Happy Birthday Jo!

[Pics Courtesy RmKV]

Inniku namma Jo birthday… So ellarum JOra oru thadavai kai thattunga! While I take a short stroll down memory lane with the birthday girl…

Jo was first seen as Ajith’s fictional lover in Vaali. She looked cute but it was a miracle I even noticed her since the heroine was Simran! She was expressive and bubbly but the following movies, especially Kushi, took those characteristics to irritating levels. I distinctly remember one particular scene in Kushi (where she apologizes to Vijay) which is probably the scene where she overacted the most in her career. She did tone her expressions down in movies like Mugavari and Dumm Dumm Dumm and gradually began growing on me.

Personally, 12B is the movie where I became Jo's fan. As I said in my review “she has toned down her facial contortions to just the right level and now one can marvel at the wide array of expressions she turns on and off with ease”. But the film itself was a box-office flop and with no hits for almost 2 full years, she was pretty much written off.

But 2003 saw the long-deserved upswing in her fortunes. She opened the year with Dhool; she was gorgeous and earned our sympathy in Kaakka Kaakka (my favorite Jo character so far); and she ended the year with another hit in Thirumalai. She continued the good streak in 2004 with a double role and a Filmfare award for Perazhagan and a hit in Manmadhan. And she can now claim that she played the title role in the biggest hit in Tamil film history! Way to go, Jo!

So here’s a very Happy Birthday to Kollywood’s most loveable heroine...