Where in the world is Girija?!
Any talk about Idhayathai Thirudaathey - or its Telugu original Geethanjali - invariably brings up the question "Whatever happened to Girija after that?". Its pretty obvious why. After a dream debut via which she captured the hearts of cinegoers as Geethanjali in that film, she appeared in only 1 movie, the Mohanlal-starrer Vandanam, and then completely vanished off the face of the earth (Google and comments on earlier posts have yielded the information that she also acted in another Telugu movie Hrudayanjali and was the first choice for Aamir Khan's Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and can actually be seen in one of the songs in that movie). There has been no news of her since.
Personally, I can never forget Girija because she gave shape to the first - maybe only? - movie character I ever fell in love with. And that was as much due to her as it was to the way the role was shaped by Manirathnam. I loved her carefree dancing in the rain; I laughed at her mischievous nature as she lured unsuspecting wannabe-lovers to the graveyard; I enjoyed her playfulness as she got Nagarjuna into trouble; I was heartbroken upon learning that her days were numbered; I admired her attitude as she was determined to live the rest of her life to the fullest; I understood her surprise at the realization that she had fallen in love; and I cried when she yearned to extend her life. Her expressions - like the mock dead pose she strikes when Nagarjuna brings her back or the shocked reaction she shows when he proposes to her - are firmly imprinted on my mind to this day. Girija was undoubtedly the biggest reason for Idhayathai Thirudaathey being the movie I watched the most number of times on the big screen.
Thanks to Namita, one of the commentors in the previous post, the question I mentioned in the first paragraph has finally been answered. Turns out Girija has a blog! So we now know that her last name is Shettar, she is a reporter and lives in London (I am a bit peeved though that Idhayathai Thirudaathey doesn't figure in her list of favorite movies on her profile!). Whew! Now I know the meaning of jenma sabalyam :)
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38 Comments:
wow interesting, i won't have guessed to be a journalist. but good for her.
Despite make a high profile, crictically acclaimed and succesful debut, Girija choosed to stay away from the limelight and never again appear. It's also the same with Abitha who debuted in "sethu" and was not seen again baring an insignificent film.
Wow, that's a feel good post there. You should get in touch =D
Sorry, I just had to say this...
All thanx to Namita =D She solves most filmgoer's dreams in India =D
Skanda, Abitha appeared in a couple of lowly films afterwards and now is a lead star in the boring teledrama "Thangamana Purushan", where she is evidently guilty of over acting.
Skanda,
Abitha acted with Ramarajan in Seerivarum Kalai after Sethu.
Girija looks scary in her blog.
sorry...for the benefit of non-tamils...please tell us wat jenna sabalyam means. thx
-samir
I heard that she was Nagarjuna's classmate when he was studying in the US(?)
BTW, I visited her blog. Super boring to read!
jenma saabalyam means, the purpose of my life is fulfilled! bb was sarcastic in saying so (I think ;-))
bb, just curious - if you were stuck in an island with the choice of only one movie DVD - would it be Idhayathai Thirudaathey or Mouna Raagam?
Skanda missed a preposition:
Post sethu, abitha, she was seen baring in an insignificant film:-)
(Conveniently for me, he misspelt barring!)
You must have been 19 when this movie got released. Looks like it's coming of age movie for you ;)
While you are at finding people, can you find out what happenned to Heera Rajagopal?
Hehe, thanx, Balaji. I never knew this meant that much, I found the link on a hub or something =D
And Prin, hehe, I see what you have done there. :)
Yaadayaada, I looked up Heera Rajgopal in much detail.
I found some astonishing news, it seems, she has gone through a livid couple of years with her ex-husband and his family, and has come out a very strong woman.
This is a much better read, than Girija, hehe.
http://www.heerarajagopal.com/
Namitha, =D
"Girija Shettar" is also on Facebook.
Deivamae:-)
But I am shocked. I guess films give a charisma that most can't carry offscreen. Like Vijay.
Ithayathai Thirudathey was something. Truly, it was an 80s magic. Bad comedy, a serious storyline. But the soul in the film, Girija, Maniratnam, PC and Ilayaraja, in no particular order, made it great. I really found Nag to be not so much a factor for its evergreen status. Even Nag's most famous Shiva, was more the whole product than Nag's stone-face, that made it so huge.
Hmmm...those were the days. Where is the magic, in films these days?
-Kajan
I am also a great fan of the film. And this question regarding the actress has always appeared to myself as well, I must say.
I really hope Girija returns, as does Heera.
As someone, before had mentioned, this really is a feel good post!
Fred
damn nagarjuna is fine fine fine. why do the gults have all the fine actors, chiranjeevi is so fine as well.
Balaji, probably you were had watched when 'Nenjathai Killathae' was released. That was the first ever modern tamil heroine character (played well by Suhasini Haasan) which was path breaking from the traditional (melo dramatic, sentimental or mostly there for the glamour quotient) trend of female lead characters tamil cinema was used to. To sample, just watch the 'Paruvamae Puthiya Paadal paadu' song from this movie ... btw the story of the movie is the same that was later made into Mouna Ragam by Mani Ratnam. As this film portrayed a carefree, intelligent, independent woman on screen, this movie was declared tax free by the then Tamilnadu government. Suhasini later followed this trend in Palaivana Cholai with another new dimension of male-female relationship for another first in tamil cinema.
anon, exactly what I thot when I saw her blog :)
skanda, but not sure girija and abitha can be clubbed together :)
prin, nice pun there :)
samir, ram explained it perfectly :)
tt, was this before or after IT? :)
ram, are those my only 2 choices? if not, I'd pick 'Naayagan' :)
anon, yeah 19 sounds about right :)
yaada, guess u have ur answer now :)
namitha, thanx again. and wow! looks like u could be a journalist too seeing how u uncover actresses who've faded away :)
raghu, yes she is :)
kajan, agree completely. truly a magical film. watching it on the big screen was quite unforgettable :)
fred, come back? maybe heera but definitely not Girija, I think :)
anon, was a bit too young when NK released. caught it much later on the small screen. a wonderful movie :)
Balaji, probably you can review NK for the sake of many who wouldnt have had a chance to watch that movie. I would also love to see your review for Rajaparvai. But I hope your review will be done synonymous(in comparison with) with the quality of movies released in that period. That is where NK or Rajaparvai will score high ...
Ratnam...Let's all spell it together. Ratnam, not Rathnam.
Anon,
I watched NK after reading your comment. I didn't manage to watch the climax. What would happen? Would Sarath Babu leave his wife and marry the other woman? Would Suhashini and Mohan tie the knot?
You guys might wanna check out this link:
http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=189338
I was also one of those who felt that Girija had at least 4-5 years of movie life left in her.. In an era when Kushboo and Bhanupriya were the lead-heroines, she would have been a welcome-change.
Another heroine who faded away after a promising debut is Roshni of Guna. CID Namitha, konjam avangalaiyum kandupidichu solreengaLA?
My batch mates and I were mad about Girija after watching Idhayathai Thirudaathey. And guess what, within months of watching that movie, we went on a college tour to Kodai and ran into the shooting of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. We took a group photo with Amir and Girija. But she never made it into the movie.
Balaji,
Do you know when is Mariyathai releasing?
Sarathuu Babu fan,
Sarath Babu stays with his wife. Suhashini doesn't marry Mohan but Pratap. Mohan marries someone else.
anon, haven't watched both those movies for a long time. would love to catch up on them :)
anon, wow, thanx for the link. so she's gonna be in the 'prince of persia' movie?! looks like she hasn't given up on acting fully yet :)
raju, LOL, lets see if CID Namitha comes to ur rescue :)
anon, lucky u! any chance u still have the photo? :)
anon, I thot Apr 14. but doesn't look like its out yet :)
I think I should have those photos. Will try to find them.
Amazing movie..one of the best movie of all time!!~
I was too influenced by this Girija from that movie. But, the whole movie had a major impact on my as i watched in my younger, growing up years.
Likewise, there's also the lead lady from Guna, who had a similar effect in a different way. Wonder what happened to her :)
Yeah what happened to the Guna heroine? She has an unforgettable face.
And wat's the deal about Heera? Yes she made a great debut in Idhayam but that's all there is about her other than her failed relationship with Ajith in the media.
hey guys...girija has acted in reteish deshmukh starrer Tujhe meri kasam....check out on IMDB....
Good movie.
Work From Home s
Good movie.
Work From Home s
Hey guys, I read the comments.. and I love this page! am a movie lover from M'sia! anyone knows what happened to Roshni of Guna?
what a coincidence!!! I was wondering about the same thing- where is Girija. Was searching and got to this link too.
It seeems she is also acting as a persian woman in te much awaited hollywood release- Prince of Persia(yes, remember the video game?). I guess its a minor role. Tried to spot her in the trailers without much luck. She was also in 2 other movies- Slide away and act of god in 2009. Check those out.
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