Anu Hasan is a Tamil actress and TV anchor, who strayed away from conventional heroine roles in cinema, but has carved her niche in the industry. She is the niece of Tamil superstar
Kamal Haasan. She debuted with the 1995 film Indira in the lead role, and then went on to give impressive performances in minor roles in several movies. Her celebrity talk show Koffee with Anu on Vijay TV established her as one of the most desirable hosts in the industry. Anu has also worked as a dubbing artist who lent her voice for many non-Tamil speaking heroines.
Early Life Anu was born to the lawyer cum film producer Chandra Hasan, elder brother of legendary actor
Kamal Haasan. She attended the St. Joseph`s Anglo Indian Girls Higher Secondary School, Trichy, and later pursued her MSc degree in Physics and Management from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Rajasthan. The actress is trained in martial arts and represented the Trichy district for basketball. She has a flair for music and is a jazz singer. She is also a costume designer.
Personal Life Anu Hasan was married to Vikas, but this did not last long and the couple divorced. After living alone for a few years, she got married to her long-time British boyfriend Graham Jay in 2010 in a private wedding ceremony. Anu and Graham got in touch on a music website, and their friendship eventually ended up in love, and then marriage.
Movie Career Anu debuted in the movie industry with the 1995 film Indira, under the direction of her cousin
Suhasini Maniratnam. She played the lead role in the movie alongside
Arvind Swamy, Radharavi and
Nassar in significant roles. The film won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards whereas the song Nila Kaikiradhu from the movie became very famous. In her very next movie Aalavandhan (2001), she appeared in a cameo role as the mother of her real-life uncle
Kamal Haasan. She then was cast in the Tamil blockbuster film Run in 2002, in which she played the male protagonist
R. Madhavan`s sister. This N. Linguswamy direction won her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. This followed with another supporting role in the comedy film Nala Damayanthi, written and produced by Kamal Hassan, starring
Madhavan in the lead. It received positive critical reviews and enjoyed a decent run at the box office. It was also remade in Hindi as Ramji Londonwaley, starring Madhavan, who also wrote it.
Anu played the sister of the male protagonist
Ajith Kumar in the 2003 film Anjaneya, and then made a special appearance in the award-winning Jayam Ravi - Genelia D`Souza starrer Santosh Subramaniam. After a cameo appearance in
Sarvam, and a supporting role as
Nayantara`s mother in
Aadhavan, she ventured into Telugu cinema with
Evaraina Epudaina as the lead hero
Varun Sandesh`s sister-in-law.
Anu continued to play supporting roles in movies like
Maanja Velu as
Karthik Muthuraman`s wife, and in
Irandu Mugam as
Sathyaraj`s wife. Subsequently, she featured in the National Award winning English short film Red Building where the Sun Sets, directed by veteran actress
Revathi. Anu then appeared in the Ram - Tamannaah starrer Telugu film
Endukante... Premanta! (2012), which followed with a lead role in the 2013 Malayalam movie
Kunthapura opposite
Charu Hassan,
Biyon and Priya Lal. She had a supporting role in the 2014 Telugu psychological thriller film
1: Nenokkadine, which starred
Mahesh Babu and
Kriti Sanon in lead roles. The movie received mostly negative reviews from critics. Her other projects include the Tamil action movie Valla Desam, and her Hollywood debut with director Joe Scott`s Is This Now.
Television Career Anu has an active television career too. She started with the Tamil TV series Anbulla Snegithiyae in 2000, and then went on to star in serials like Ammaavukku Rendula Raagu and Boom Boom Shakal. However, she gained popularity as the host of the talk show Koffee with Anu, which featured the best celebrities of the film industry. Her excellent hosting gained very good viewership for the show, making it one of the most likeable shows among audiences. Anu then played the lead role as a police officer in the Tamil soap opera Rekha IPS that aired on Kalaignar TV. After this, she served as the host to reality shows such as Anu Alavum Bayam Illai and En Samayal Araiyil, before stepping her foot into Kannada television industry with Golmaal Gouramma. The actress expanded her reach after she bagged roles in British TV series like Cucumber, EastEnders and Emmerdale.