When she was in school, she took part in a fashion show. Group photos were taken during the show and a photo was chosen to be the cover of a popular Tamil magazine. This happened to be her photo, which was seen by the director Bharathi Rajaa, who, at that time was on the lookout for a new heroine for his latest venture.

She is a well-known, highly acclaimed film actress with over 16 years of experience in the entertainment industry. She has to her credit five Best Actress Filmfare awards for her performance in the Tamil films 'Mann Vasanai', 'Thevar Magan', 'Anjali', Telugu film 'Ankuram' and Malayalam film 'Kakothi Kaavil Appoopan Thadigal'. She was awarded the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film, 'Thevar Magan' in 1992. In addition, she has also won the Tamilnadu State Award for 'Thalaimurai' in 1998. 'Mitr My Friend' was her first directorial venture.