Thulasi Nair (actress)

Thulasi Nair
Thulasi Nair at the 60th Filmfare Awards South
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2013-2014
Parent(s)	Radha Nair
Relatives	Karthika Nair (sister)

Thulasi Nair is former Indian film actress who has appeared in 2 Tamil language films. After making her debut in Mani Ratnam's 2013 drama film Kadal, she has since gone on to work on Ravi K. Chandran's directorial debut Yaan (2014).

Aged 14, Thulasi was first considered for a role in director Mani Ratnam's Kadal after being recommended by actress Suhasini to audition for the lead role in November 2011. She was initially rejected with the director noting she was "too young for the role", before the team chose to sign her following Samantha's exit from the project. She would feature alongside fellow debutant Gautham Karthik in the leading roles, coincidentally 32 years after her mother and Gautham's father had also debuted together in Bharathiraja's Alaigal Oivathillai (1981). Thulasi lost twelve kilograms for the film and she went through a series of pre-production workshops conducted by actress Kalairani before the first schedule. Portraying the role of Beatrice, a young nurse with a child like personality, Thulasi worked alongside an ensemble cast including Arvind Swamy and Arjun and shot scenes across coastal Tamil Nadu. Her appearance was kept away from the media prior to release, with a clause in her contract preventing her from partaking in media interaction. The film opened in February 2013 to mixed reviews and the film became a commercial failure at the box office. Thulasi's performance won positive reviews from critics, with Rediff.com noting that "when the script demands that she come to life at the end she manages to do it well." Similarly, another reviewer added "Thulasi, is natural and has lent an air of grace to her role", while Sify.com wrote "though she has a very little screen space, she has tried her best to do a fair job of the young, chirpy girl." Her performance could fetched nominations for Best Female Debut Actress at the Vijay Awards and the South Indian International Movie Awards in 2014.