Raai Laxmi is an Indian actress, stage performer, and model who mainly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada movies. She will be making her Bollywood debut as a lead actress in the 2017 film Julie 2.
Laxmi has complete more than 10 years in the movie industry and has done more than 50 films during this period.
Early Life and Career
Raai Laxmi was born as Lakshmi Rai 5th May 1989 to Manjula Rai and Ram Rai in Belgaum, Karnataka.
Raai began acting when she was only 15 years old. She made her debut in 2005 with the Tamil movie Karka Kasadara. She then acted in several movies such as Kundakka Mandakka, Dharmapuri, and Nenjai Thodu.
She became famous after portraying the role of a lawyer in the 2008 hit movie Dhaam Dhoom. She got a Filmfare Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actress for her role; it was her first nomination. She made her debut in Malayalam movies in 2007 with ‘Rock & Roll.’ She subsequently went on to work with top stars like Mammootty and Mohanlal.
Raai was mainly used for her glamour in most of her movies. She however got meaty prominent roles in films like Mankatha and Kanchana, both of which were huge hits. In 2016, she appeared in an item number alongside Chiranjeevi in the song Ratthaalu in his comeback movie Khaidi No 150. She also had a cameo role in the 2016 Sonakshi Sinha starrer Akira.
Personal Life and Trivia
Laxmi has been living in Mumbai for the past ten years. When asked why she resided in Mumbai despite primarily working in South Indian movies, she replied that it was a more comfortable option. She clarified that after studios entered the industry, shooting began taking place all over India and overseas. As a result shooting locations were really far from her Chennai home and it made no sense to her to live there. Hence she moved to Mumbai as it is more connected to the rest of the world.
Laxmi was credited as ‘Lakshmi Rai’ during the initial stage of her career. She only recently changed her name to Raai Laxmi. She has stated that her father told her to change the name; he said that it would be good for her career and offered no other explanations. Laxmi feels that the name change has indeed been good for her career.
Raai was approached for ‘Chak De India’ in 2006 by Yash Raj Films. She however did not make the cut due to some contractual issues.
Laxmi has a huge spat with Tamil actress Trisha after the success of her movie Mankatha. Raai claimed that she was offered the role of the heroine which was later grabbed by Trisha. Laxmi then allegedly called Trisha as a fake person.
Raai Laxmi Rai – Dhoni Relationship
It is alleged that Raai dated former Indian Cricket Team captain MS Dhoni in the year 2009. Laxmi has stated that she does not want to talk about the relationship and that it has now become a scar or a stain that just won’t go away. She attributes this feeling to the constant questioning by the media about the alleged relationship.
Laxmi Rai said that she had met up when she was a brand ambassador of Chennai Super Kings, and they were together for 1 year, before they moved apart. She said, that they were never committed to each other and being married to each other, were not ever in their minds. Laxmi added that she found it strange that people still associate her with Dhoni, even though they have moved on. Raai added, “I have dated four other men after Dhoni but no one is interested in talking about them.” Raai was not a part of the biopic ‘MS Dhoni’ also, considering that she had not given consent to the makers to feature her character in the film.
