Heera Rajagopal

Heera Rajagopal
Born	Heera Rajagopal (1971-12-29) December 29, 1971 India
Occupation	Actress, philanthropist
Years active	1991–1999

Heera Rajagopal is a former Indian actress who has appeared in a number of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films.

Career

As a military brat, Heera shifted to schools across different states in India every few years. She later pursued a degree in psychology at Women's Christian College, Chennai. During her time in college, Heera was approached to model for print magazines and she took on the opportunities for financial independence. She also briefly worked as an encyclopaedia-seller, a hotel worker and a model coordinator in her days as a student. Heera was initially not keen for a career in films and turned down initial approaches for roles by film directors. She first received a film offer on a family holiday at Gulmarg in Kashmir, where a producer had approached her to play the body double for Tina Munim. She also later rejected an offer from filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who had attended one of her modelling assignments.

In 1991, soon after finishing college, Heera accepted to play the lead female role in Kathir's Tamil romantic drama film Idhayam. Despite her initial apprehensions, she was convinced by film producer T. G. Thyagarajan to become an actress, and she obliged, crediting the professional approach and continued determination of the film's team to sign her on. She portrayed a medical student, who does not notice her classmate's love for her, throughout the entire film. The film performed well at the box office, and has since been discussed as a "cult film" in Tamil cinema. Heera's second film Nee Pathi Naan Pathi (1991), was directed by Vasanth and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. She then starred in four films opposite actor Sarathkumar in quick succession, before playing a single mother in Sabash Babu (1993), written by T. Rajender.

Heera was cast by Mani Ratnam in his caper film Thiruda Thiruda (1993), and portrayed a rural belle who becomes a thief on the run, alongside actors Prashanth and Anand. A critic from The New Indian Express wrote there was "a drastic change of image from her hitherto sophisticated roles" and that she enacts it "so successfully". She later debuted in Bollywood through Raj Sippy's Amanaat (1994) co-starring Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar. The film had a delayed release, after being impacted by Dutt's criminal litigation process.

In the mid-1990s, Heera continued to act in high-profile Tamil productions, though often as one of several female lead actresses. She notably appeared in Balu Mahendra's comedy drama Sathi Leelavathi (1995), alongside an ensemble cast including Kamal Haasan, Ramesh Aravind and Raja. She portrayed a corporate manager in Agathiyan's Kadhal Kottai (1996), co-starring Ajith Kumar and Devayani. The film performed well at the box office, and went on to win several National Film Awards. She later featured in a supporting role opposite Kamal Haasan in K. S. Ravikumar's comedy drama Avvai Shanmughi (1996).

Heera opted to quit the film industry in late 1999 citing she did not want to "succumb to the inevitable pressures" to play roles that did not appeal to her intellect sensibilities.

Personal life

Heera dated actor Ajith Kumar, who she co-starred with in films such as Kadhal Kottai (1996) and Thodarum (1999). The pair eventually split up in July 1998.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
1991	Idhayam	Geetha	Tamil
	Nee Pathi Naan Pathi	Madhu	Tamil
1992	Public Rowdy		Telugu
	Endrum Anbudan	Kamali	Tamil
1993	Dasarathan		Tamil
	Munarivippu	Padma	Tamil
	Band Master		Tamil
	Sabash Babu	Lalitha	Tamil
	Thiruda Thiruda	Rajathi	Tamil
	Apoorva Jodi		Kannada
1994	Namma Annachi	Priya	Tamil
	Thaatboot Thanjavoor		Tamil
	Dongala Rajyam		Telugu
	Amanaat	Gita	Hindi
	The Gentleman		Hindi
1995	Sathi Leelavathi	Priya	Tamil
	Nirnayam	Annie	Malayalam
	Minnaminuginum Minnukettu	Pinky Menon	Malayalam
	Oru Abhibhashakante Case Diary	Indu	Malayalam
1996	Little Soldiers	Anitha	Telugu
	Sri Karam		Telugu
	Krishna	Tara	Tamil
	Kadhal Kottai	Neha	Tamil
	Mr. Bechara	Asha Varma	Hindi
	Aur Ek Prem Kahani	Kokila	Hindi
	Avvai Shanmughi	Ratna	Tamil
1997	Aahvaanam		Telugu
	Kalavida		Kannada
	Chelikadu		Telugu
1998	Aavida Maa Aavide	Jhansi	Telugu
	Sundara Pandian	Ramya	Tamil
	Poothiruvathira Ravil	Aswathy	Malayalam
	Yaare Neenu Cheluve	Diana	Kannada
	Antahpuram	Dancer	Telugu	Special appearance in a song
	Padutha Thiyaga		Telugu
	Yuvaratna Rana		Telugu
	Pooveli	Shalini	Tamil
1999	Thodarum	Meera	Tamil
	Peddamanushulu		Telugu
	Alludugaaru Vachcharu	Shalini	Telugu
	Suyamvaram	Indiran's girlfriend	Tamil