Raai Laxmi

Early life

Raai Laxmi was born in Bangalore, Karnataka to Ram Rai and Manjula Rai. Her family relocated to Belgaum.

Acting career

Early career (2005–2010)

In 2005, Laxmi made her film debut in the Tamil-language film Karka Kasadara. Subsequently, she appeared in a number of Tamil films, including the comedy film Kundakka Mandakka (2005) opposite R. Parthiban, Perarasu's action-masala flick Dharmapuri (2006) and the romance film Nenjai Thodu (2007). Valmiki (2005), opposite Shiva Rajkumar, marked her maiden film in Kannada.

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, directed by Jeeva. She received positive feedback for her portrayal of a lawyer in the latter. A review from Behindwoods wrote: "The latter (Raai Laxmi) sizzles even as she is supposed to play the court professional who is caught in the web of smuggling drugs". She won her first Filmfare Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category.

She made her debut in Malayalam in 2007, starring in Rock n' Roll, opposite Mohanlal. She followed it up with several successful films such as Annan Thampi (2008), 2 Harihar Nagar (2009), Evidam Swargamanu (2009) opposite Mohanlal, and Chattambinadu (2009) opposite Mammootty. She appeared in three Tamil films in 2009, Muthirai, Vaamanan and Naan Avanillai 2.

In Vaamanan (2009), she played a glamorous supermodel. In 2010, she was seen in three films. She made special appearances during song sequences in two of them, In Ghost House Inn and Pen Singam and portrayed a cowgirl in the Tamil film Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam.

Public recognition and success (2011–2014)

Laxmi's first 2011 release was Christian Brothers. Her next two films were Tamil projects, the comedy horror Kanchana and the Venkat Prabhu-directed action thriller Mankatha, starring Ajith Kumar. She played a negative character in the latter, which was received positively by critics. Following Kanchana success, she was signed on to reprise the role in its Kannada remake, Kalpana (2012). Her 2014 films were Irumbu Kuthirai, Aranmanai in Tamil and RajadhiRaja in Malayalam.

Recent work (2016–present)

In 2016, she signed two Tamil films, Bangalore Naatkal and Sowkarpettai. After a brief gap, she performed her second item number opposite Pawan Kalyan in his Telugu film Sardaar Gabbar Singh (2016). She debuted in Hindi with the movie Akira directed by AR Murugadoss.

She signed to perform her fourth item number with Chiranjeevi in his 150th film Khaidi No. 150 (2017), and later in Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva (2017) in Tamil with Raghava Lawrence. Raai Laxmi portrayed the lead role in her second Hindi film Julie 2 (2017).

In 2018, she made her comeback to Malayalam cinema with the Mammootty starrer Oru Kuttanadan Blog.

In 2019, she starred in horror movies Where Is the Venkatalakshmi in Telugu and Neeya 2 in Tamil; both were box office failures. She also starred in the Bollywood film, Officer Arjun Singh IPS Batch 2000.

In 2021, she starred in the Tamil horror movie Cinderella.

Filmography

Film

• Note: She was credited as Lakshmi Rai until 2014.

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "It's Raai Laxmi from now!". Deccan Chronicle.
2. "Lakshmi Rai is now Raai Laxmi".
3. "My journey into showbiz began from Belgaum: Lakshmi Rai".
4. "Raai Laxmi completes 14 years in the film industry".
5. "I was brought up like a boy: Raai Laxmi".
6. "Rai flooded with messages on birthday".
7. "I'm not a bunt, don't speak to me in Tulu: Raai Laxmi".
8. "Why Raai Laxmi doesn't share space with Sonakshi Sinha".
9. (23 December 2004). "Another Rai, another beauty queen – Tamil News".
10. (19 January 2023). "Telugu To Bollywood, Actress Raai Laxmi Is Working In Film Industries Across India".
11. (5 December 2007). "DHAAM DHOOM – MOVIE REVIEW CAST Jayam Ravi Kangana Ranaut Lakshmi Rai".
12. (20 August 2009). "Lakshmi Rai's hat trick with Mammootty!".
13. (17 April 2009). "Lakshmi is happy with life". [[The Times of India]].
14. (8 September 2011). "I'm on cloud nine, says Lakshmi Rai". ppSify.
15. (6 November 2011). "Lakshmi in Kanchana Kannada remake". [[The Times of India]].
16. (5 February 2016). "'Bangalore Naatkal' review: This remake doesn't measure up to the original Malayalam superhit".
17. (5 March 2016). "Sowkarpettai: Unintentionally horrifying". The Hindu.
18. "Excited to work with Pawan Kalyan: Raai Laxmi".
19. (31 March 2015). "Raai Laxmi lands a special role in "Akira"".
20. "Raai starts shooting for Khaidi No 150".
21. "Raai Laxmi to shake a leg with Chiru".
22. "Laxmi to shake a leg with Lawrence".
23. "Raai Laxmi is a modern girl in "Oru Kuttanadan Blog"".
24. (16 March 2019). "'Where Is The Venkatalakshmi' movie review: What is this Venkatalakshmi?".
25. "Neeya 2 review. Neeya 2 Tamil movie review, story, rating".
26. "Officer Arjun Singh IPS Movie Review: An attempt to redefine justice".
27. (11 August 2018). "Raai Laxmi's next is Cinderella".
28. (16 January 2017). "Lakshmi Rai is now Raai Laxmi". The Times of India.
29. "Karka Kasadara Photos – Tamil Movies photos, images, gallery, stills, clips".
30. "Kanchanamala Cable TV review. Kanchanamala Cable TV Telugu movie review, story, rating".
31. "Kundakka Mandakka".
32. "Neeku Naaku review. Neeku Naaku Telugu movie review, story, rating".
33. "Rock N Roll Malayalam Movie Preview cinema review stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes".
34. "Movie Review : Snehana Preethina".
35. "Watch Annan Thambi for Mammootty".
36. "Review: Minchina Ota".
37. "Parunthu is lacklustre".
38. (12 August 2004). "Horror is the genre now". The Hindu.
39. "2 Harihar Nagar".
40. "Muthirai: Wasted potential".
41. "Naan Avan Illai-2".
42. "First Look: Mammootty's Chattambinadu".
43. "Review: Ividam Swargamanu is worth watching".
44. "Mollywood beauties who sizzled in item numbers".
45. "Review: Christian Brothers is entertaining".
46. (7 September 2011). "Mankatha: Close game". The Hindu.
47. [http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/south-review-watch-oru-marubhoomikkatha-only-for-mohanlal/20111219.htm Review: Watch Oru Marubhoomikkatha only for Mohanlal – Rediff.com Movies]. Rediff.com (19 December 2011).
48. "Review: Casanovva disappoints big time".
49. "Mayamohini is a easy watch [sic]".
50. "Adhinayakudu". The Times of India.
51. "Review: Kalpana is an enjoyable horror film".
52. "Thaandavam".
53. (15 February 2013). "Kannada Review: "Attahasa" is technically brilliant".
54. "Review: Onbadhula Guru is a collection of comic scenes".
55. "Aaru Sundarimarude Katha Movie Review {2/5}: Critic Review of Aaru Sundarimarude Katha by Times of India".
56. "Lakshmi Rai to do a cameo in Balupu".
57. "Irumbu Kuthirai review. Irumbu Kuthirai Tamil movie review, story, rating".
58. "Review: Rajadhi Raja fails to impress".
59. "Aranmanai review. Aranmanai Tamil movie review, story, rating".
60. "Sowcarpettai Movie Review {1.5/5}: Critic Review of Sowcarpettai by Times of India".
61. (3 October 2015). "Lakshmi Rai with Pawan Kalyan in Sardaar Gabbar Singh".
62. "Chiranjeevi And Laxmi Rai Shoot a Special Song For Khaidi No 150".
63. (3 May 2016). "IndiaGlitz – Hot actress Raai Lakshmi kuthu song with Raghava Lawrence Motta Siva Ketta Siva – Tamil Movie News".
64. (1 August 2017). "Julie 2 movie review: Raai Laxmi's Bollywood debut is cringeworthy".
65. "Oru Kuttanadan Blog Review {3/5}: The movie has enough drama and flair to make it an engaging one-time watch".
66. (15 March 2019). "Where Is The Venkatalakshmi Review: What is this Venkatalakshmi?".
67. (24 May 2019). "Neeya 2 movie review: A bad spiritual sequel to Neeya that will make you go WTF".
68. (22 October 2019). "Movie Review: Officer Arjun Singh Ips Batch 2000".
69. (2 December 2018). "Srikanth and Raai Laxmi team up once again for Miruga".
70. "The trailer of Srikanth and Raai Laxmi's Mirugaa is here".
71. (15 June 2019). "Meaty roles are a rarity: Raai Laxmi".
72. (4 November 2018). "Cinderella first look: Raai Laxmi promises to deliver the goods with new adaptation of fairytale".
73. "Raai Laxmi's next titled, Cinderella".
74. "The Legend – Official Trailer {{!}} Legend Saravanan {{!}} Harris Jayaraj {{!}} JD –Jerry".
75. Features, C. E.. (2024-05-11). "Raai Laxmi's DNA gets a release date".
76. (4 January 2010). "Kerala: Ujala-Asianet film awards announced".
77. (31 August 2017). "Meet Julie 2 actor Raai Laxmi".
78. (21 June 2012). "SIIMA Awards 2012: Winners List". [[The Times of India]].