Karthika enteres in Kollywood Her mother Radha and aunt Ambika were the divas of south Indian cinema in the 80s.

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She is being tipped as the next big thing in Kollywood, and rightly so, it seems, as Karthika is a chip off the old block. Her mother Radha and aunt Ambika were the divas of south Indian cinema in the 80s. So, the tall and beautiful 18-year-old Mumbaikar's decision to take up acting came as no surprise. Her first film was in Telugu — Josh with Naga Chaitanya, Nagarjuna's son — which, sadly, did not create waves. So, she went to Kerala, and became cinematographer Santosh Sivan's heroine in the Malayalam film Makaramanju, directed by noted filmmaker Lenin Rajendran. After seeing her photographs from the film on the Internet, director K V Anand approached her for his Ko opposite Jiiva.

As the film gets ready to release during the Valentine weekend, Karthika speaks, "I've grown up in a family which has given south Indian cinema two of its top leading ladies. My mom has acted as heroine opposite living legends like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan." However, she adds, "I grew up in Mumbai and away from movies. In fact, I was more interested in completing my business management degree and joining my dad's business. The acting bug bit me all of a sudden and now, I'm giving it a sincere try."

There are reports that Danny Boyle, impressed by her work in Makaramanju, had asked her to come for a screen test true? Karthika refutes, "Santoshji told me that Danny Boyle saw Makaramanju and was impressed with my performance in a dual role (as Raja Ravi Varma's muse and Goddess Urvasi). But the news that he called me and offered me a role are just rumours." On her future moves, Karthika says, "I leave everything to my mom. She knows best as she has done over 200 films. But please don't compare me with her. It will be a miracle of sorts if I do 20 films. The times have changed."