriller | CanIndia NEWS". Canindia.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "'I have a karmic connection with Tamil films'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "KLTA trio comes together for family entertainer – Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Vishakha Singh to act with Manoj Bajpayee – Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.

External links