Meenakshi

Meenakshi, also known as Sharmilee or Sharmili, is a Malayalam actress. She made her debut in Malayalam films. The Kerala Film Critics Association named her their 2005 debutante artist. In all of her Tamil-language films, she was credited as Sharmilee. In Malayalam, she rechristened herself as Meenakshi, the character she played in Kakkakarumbam.

In 2005, she appeared in the movie Junior Senior, where she acted aside Mukesh and Kunchacko Boban. This movie was a remake of Hindi classic hit, Yes Boss, where Meenakshi reprised the role played by Juhi Chawla. Same year, Ponmudipuzhayorathu was also released. Oru chri kandaal was one of the top songs of Malayalam in the year 2005. Later, Meenakshi faded away from the films.

In 2004, Meenakshi told an interviewer that "I love to act in more Malayalam films as the characters here have depth and the heroines have much more to do than just look good."

Her debut Tamil movie was Aasai Aasaiyai in 2003 with Jiiva, who also made his debut with this film. This movie was not very well received in the box office even though the story and Sharmeelee's acting got good reviews from critics. This was then followed by Anbe Anbe with Shaam was classified as a medium hit in the box office. Her third Tamil movie was Diwan with Sarathkumar. This movie won her rave reviews for her performance. It was followed by her Telugu entry through the movie Tarak in 2003. In 2004, she made her debut in Malayalam Industry with two movies - Vellinakshatram and Kaakkakarumban. Her first movie Vellinakshatram was a mega hit and her performance was appreciated by many. After that she established herself in Malayalam movies with a string of hit movies. The same year, Youth festival and Black(cameo appearance) were also released. Later however, she failed to sustain in Malayalam film industry and tried her luck in other regional languages.