Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian actress and trained Bharathanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She began her acting career in the South Indian film industry, but now appears predominantly in Bollywood films. She speaks eight languages, and dubs her own films. She is the only Malayali actress, other than Padmini, to have dubbed in her own voice for all her films, irrespective of language.Asin has been referred to as the "Queen of Kollywood" by online portals in 2007. She is a member of the Bollywood 100 Crore Club.
Making her acting debut with Sathyan Anthikkad's Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001), Asin had her first commercial success with the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi in 2003, and won a Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for the film. M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi (2004) was her debut in Tamil and a huge success. She received her Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for her most noted critically acclaimed performance in her third Tamil film, Ghajini (2005). She then played the lead female roles in many successful films, the most notable being the action Sivakasi (2005), the dramatic thriller Varalaru (2006), the action thriller Pokkiri(2007), the romantic drama Vel (2008) and Dasavathaaram (2008) opposite Kamal Haasan and Kaavalan, and hence established herself as the leading actress of Tamil cinema and was also honoured by the Tamil Nadu government with the Kalaimamani award for her excellence in the field of art and literature. In 2013, Asin was conferred with the Pride of South Indian Cinema award at SIIMA for her contribution to Tamil cinema.
In late 2008, Asin made her debut in the Bollywood film Ghajini (2008), opposite Aamir Khan, which was the first Bollywood film to have collected more than ₹1 billion in the domestic box office, subsequently collecting ₹1.9 billion (US$30 million) worldwide. Asin won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and many accolades for Ghajini. 2011 marked the most successful phase of Asin's Bollywood career, as she starred in Anees Bazmee's romantic comedy Ready, in which she co-starred alongside Salman Khan. The film was a major hit at the box office, collecting ₹1.84 billion (US$29 million) worldwide. In 2012, Asin first starred in Sajid Khan's multistarrer Housefull 2, which collected more than ₹1 billion. She then featured in Bol Bachchan and Khiladi 786, which were also commercially successful with both grossing over ₹1 billion
