Excuse me it's Ghajini says Asin

Asin politely corrects Kamal Haasan's claim that Dasavataram cemented her star status. It's Ghajini that put her in the big league map, she says

DESPITE having almost 18 films to her credit, Asin Thottumkal has one film to thank for propelling her into the big league... twice. When the first Ghajini released in 2005, Asin became a sought-after star in the south belt.

"It really was the Tamil Ghajini that propelled me," reacts Asin to a recent claim that her Dasavataram co-star Kamal Haasan made about his film sealing Asin's success. "My first Tamil film was M Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi, but it was Ghajini a humongous hit that really got me there. Dasavataram, though, was a good team project."

And now, almost four months since the Hindi Ghajini released and became 2008's biggest movie, Asin is collecting a slew of awards for best debutante, launching events, judging beauty contests, becoming the face of brands (especially the one where she delightedly recognises a soft drink brand via an orange saree!) and shooting public service ads. And yes, since she's exhorting you to vote, good to know that she's just returned, after casting her vote in home state Kerala.

And yet, in many ways, Asin professes that life hasn't changed after a monster Hindi hit. "My point of view remains unaffected by people's perceptions of me. But when I was shooting in Chandigarh for Vipul Shah's London Dreams, people recognised me. Then, during this shoot in Srinagar, we kept hearing Guzarish played on radio. Even the shikara boatmen at Dal Lake were so warm."

Salman? How silly!
And yet, even as she's high on the popularity stakes since Ghajini, Asin has also had to deal with the other side of fame's coin infamy. Rumours abound over how much attention her London Dreams co-star Salman Khan showers on her, even going so far as to buy her the apartment she stays in Mumbai. "How irresponsible to say that. I was staying in this flat when I was doing Ghajini, for God's sakes! I didn't want to live out of a suitcase so I moved in here. I've learnt from Salman how to ignore these rumours," she shrugs, calming down.

So, of all things, Asin likens herself to a lotus leaf. Er, what? "You know how water just falls off a lotus leaf without touching it? It's the same way with me and rumours."

Papa doesn't preach
Asin has also had to face the music over her father Joseph Thottumakal handling her career. In a switch from the old days when the mother figure breathed fire if a hero got too close to her star daughter, in Asin's case, it's her father who accompanies her to the sets.

"So what?" asks Asin, her tone sharp. "He's my father, my manager, he handles my PR, everything. I can trust him with anything and know he won't exploit me. It's a privilege what more could I ask for?"

Salman's no cheapo
In fact, it's been rumoured that Asin's father hangs so much that Salman apparently taunted JT, saying his presence wouldn't stop the star from laying a finger on Asin. "That's the silliest, cheapest story I've heard and I don't know why it's going around. Salman isn't some cheapo guy who would say something like that," Asin says hotly. The actress's tone is understandably vehement even while she does this interview, her father is laid up in hospital, for appendicitis surgery.

"It's not like my dad babysits me or hovers around me all the time. When it's work, we're really professional."

Asin's world clearly revolves around her parents and work. By her own admission, she hasn't made any buddies in the industry, doesn't enjoy partying because she's a teetotaler and loves best to curl up with " hot cocoa and a book" when she's free. In a website interview when she turned 20, Asin (an only child) was quoted saying that her best friends in the world were her parents. "That still holds," says the actress three years later, "My mother (a surgeon) took voluntary retirement to run our home, while my dad and I concentrate on my career. My mom's my angel and my dad's my pillar."

From the outside, Asin's life sounds closeted, vanilla and SRIDEVI all over. But the one big difference between Asin and the eighties superstar is that this young gun is garrulous and unguarded. And thankfully, makes time to catch up with her chaddi buddies. "My friends and I have been together from KG to college and when I recently went to Bangalore for a launch, I met up with one. We keep in touch."

Shah Rukh? Not yet
While Asin has worked with the likes of Aamir Khan, Kamal Haasan, Salman Khan and a bunch of stars in the south, she dispels the buzz about her doing a Yashraj film with Shah Rukh Khan. "I've been hearing that too, but it's not true," she answers about signing up opposite SRK.u00a0
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For now, it's London Dreams out this year and then a Disney production 19 Steps directed by Bharatbala (of A R Rahman's Vande Mataram fame) again with Kamal Haasan. But unlike Dasavatar, it's guru-shishya mode for the two here, with Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano playing Asin's love interest.

Asin completed Dasavatar, currently playing in Mumbai's theatres in its Hindi version, over two years ago and couldn't do its dubbing because she got busy with Ghajini. The actress calls Dasavatar part of her learning curve, especially in scenes where she had to act with over four Kamals in the same frame. "It was fun I had to give my dialogues in a green room. I kept thinking and reacting to camera positions."

And being less than half of her co-star's age, she gelled with his daughters during the shoot. "I'm more Shruti's age, but she was studying music in LA and I met her just once," she says, "I spent more time with Akshu (Akshara) and Subbu (Kamal's companion Gautami's daughter)."