Lakshmi Rai (Tulu:
ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ರೈ), (Kannada: ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ರೈ), (Malayalam: ലക്ഷ്മി റായ്) (born May 5, 1981)
is an Indian film actress and model from Belgaum, Karnataka,
[2] predominantly appearing in Malayalam and Tamil films. While most of her Tamil releases performed poorly at the box office, she rose to fame with the popular Malayalam-language films
Annan Thambi (2008),
2 Harihar Nagar (2009),
Chattambinadu and
Evidam Swargamanu (2009), establishing herself as one of the leading actresses in the Malayalam film industry.
Career
Lakshmi Rai initially worked as a model before entering the film industry. She appeared in several television ads such as Sylcon Footwears, Josco Jewellers and Emmanuel Silks.
She made her acting debut in 2005 in the Tamil film
Karka Kasadara. Subsequently she appeared in a number of unsuccessful Tamil films, including
Kundakka Mandakka (2005),
Dharmapuri (2006), and
Nenjai Thodu (2007). In 2008, she began working in more serious films such as the drama film
Velli Thirai, in which she played herself, and the action thriller
Dhaam Dhoom. Her portrayal of a lawyer in the latter garnered her a Filmfare Award nomination in the category for Best Supporting Actress.
She made her debut in Malayalam in 2007, starring in
Rock & Roll opposite Mohanlal, which performed poorly at the box office. But she followed it up with several successful films such as
Annan Thambi,
2 Harihar Nagar (2009),
Evidam Swargamanu (2009), and
Chattambinadu (2009) opposite Mammootty, which helped her gain fame and popularity in Kerala. Further concentrating on Malayalam works, she is currently working on two Malayalam films, including the much-anticipated
Christian Brothers and
Casanovva both with Mohanlal.