Baby Shalini

Some Lesser Known Facts About Baby Shalini

• Baby Shalini is a former Indian actress and child artist, who mainly worked in Malayalam and Tamil film industries. She was a renowned child artist in the Malayalam film industry during the 80s who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for her performance in Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku (1983). In 1997, after a brief break from child acting, she started playing the female lead in Malayalam and Tamil language films. She quit acting in 2000 following her marriage to the popular Tamil actor Ajith Kumar.

• Her father hailed from Kollam in Kerala. His aspiration to become an actor made him migrate to Madras (now Chennai) with his wife and children. Although he failed to venture into films, he fulfilled his aspirations via his children.

• Shalini was just three-and-a-half years old when she started shooting for the Malayalam film Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku (1983). Later, she appeared as a child artist in various Malayalam films like Chakkarayumma (1984), Sandarbham (1984), Vannu Kandu Keezhadakki (1985), Muhurtham Pathnonnu Muppathinu (1985), Oru Nokku Kanan (1985), and Ente Entethu Mathrem (1986).
  

• Her iconic hairstyle, a short bob with a front fringe, gained immense popularity in the 80s and came to be known as the “Baby Shalini haircut.”

• She also appeared as a child artist in various Tamil films like Bandham (1985), Pillai Nila (1985), Shankar Guru (1987), Michael Raj (1987), and Raja Chinna Roja (1989).

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• Various Telugu films in which she worked as a child artist include Chinnari Devatha (1987), Brahma Puthrudu (1988), and Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari (1990).

• She appeared in the TV serial Amloo on Doordarshan in the late 1980s.

• In 1999, she starred in the hit film Malayalam film Niram in which she played the role of Sona. Other Malayalam films under her belt include Kaliyoonjal (1997), Sundarakilladi (1998), and Prem Poojari (1999).

• While she was on a break from acting after starring in Kadhalukku Mariyaadhai (1997) when Ajith approached her to cast her in Amarkalam (1999). At first, she refused to act in the film citing that she wanted to focus on her exams, but she came on board after watching the preview of Kaadhal Mannan, starring Ajith.

• Shalini and Ajith Kumar fell in love while shooting for the Tamil film Amarkalam (1999) and decided to get married. In the film, she played the role of Mohana.

• Thereafter, she announced that she will quit starring in films after marriage. While talking about the same, in an interview, she said,
  

  Definitely, I won’t act after wedding. I, who have given up acting now, won’t even dream of returning back to acting. Marriage is an important stage in a woman’s life. When I will get married to Ajithkumar as per my heart’s liking, I would turn to be the female family head. There’s no change in this decision. “

• Her Tamil romantic thriller film Kannukkul Nilavu, in which played the role of Hema Rajashekar alongside Vijay, was a commercial success.

• In the same year, she rose to prominence with the Tamil romantic drama film Alai Payuthey in which she played the female lead, Dr Shakthi. Alai Payuthey (2000) is the Tamil debut of R. Madhavan. Her impeccable performance in the film earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in the same year.

• Once R. Madhavan recalled his memories of the film Alai Payuthey (2000) in an interview and revealed that Shalini had laid down some conditions before the shoot of the film. At that time, she was engaged to be married to Ajith. Before the shooting of the film began, she asked Madhavan to be discreet while shooting the romantic scenes.

• She starred in more than 75 films as a child artist in various South Indian languages and 13 films as an actress. Altogether, she has appeared in more than 90 films during her career.

• Her last film Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001) was released after her marriage.

  

• Interestingly, she had to postpone her marriage to shoot for Piriyadha Varam Vendum, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Niram (1999). Apparently, she had promised director Kamal that if Niram became successful, she would act in the Tamil version of the film.

• She is a skilled badminton player and started to play the sport as a hobby with her husband after marriage. Later, she played in a few state-level tournaments after pursuing professional coaching in the sport. Her state-level coach’s name is Maran.

• Although Ajith and Shalini belong from different religious backgrounds, their love was never hindered by it. In fact, the two simultaneously practice their respective religions and teach both religions to their children. In an interview, Ajith talked about the same and said,
  

  Shalini is a Protestant Christian and my father is a Brahmin from Palghat. But no one is changing the religion. She can practice hers, and I mine. We won’t force our views on each other. Tomorrow when we have children, we will be teaching them all the religions, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. And when they grow to adulthood, they’re free to choose whatever they want. Religion is not the issue. What is important is that Shalini and I are comfortable with each other. We love each other and that’s all that counts.”

• Both Ajith and Shalini dislike eating chocolates.

Shalini as Mohana in Amarkalam (1999)

Shalini as Hema in Kannukkul Nilavu (2000)

Shalini as Dr Shakthi in Alai Payuthey (2000)