Girija Shettar

Girija Shettar (born 20 July 1969)^[1] is a British actress, known for her works in South Indian films.^[2] In 1989, Shettar starred in Maniratnam's Telugu film Geethanjali and Malayalam film Vandanam, directed by Priyadarshan, in which she starred alongside Mohanlal.

Girija Shettar
Shettar in 2013
Born	(1969-07-20) 20 July 1969 (age 53) Orsett, Essex, England
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Actress Journalist Philosopher Dancer
Years active	1989 – 2003

In 1992, she signed for the lead female role in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, which she left mid-way to complete a prior commitment. Ayesha Julka replaced her after the first schedule. In the same year, she starred in another Telugu film Hrudayanjali, under the direction of A. Raghurami Reddy, which won four Nandhi Awards by Government of Andra Pradesh.^[3] The film was completed in 1992 but was released only in 2002.^[4]

Personal life

Girija Shettar was born on 20 July 1969 in Orsett, Essex to a Kannada doctor father and a British mother. From the age of 18, Girija trained in Bharatanatyam. She completed a doctoral thesis in Integral Yoga Philosophy and Indian spiritual psychology from Cardiff University in 2003. She spends as much time as possible at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry.^[5] Girija is currently a writer based in London. Previously working for a medical technology newsletter, she is now writing for a shipping magazine.^[6] A booklet of haiku poetry entitled "This Year, Daffodils" was published by Survivors' Poetry and the Esmee Fairburn Foundation, 2011. In 2014, she won Social Media Journalist of the Year as senior reporter for IHS Maritime Fairplay at Seahorse Journalist Awards, London.^[7]

After the release of Geethanjali,^[8] she appeared on the front page of Screen (magazine), India 30 June 1989 issue.^[9] In 2002, Geethanjali was one of five films shown at the British Film Institute during a retrospective of Mani Ratnam's work. The films were chosen as examples of strong heroine roles in Indian films.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language(s)	Notes	Ref.
1989	Geethanjali	Geethanjali	Telugu	Telugu Debut Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu	^[10]
	Vandanam	Gaadha Fernandes	Malayalam	Malayalam Debut	^[11]
	Dhanushkodi	Girija		Unreleased	^[12]
1992	Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar	lead in song Jawa ho yaaron^[13]	Hindi	Special appearance in song "Arre Yaaron Mere Pyaaron"	^[14]
2002	Hrudayanjali	Maya	Telugu	Filming completed in 1992, but released in 2002	^[15]
2003	Tujhe Meri Kasam	Herself	Hindi	Cameo appearance	^[16]

References

1. Girija Shettar – TV9 Anveshana Interview
2. . Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
3. Hrudayanjali review: Hrudayanjali (Telugu) Movie Review – fullhyd.com
4. . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
5. "A Journal of Integral studies – February 2005 – Sri Aurobindo ..." Theuniversityoftomorrow. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
6. Girija Shettar
7. "Seahorse Journalist Awards 2014". The Loadstar. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
8. Geethanjali Girija with Tv9 – Exclusive – YouTube
9. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, page 450.
10. "I used to dream about the possibility of a sequel to Geetanjali: Girija Shettar". The Indian Express. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
11. "This is what Vandanam's Gadha looks like now!". Malayala Manorama. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
12. "The Silver Screen Jinx". The New Indian Express. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
13. "Jawa ho yaaron song- Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2014 – via YouTube.
14. "Love at first song". Bangalore Mirror. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
15. Hrudayanjali review: Hrudayanjali (Telugu) Movie Review – fullhyd.com
16. Smrity Sharma, 'Riteish behind CM-dad's resignation? 23 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine', India Times Movies 2 December 2008.

External links

• Girija Shettar at IMDb