Vedhika

Vedhika
Vedhika in 2019
Born	Vedhika Kumar (1988-02-21) 21 February 1988 (age 36)[1]
Occupations	Actress model

Vedhika Kumar (born 21 February 1988), known professionally as Vedhika is an Indian actress and model who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Vedhika is a recipient of an Asiavision Award and two Edison Awards, along with nominations for two Filmfare Awards South.^[2]

Vedhika started her acting career with the Tamil film Madrasi. She had her breakthrough with Paradesi (2013). She later established a career with successful films such as Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014), Shivalinga (2016), James & Alice (2016), Kanchana 3 (2019) and Home Minister (2022).^[3][4] In 2019, Vedhika also made her debut in Hindi films with The Body.^[5]

Early life

Vedhika was born on 21 February 1988 and was brought up in Mumbai. In an interview, Vedhika revealed that her family hails from the border areas of Maharashtra–Karnataka states. Her mother tongue is Kannada.^[6]

Career

Early work and fluctuations (2006-2012)

Early in her career, she was involved in modelling assignments and did a notable advert for biscuits alongside prominent actor Suriya. She was subsequently approached by Arjun to essay the lead role in his production Madrasi and Vedhika accepted the role.^[7] After the release of Madrasi, Vedhika went on to sign a big budget Hindi language film, Jai Santoshi Maa, a remake of the 1975 film of the same name, but the film failed to subsequently materialize and Vedhika continued acting in South Indian films.^[8] She went on to feature in Raghava Lawrence's comedy horror Muni, but her role was minimal once again and the film went to become an average grosser commercially.^[9] Her maiden Telugu venture was in Vijayadasami, a remake of the Tamil film Sivakasi, where her performance was described as "okay" and "average" by critics.^[10]

Her first release in 2008, the Silambarasan-starrer Kaalai, received negative reviews and became a commercial failure.^[11][12] However, the film became notable for the dance number, "Kutti Pisase" with Vedhika's dancing being critically appreciated. She went on to appear in a second successive film which was panned by critics and which became a financial failure with a role in Sakkarakatti. The long-delayed film featured Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj making his debut in the lead role and A. R. Rahman providing the soundtrack, however Vedhika's role was described as one of the sole positives from the project.^[13] Later that year, she starred in a Kannada film, Sangama opposite Ganesh. In 2009, she appeared as the radio jockey Anjali in A. Venkatesh's Malai Malai with the film consequently going on to become a success commercially.^[14] The film had little scope for Vedhika and reviews cited her role as "pure eye candy" whilst claiming she was "apt" for the role.^[15] She made a comeback to Telugu films in the same year, with a role in the critically acclaimed Baanam.^[16] Her role won her plaudits, whilst her on screen presence with Nara Rohit was praised with a critic citing she gives "good company as the naïve girl" and it is "refreshing to see them together". After the release of Baanam, Kumar took a sabbatical and did not sign any other films until, despite making an appearance in a notable advert with Karthi for mobile company Airtel. She signed and next featured in the Telugu film Daggaraga Dooranga opposite Sumanth, which opened to average reviews in August 2011.^[17]

Breakthrough and success (2013–present)

Vedhika at the premiere of Kabzaa

The actress was signed up by director Bala for Paradesi (2013), an adaptation of the 1969 tragic novel Red Tea, which saw her play a village girl opposite Adharvaa.^[18] Critics raved about her performance as Angamma, with the critic from Rediff.com noted, "Vedhika plays the role of a young village belle to perfection", while Sify.com labelled that she delivered a "spellbinding performance".^[19][20] Her second release in 2013, the Malayalam film Sringaravelan, became one of the commercial successes of the year.^[21] She then appeared in Vasanthabalan's 2014 film Kaaviya Thalaivan, which was set in the backdrop of Madras theatre scene of the 1920s, and featured her opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran and Siddharth.^[22][23] Portraying a character inspired by K. B. Sundarambal, Vedhika called it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and did extensive preparations.^[24][25] A reviewer from Deccan Chronicle stated that she "shines in a substantial role".^[26]

Vedhika played a possessed women opposite Shiva Rajkumar in the 2016 Kannada film Shivalinga.^{[citation needed]} The film emerged as one of the biggest commercial success of the year.^[27] Sunayana Suresh noted, "Vedhika shines in a demanding role, which gives her enough scope for versatility."^[28] Most of Vedhika's next releases were either commercial failures or average grosser, except for the Tamil film Kanchana 3 (2019) and Kannada film Home Minister (2022). In Kanchana 3, she played the lead opposite Raghava Lawrence, and the film was a success at the box office.^[29][30] In Home Minister opposite Upendra, she played an investigative reporter.^[31] A Sharadhaa stated that she plays her part well.^[32] In 2019, Vedhika also made her Hindi film debut with The Body opposite Emraan Hashmi. The film was an official remake of the 2012 Spanish film of the same name.^[33] A reviewer of Filmfare wrote, "Vedika looks pretty and she does whatever she could with the ill-written material she was provided with."^[34]

Media image

Vedika in 2019

In the Chennai Times Most Desirable Women list, Vedhika was placed 20th in 2013 and 17th in 2014.^[35][36] In its Bangalore Times Most Desirable Women list, she was placed 10th in 2016 and 21st in 2018.^[37][38] In 2024, Vedhika along with PETA, donated a mechanical elephant to a temple in Kannur.^[39]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Films

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language	Notes	Ref.
2006	Madrasi	Anjali	Tamil
2007	Muni	Priya Ganesh
	Vijayadasami	Devi	Telugu
	Sakkarakatti	Reema	Tamil
2008	Kaalai	Brindha
	Sangama	Lakshmi	Kannada
2009	Malai Malai	Anjali	Tamil
	Baanam	Subbalakshmi Panigrahi	Telugu
2011	Daggaraga Dooranga	Meenakshi
2013	Paradesi	Angamma	Tamil
	Sringaravelan	Radha	Malayalam
2014	Kaaviya Thalaivan	Ganakokilam' Vadivambal "Vadivu"	Tamil
	Cousins	Arathi	Malayalam
2016	Shivalinga	Satyabhaama "Satya"	Kannada
	James & Alice	Alice	Malayalam
	Welcome to Central Jail	Radhika
2017	Gowdru Hotel	Rishi's girlfriend	Kannada
2019	Kanchana 3	Priya	Tamil
	The Body	Ritu Jha / Isha Rawal	Hindi
	Ruler	Sandhya	Telugu
2022	Bangarraju	Menaka	Telugu	Cameo appearance
	Home Minister	Surekha	Kannada
2024	Razakar	Shanthavva	Telugu
	Petta Rap	Janaki	Tamil
	Fear	Sindhu / Indu	Telugu		[40]
	Gana †	TBA	Kannada	Post-production	[41][42]
	Gajaana †	TBA	Tamil	Post-production	[43]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Language	Ref.
2024	Yakshini	Maya	Disney+Hotstar	Telugu	[44]

Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2014	Paradesi	Edison Awards	Best Extreme Performance – Female	Won	[45]
		Techofes	Best Actress	Won	[46]
		Vijay Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	[47]
		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Tamil	Nominated	[48]
2015	Kaaviya Thalaivan	Filmfare Awards South		Nominated	[49]
		Edison Awards	Best Extreme Performance - Female	Won	[50]
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Tamil	Nominated	[51]
		Vijay Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	[52]
		Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards	Best Actress	Won	^[citation needed]
2016	James & Alice	Asiavision Awards	Performer of the Year	Won	[53]
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Malayalam	Nominated	[54][55]
	Shivalinga		Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated
2024	Fear	Avignon International Film Festival (AIFF)	Best Actress in Feature Film	Won
		Five Continents International Film Festival	Best Lead Actress Feature Film	Won
		Golden Lion International Film Festival	Best Actress	Won
		Rome International Movie Awards	Best Actress	Won
		Long Key International Film Awards	Best Actress	Won	[56]

References

1. "Happy Birthday Vedhika!". The Times of India. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
2. "Top 10 glamorous looks of Vedhika". The Times of India.
3. Kohli, Sonali (21 February 2016). "Kannada Shivalinga 2nd Week 10th Day Box Office Collection Worldwide Earning". Dekh News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
4. "Tamil film 'Kanchana 3' hits the jackpot, mints Rs 100-crore in a week". The Economic Times. 27 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
5. "Emraan Hashmi announces his next, The Body, a suspense thriller with Rishi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Vedhika". Bollywood Hungama. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
6. SM, Shashiprasad (27 January 2016). "Shivarajkumar comes from a prestigious family but is so down-to-earth: Vedhika". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2022. I was brought up in Mumbai, but my grandparents hail from the border areas of Karnataka, and hence my mother tongue is Kannada. I speak the North Kannada dialect.
7. Cinema Plus / Columns : My first break – Vedika. The Hindu (30 January 2009). Retrieved 18 October 2011.
8. Metro Plus Visakhapatnam / Cinema : Bollywood bound. The Hindu (15 April 2006). Retrieved 18 October 2011.
9. Movie Review:Muni. Sify.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
10. "Reviews : Movie Reviews : Vijaya Dasami – Movie Review". Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
11. Movie Review:Kaalai. Sify.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
12. Kaalai: A wasted effort. Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
13. Review: Sakkarakkatti. Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
14. Vedhika is married to work. The Times of India. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
15. Movie Review:Malai Malai. Sify.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
16. Rajamani, Radhika (16 September 2009). "Baanam is interesting". Rediff.com.
17. Vedika in Sumanth starrer. Sify.com (27 April 2011). Retrieved 18 October 2011.
18. "Atharva ready for Bala's next". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
19. "Review: Paradesi is exceptional". Rediff.com. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
20. "Movie Review : Paradesi". Sify. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
21. "Vedhika to romance Dileep". The Times of India. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
22. "Vedhika not afraid of being typecast". The New Indian Express.
23. "Vedhika Interview: The Fairy Tale Princess". 24 November 2014.
24. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (5 December 2014). "The taste of success". The Hindu.
25. "'Kaaviya Thalaivan' was a Rewarding Experience: Vedhika". The New Indian Express.
26. "Movie review 'Kaaviya Thalaivan': An excellent movie straight from Balan's heart". Deccan Chronicle. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
27. Bharadwaj, K. V. Aditya (13 February 2016). "Shivalinga: When a ghost turns sleuth". The Hindu.
28. "Shivalinga Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
29. "Oviya vedhika: Oviya, Vedhika team up with Lawrencce in 'Kanchana 3'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
30. "Bigil, Petta, Viswasam, Kanchana 3, Nerkonda Paarvai, Kaithi power Kollywood's theatrical takings in 2019 to Rs 1000 cr". Firstpost. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
31. "KGF Chapter 2 box office collection Day 25: Yash-starrer becomes third highest-grossing Indian film". India Today. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
32. "Home Minister Movie Review: A family entertainer that addresses an important issue". Cinema Express. 2 April 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
33. "Jeethu Joseph's 'The Body' gets a release date". New Indian Express. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
34. "The Body Movie Review". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
35. "Shruti Hassan- MOST DESIRABLE WOMEN OF CHENNAI". Deccan-Journal. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
36. "Chennai Times 25 Most Desirable Women in 2014". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
37. "Bangalore Times Most Desirable Woman 2016: Srinidhi Shetty". Times of India. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
38. "Bangalore Times' Most Desirable Women of 2018: The queens of desire". Times of India. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
39. "Actor Vedhika, PETA India gift mechanical elephant to Kannur temple". India Today. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
40. "Teaser of Vedhika-starrer Fear to be out on this date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
41. "ಪ್ರಜ್ವಲ್ ದೇವರಾಜ್‌ ಹೊಸ ಸಿನಿಮಾಕ್ಕೆ ನಾಯಕಿ ಫಿಕ್ಸ್‌; 'ಶಿವಲಿಂಗ' ಬೆಡಗಿ ಜೊತೆ 'ಡೈನಾಮಿಕ್ ಪ್ರಿನ್ಸ್' ಡ್ಯುಯೆಟ್". Vijaya Karnataka (in Kannada). Retrieved 12 January 2022.
42. "Vedhika to play lead female role in Prajwal Devaraj-starrer Gana". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
43. "'Kagidha Megam' from Vedhika's Gajaana out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
44. "From 'Krishnamma' to 'Yakshini', 6 must-watch OTT releases to stream on Netflix & Prime Video". Economic Times. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
45. "Edison Awards 2014".
46. "PARADESI (2012)".
47. "8th Annual Vijay Awards a grand success". The Times of India. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
48. "61st Filmfare Awards (South) winners list". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
49. "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)".
50. "Happy birthday Vedhika: Check out some gorgeous photos of the diva".
51. "Kaththi, Dhanush and Hansika Motwani shine at SIIMA 2015". The Times of India. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
52. "Vijay Awards 2015 – Complete list of winners". Sify. 26 April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
53. "Asiavision Movie Awards 2016 announced: and the winners are".
54. "SIIMA Nominations: Theri, Janatha Garage, Maheshinte Prathikaram and Kirik Party lead".
55. "6th SIIMA 2017 Day 1: Jr NTR bags Best Actor, Kirik Party wins Best Film". India Today. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
56. Kotzathanasis, Panos (14 October 2024). "Indian thriller Fear wins top prize at Long Key Awards 2024". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 28 November 2024.

External links

• Vedhika at IMDb
• Vedhika on Instagram