Meenakshi (actress)

Meenakshi first appeared in two Telugu ventures, the historical fiction Hanumanthu [4] and the devotional film Sri Satyanarayana Swamy, under her birth name Pinky Sarkar; the latter featured her as goddess Lakshmi, with a reviewer from Indiaglitz.com writing that she "failed to emote well".[5]

In 2007, she made her Tamil debut in Karuppusamy Kuththagaithaarar, playing the role of Raasathi, a first year medical student.[6] She made an impression in the film and was subsequently flooded with similar girl next door roles. Not wanting to becoming typecast, she rejected all roles, took a break from acting and completed her education before returning to Chennai.[7]

In 2009, she had her next Tamil release, TN 07 AL 4777, which was a remake of the Hindi film Taxi No. 9211. She played the role of Pooja, a "rich extrovert and party loving cosmopolitan girl",[8] for which she went in for a fashion makeover.[7][9] That year, she starred in two more Tamil films, Sundar C.'s Perumal and Raghava Lawrence's Rajadhi Raja, besides making a special appearance in a third, Vishal's Thoranai;[7] however all films were box office failures.[10] The following year, she was seen in Karu Pazhaniappan's Mandhira Punnagai and Agam Puram,[10] after which she did not act for over three years as she was pursuing her MBA degree and taking care of her father who was not well.[11]

In 2014, she took up a lead role in Villangam and a supporting role in Vetrimaaran's Soodhadi besides agreeing to perform in a special song in Ezhil's Vellaikaara Durai.[12]