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Plain Jane turns shining star

Nayantara's career graph is set to soar

Nayantara epitomises the new spirit of the South Indian film industry. Not only is she beautiful and photogenic, she is also talented, professional and determined to make it to the top.

Today, she is bracketed among the top three heroines in the South and her rise in the last one-year has been phenomenal. At the moment, Nayantara is doing three Tamil films (`Vallavan,' `E,' `Thalaimagan') and two Telugu films with top heroes like Nagarjuna and Prabhas.

No one ever thought that this plain Jane from small town Thiruvalla would make it big in the glitzy world of cinema.

In fact, Diana Kurien was hand picked by veteran director Satyan Anthikkad, re-christened Nayantara and cast opposite Jayaram in `Manasinakkare.' Later, she played the ghost who falls in love with hero Mohanlal in Fazil's `Vismayathumbathu.'

She made her Tamil debut with Sarathkumar in Hari's `Ayya.' But it was the role opposite superstar Rajnikanth in `Chandramukhi' that skyrocketed her to stardom. "

Luck is important

Nayantara agrees that luck played an important role in her rise to stardom as she was part of two blockbusters `Chandramukhi' and `Ghajini,' and the hit `Kalvanin Kathali.'

Her `Lakshmi' is the first big hit of 2006 in Telugu and the item song with Vijay in `Sivakasi' made her a hit with the masses. Nayantara is now a brand by herself and she is one of the few leading ladies in Tamil who commands an opening.

Now, she wants to be more careful with the films she signs and goes through scripts with a fine-toothed comb.

Nayantara is all excited about her new film `Vallavan' in which she shares screen space with two other heroines, Reema Sen and Sandhya.

Nayantara says she is only focussed on her career at the moment and is refusing all the endorsement offers coming her way.

Concludes the pretty actress with her infectious smile: "I don't want to do ads and get overexposed. People should pay money and come and watch me and my films in theatres."

SREEDHAR PILLAI

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