Meet Vasundhara Das acted with Kamal Haasan & Ajith and bid adieu to acting

Meet Vasundhara Das
acted with Kamal Haasan & Ajith and bid adieu to acting

Actress and singer Vasundhara Das is passionately reminisced by many, particularly those who grew up in the 1990s. While she appeared in only a handful of Tamil films, she has long held a special place in the hearts of her fans.

Vasundhara made her Tamil cinema debut in 2000 with the film Hey Ram, and shared screen space with Kamal Haasan. Her performance in the film, which turned out to be a major box-office success, quickly won her recognition and opened the door to further opportunities in the industry.

While she has acted in Malayalam, and Kannada films, she appeared most frequently in Hindi cinema. In fact, her shift to Bollywood was partly driven by the limited opportunities she found in Tamil cinema.

One of the foremost Tamil films of her career was Citizen, a milestone project for actor Ajith Kumar and directed by Saravana Subbiah. Interestingly, the role Vasundhara played in Citizen was originally intended for Sameera Reddy. However, due to language barrier — Sameera Reddy wasn’t versed with Tamil and the director did not know Hindi. Eventually she was replaced. Amidst the film’s production, composer Deva approached Vasundhara Das to croon a song Pookara. Impressed by her voice and screen presence, the director felt she would be ideal opposite Ajith and cast her in the lead role.

Whilst Vasundhara wasn’t a trained dancer, she worked hard to perform the dance sequences in Citizen. She also lent her voice to two songs in the film: I Like You and Pookara.

Her talent as a playback singer was also evident in the hit song “Shakalaka Baby”from film Mudhalvan, composed by AR Rahman, which was widely appreciated.

Her starrer Citizen, released in 2001, generated massive anticipation and went on to emerge as a commercial hit film leading to renewed interest in Vasundhara’s acting career. But, around that time, she chose to focus on projects in other languages, including Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu films.

After 2007, Vasundhara gradually distanced Ifrom acting, leaving many fans wondering over her whereabouts. As of today, Vasundhara Das lives in Bengaluru, where she leads a music initiative called Drumjam, through which she organises musical concerts and workshops.

Having kept a distance from the limelight, she now leads a quieter life devoted to music.
Over the years, her appearance has transformed, and she is now almost unrecognisable to some fans.

News Edit KV Raman