Lakshmi Devy
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lakshmi Devy
| image =
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| birth_name =
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| birth_place = New York, United States
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|screenwriter|producer|director}}
| years_active = 2010–present
| known_for = When the Music Changes
| notable_works =
}}
Lakshmi Devy is an American actress and screenwriter who has acted in films in the English, Tamil, and Malayalam languages. She won the Remi Award for best director for her film When the Music Changes in 2021. She started her screenwriting career with the Tamil film Masala Padam, in which she also played the lead role. After starting her career as a theatre artist and model, Devy played her first leading role in Nil Gavani Sellathey (2010), directed by Anand Chakravarthy.
In addition to acting in films, she is the principal of a film production company, FiDi Talkies, in the United States.
Personal life
Devy was born into a family of doctors and engineers in New York where she spent most of her early life. Her mother is a nephrologist and father is a travelogue writer and published author, and they run a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, India.{{Cite web |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2013/jun/18/lakshmi-in-a-spooky-avatar-488075.html |title=Lakshmi in a spooky avatar |website=The New Indian Express|date=June 18, 2013 }}{{Cite web |url=https://urbanasian.com/featured/2018/09/dont-afraids-lakshmi-devys-voyage-medicine-filmmaking/ |title=Don't Be Afraid's Lakshmi Devy's Voyage From Medicine To Filmmaking |date=September 21, 2018 |website=Urban Asian}} She did her primary education in New York{{Cite web |url=https://emrmedia.com/uncategorized/1869/ |title=Interview: Lakshmi Devy | EMR Media |website=emrmedia.com}} and completed medical school in India, during which she pursued modelling, dance, and theatre.{{Cite web |url=https://www.browngirlmagazine.com/2018/06/lakshmi-devy-south-asian-american-pursue-inner-movie-star-over-career-medicine/ |title=Meet Lakshmi Devy: A South Asian-American who Chose to Pursue her Inner Movie Star Over her Career in Medicine |date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=May 15, 2020 |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516144815/https://browngirlmagazine.com/2018/06/lakshmi-devy-south-asian-american-pursue-inner-movie-star-over-career-medicine/ |url-status=dead }} Devy is a medical doctor and started her film career while she was in medical college.
Career
Lakshmi started her acting career with the Anand Chakravarthy directorial Nil Gavani Sellathey in which she played the main lead role.{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/don-buchwald-associates-cassandra-freeman-bohemia-group-lakshmi-devy-1202174014/ |date=September 20, 2017 |title=Don Buchwald & Associates Adds Cassandra Freeman; Bohemia Group Signs Lakshmi Devy |first=Amanda |last=N'Duka |publisher=Deadline}} She later starred in numerous South Indian movies including Cinema Company and critically acclaimed Tamil-language action comedy film Masala Padam, which was also her original screenplay debut.{{Cite web |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/kollywood/110917/making-waves-in-the-west.html |title=Making waves in the west |first=Balajee C. |last=R |date=September 11, 2017 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150815/entertainment-kollywood/article/lakshmi-devy-being-heroine-and-screenplay-writer |title=Lakshmi Devy: On being a heroine and a screenplay writer |first=S. |last=Subhakeerthana |date=August 15, 2015 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/Lakshmi-Devy-pens-screenplay-for-Masala-Padam/articleshow/46564555.cms |title=Lakshmi Devy pens screenplay for Masala Padam |website=The Times of India}}
In 2017, Devy founded FiDi Talkies, a New York-based production company and made her directorial debut with a short film 'Daro Mat' in which she played the protagonist. The film was screened in multiple international film festivals and won several awards. She started her career as a film director in 2020 with the film When the Music Changes which is produced by FiDi Talkies and actor-director John Turturro.{{cite web |accessdate=March 9, 2021 |title=Lakshmi Devy's New Movie "When the music changes" grimly portrays our sadistic sexist ways of Rape Culture |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2020/12/17/Lakshmi-Devys-New-Movie-When-the-music-changes-grimly-portrays-our-sadistic-sexist-ways-of-Rape-Culture.html |website=The Week}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
| style="background:#ffc;"| | Denotes films that are in pre-production |
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 2010 | Nil Gavani Sellathey | Priya | Tamil film |
| 2012 | Cinema Company | Roshni | Malayalam film |
| 2015 | Masala Padam | Diya | Tamil film, Also screenwriter |
| 2017 | Daro Mat | Divya | Short film, Also director, screenwriter and producer |
| 2018 | A Happy Divorce | Rebecca | |
| 2022 | When the Music Changes | Debut as film director |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|nm7646367}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devy, Lakshmi}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:American film actresses
Category:American actresses of Indian descent
Category:Actresses in Tamil cinema
Category:Actresses in Malayalam cinema