Namitha Vankawala is an Indian actress, model and politician who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu cinema along with a few films in Kannada and Malayalam. She serves as a state executive member of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu.

Career

Starting her career as a beauty pageant contestant, Namitha was crowned Miss Surat during the year of 1998 at the age of 17. She went on to participate in the 2001 Miss India pageant and ended up as the third runner-up, while Celina Jaitley was crowned Miss India. The publicity she garnered during the competition prompted her to move to Mumbai and subsequently she did a number of TV commercials such as Himani cream and hand soap, Arun Ice Creams, Manikchand Gutka, and Nile Herbal Shampoo early in her career. Unable to make a breakthrough into the Hindi film industry, she enrolled in an English Literature course and then considered returning to Surat but chose to later accept an invitation to audition for a Telugu film. After being selected, she consequently made her acting debut in Sreenu Vaitla's coming-of-age romantic film, ''Sontham'' (2002). Her next film, Saran's big budget action film ''Gemeni'' (2002) opposite Venkatesh, garnered her further attention and her portrayal of a Marwardi girl won critical acclaim. She had also briefly given herself the stagename of "Bhairavi" for the film, but later reverted to her original name.In the mid-2000s, she quickly became popular in Tamil language films with her mature look and tall frame prompting film makers to cast her opposite ageing actors such as Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Arjun, Parthiban, Sundar C and Sarathkumar. She appeared in a series of commercial action films opposite such actors, including roles in ''Aai'' (2005), ''Chanakya'' (2005) and ''Aanai'' (2005). Likewise, she was regularly cast in comedy films with senior actors too, making appearances in Siddique's ''Engal Anna'' (2004) and six of Sakthi Chidambaram's comedy dramas. During the period, she appeared in her first Hindi film ''Love Ke Chakkar Mein'', worked on a Kannda film titled ''Namitha I Love You'' and shot for an English film, ''Maya'', which was later released in 2008 as ''Kamasutra Nights''. In 2007, she had the opportunity to work with two leading actors from Tamil cinema, respectively appearing with Vijay in the A. R. Rahman-musical ''Azhagiya Tamil Magan'' (2007) and Ajith Kumar in Vishnuvardhan's gangster film ''Billa'' (2007). By the end of the period, Namitha had developed a "cult following" in Tamil Nadu as a result of her glamorous appearances in films, with the media regularly looking to feature her in reports and Behindwoods.com labelled her "omnipotent and omnipresent".However, by the turn of the decade, Namitha's popularity began to decline after several of her films failed to perform well and the South Indian film industry moved away from casting women in outright glamorous roles, a character that Namitha had become famed for performing. Film makers were also reluctant to cast Namitha opposite young male actors, as the older generation began to stop appearing in leading roles. She was relegated to increasingly smaller roles and guest appearances, while the big-budget horror film, ''Jaganmohini'' (2009), where she played the title role performed poorly at the box office. Likewise, she became engaged in disputes with her filmmakers, with the director of ''Azhagana Ponnuthan'' (2010), criticising the actress's lack of cooperation for the film's failure. She briefly prioritized her work in Kannada films in the early 2010s, while several of her films endured production delays including ''Ilamai Oonjal'' (2016). After several years without any film releases, she announced plans of making a comeback in 2016.In 2017, Namitha appeared on the Tamil reality television show, ''Bigg Boss'' hosted by Kamal Haasan. During her stint in the show, she was widely criticised for her harsh treatment of actress Oviya. Her upcoming projects include T. Rajender's ''Indraya Kadhal Da'', where she plays the antagonist.

2001−2008

Starting her career as a beauty pageant contestant, Namitha was crowned Miss Surat during the year of 1998 at the age of 17. She went on to participate in the 2001 Miss India pageant and ended up as the third runner-up, while Celina Jaitley was crowned Miss India. The publicity she garnered during the competition prompted her to move to Mumbai and subsequently she did a number of TV commercials such as Himani cream and hand soap, Arun Ice Creams, Manikchand Gutka, and Nile Herbal Shampoo early in her career. Unable to make a breakthrough into the Hindi film industry, she enrolled in an English Literature course and then considered returning to Surat but chose to later accept an invitation to audition for a Telugu film. After being selected, she consequently made her acting debut in Sreenu Vaitla's coming-of-age romantic film, ''Sontham'' (2002). Her next film, Saran's big budget action film ''Gemeni'' (2002) opposite Venkatesh, garnered her further attention and her portrayal of a Marwardi girl won critical acclaim. She had also briefly given herself the stagename of "Bhairavi" for the film, but later reverted to her original name.In the mid-2000s, she quickly became popular in Tamil language films with her mature look and tall frame prompting film makers to cast her opposite ageing actors such as Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Arjun, Parthiban, Sundar C and Sarathkumar. She appeared in a series of commercial action films opposite such actors, including roles in ''Aai'' (2005), ''Chanakya'' (2005) and ''Aanai'' (2005). Likewise, she was regularly cast in comedy films with senior actors too, making appearances in Siddique's ''Engal Anna'' (2004) and six of Sakthi Chidambaram's comedy dramas. During the period, she appeared in her first Hindi film ''Love Ke Chakkar Mein'', worked on a Kannda film titled ''Namitha I Love You'' and shot for an English film, ''Maya'', which was later released in 2008 as ''Kamasutra Nights''. In 2007, she had the opportunity to work with two leading actors from Tamil cinema, respectively appearing with Vijay in the A. R. Rahman-musical ''Azhagiya Tamil Magan'' (2007) and Ajith Kumar in Vishnuvardhan's gangster film ''Billa'' (2007). By the end of the period, Namitha had developed a "cult following" in Tamil Nadu as a result of her glamorous appearances in films, with the media regularly looking to feature her in reports and Behindwoods.com labelled her "omnipotent and omnipresent".

2009−present

However, by the turn of the decade, Namitha's popularity began to decline after several of her films failed to perform well and the South Indian film industry moved away from casting women in outright glamorous roles, a character that Namitha had become famed for performing. Film makers were also reluctant to cast Namitha opposite young male actors, as the older generation began to stop appearing in leading roles. She was relegated to increasingly smaller roles and guest appearances, while the big-budget horror film, ''Jaganmohini'' (2009), where she played the title role performed poorly at the box office. Likewise, she became engaged in disputes with her filmmakers, with the director of ''Azhagana Ponnuthan'' (2010), criticising the actress's lack of cooperation for the film's failure. She briefly prioritized her work in Kannada films in the early 2010s, while several of her films endured production delays including ''Ilamai Oonjal'' (2016). After several years without any film releases, she announced plans of making a comeback in 2016.In 2017, Namitha appeared on the Tamil reality television show, ''Bigg Boss'' hosted by Kamal Haasan. During her stint in the show, she was widely criticised for her harsh treatment of actress Oviya. Her upcoming projects include T. Rajender's ''Indraya Kadhal Da'', where she plays the antagonist.

Personal life

Namitha married businessman Veerendra Chowdary in Tirupathi in November 2017. The couple announced their pregnancy via Namitha's Instagram on her 41st birthday. She delivered twin sons in August 2022.