In the last two years the growth of Kausalya as an actress has been phenomenal in terms of performance. Within a short span she has been identified as an artiste who can combine talent with glamour without having to wear micro minis and hot pants and gyrate to stay at the top in the box office.

Having started out in 'April 19' the Malayalam film directed by Balachandra Menon which was a flop, she made her debut in Sivasakti films 'Kallam Ellam Kathal Vazhgai' opposite Murali and it was a hit. It heralded the start of a career for her. Next was Vasanth's 'Nerukku Ner' which brought her into focus once again and after that she was seen in Malayalam films with Suresh Gopi in 'Lelam' and resurfaced again in Tamil in 'Jolly' which was a disaster but 'Sollamaley' with Livingstone again showed that she had it in her. The currently released 'Pooveli' with Karthik has brought her a lot of accolades.

Bangalore based Kausalya did a stint in modeling and ad films when Menon cast her in 'April 19' as the heroine. She was under contract for a year. Named Nandini in her debut film her career began with a flop and it was back to ad films and visits to Chennai for modeling. One of Balu's assistants saw Kausalya's photos and the director was interested in her. "My folks were not too keen on my taking up a film career but then after they were satisfied that the role was good and there was nothing vulgar in it they agreed" said the young actress who has to-date, stuck to her decision to avoid exposure. Even her leather jacket and tight pants in a song in Nerukku Ner she feels was over glamourous and her fans too write to her saying that she should avoid such roles. "I did it in 'Nerukku Ner' because I wanted to prove that I could do glamorous roles too.

In 'Pooveli' there is a bathing scene that is tastefully done and is very relevant to the storyline of the film. If you see 'Sollamley' and 'Priyamudan' my character is a blend of performance with modernity without crossing the limits' explains Kausalya. Her forthcoming films in Tamil are 'Penn Onu Kandathean' with Sathyaraj, a film with Murali and in Malayalam she has 'Aval Katha Ezuthunnu' with Mohanlal and a film with Mukesh. "In Malayalam I acted with Suresh Gopi in 'Lelam', Mamooty in 'Thachiladathu Chundan' and Lal in 'Katha Ezuthunu'. So I guess that makes me the heroine of all three superstars" says Kausalya with a laugh.

In 'Pooveli' she acts as a young widow who has to playact as the wife of Karthik in order to keep her father in good humour. She slowly falls in love with Karthik who is already in love with another girl and the frustrations of a girl who is not able to confide her story to anyone is brought out brilliantly by Kausalya. After her first film's success she was besieged with offers but she signed few films only.

"I heard 12 stories in two days and signed only one because to tell you the truth I am very mediocre in my aspirations. I am willing to sit at home for six months and wait for a good role. For me acting is a hobby, a temporary thirst. If you will notice out of the six films that were released except for one all had a run of at least hundred days". She does not wait for the arty type films to come her way but instead maintains a steady balance between the two.

When she is not shooting she reads lot of magazine, newspapers and listens to music (not rock). She calls herself a blabbermouth and detests going to discos because of the tipsy crowd but at the same time she likes to party with her friends. She goes on location with only her makeup woman in tow because she feels that only those mother's who have no work hang along with their daughters and the industry is not such a bad place if one knows what we are doing.

Getting philosophical Kausalya says "I have my friends who advise me on my acting and not just want to be friends because I am an actress. To me money should not be too much or too less. Too much of everything or too little of everything will destroy oneself". Kausalya may be young but she carries a wise head on her shoulders and seems to be heading the right way to the top.