Shruti Haasan Has 30 Reasons to Smile on Her Birthday

Bollywood actress Shruti Haasan has stepped out of the shadow of her legendary father, Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, to establish herself as a star in her own right. The actress, who had a string of releases in 2015, will soon be seen on the silver screen opposite John Abraham in Rocky Handsome. On her 30th birthday, Here's a pictorial look at her journey so far.

Shruti Haasan, who is the elder daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, was born in Chennai on January 28, 1986. Her younger sister Akshara made her Bollywood debut in R Balki's Shamitabh, co-starring Tamil superstar Dhanush and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

Shruti went to school in Chennai and moved to Mumbai for higher education.

This image was posted on Twitter by Shruti Haasan

Although she pursued a degree in psychology, Shruti had other plans. She enrolled at the Musicians Institute in California, USA and returned to India to pursue her filmy dreams. Her first on-screen appearance was a cameo in her father's film Hey Ram.

In 2009, she made her silver screen debut with the Bollywood film Luck opposite Imran Khan. The film failed to create ripples at the box office and Shruti's fast-track to stardom was cut rudely short. She also sang the film's title song Aazma Luck, composed by Salim-Sulaiman.

In 2011, Shruti made her Telugu film debut with fantasy adventure film Anaganaga O Dheerudu, directed by Prakash Kovelamudi and co-starring Siddharth. The film received positive reviews and Shruti was also praised for her performance as a gypsy woman. However, the film tanked at box office. She won the Southern Filmfare for Best Debutante.
The same year, she appeared in an extended cameo role in Madhur Bhandarkar's Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, which was a commercial success. Shruti's performance, however, was panned by the critics.

The same year, Shruti won critical appraisal for the role of a young scientist in AR Murugadoss' 7aum Arivu. The film was a commercial success. Her next Telugu release, Oh My Friend, failed to win her praise.

Shruti's first real hit was the Aishwaryaa R Dhanush-directed 3. She co-starred opposite Dhanush in the film which also became famous for the hit song Kolaveri Di, sung by Dhanush. With her performance, Shruti finally won over the critics.

Shruti next starred in Gabbar Singh, the Telugu remake of Salman Khan's Dabangg. The film featured Pawan Kalyan in Salman's role while Shruti played Sonakshi Sinha's part. Shruti replaced actress Ileana D'Cruz in the film, which went on to become a major commercial success at the box office and brought in more film offers for her.

2013 was a mixed year for Shruti. While her Telugu film Balupu co-starring Ravi Teja was a superhit, her Bollywood films - Prabhu Deva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya and Nikhil Advani's D-Day - failed to get the cash registers ringing.

While 2013 ended on a low note, 2014 emerged as a golden year on her career graph. Her films Yevadu opposite Ram Charan Teja and Race Gurram with Allu Arjun were among the top hits that year.

In 2014, she also appeared in a special song in Telugu film Aagadu, starring Mahesh Babu and Tamannaah Bhatia.

2015 saw Shruti play Akshay Kumar's love interest in Gabbar is Back. The film did brisk business at the box office. As did Anees Bazmee's laugh riot Welcome Back in which she co-starred with John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar. Shruti also appeared in an item song in Boney Kapoor's Tevar with Arjun Kapoor. Her South film Vedhalam opposite Ajith was a roaring success at the box office.

Shruti made her singing debut at the age of 6 in Thevar Magan, the music of which was scored by Ilaiyaraaja. She was 11 when she sang a duet with her father in Chachi 420. Shruti is also a part of an alternative rock band called 'The Extramentals'.

This image was posted on Instagram by shrutzhaasan

Shruti Haasan will next be seen in Rocky Handsome opposite John Abraham and in Singham 3 opposite Suriya. We wish her a very happy birthday and many more films to come.