Reshma (B-grade actress)

Reshma
Reshma
Born	Asma Bhanu; Karnataka, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–2005

Last updated April 23, 2024

Reshma (born Asma Bhanu) is an Indian former B-grade film actress from Karnataka, who is known for her works in the South Indian B-grade or softcore porn films, especially in the Malayalam language. Reshma was one of the most sought-after erotic actresses in the South Indian softcore porn industry during her time. She was also a key figure in the Malayalam softcore film genre in the early 2000s. Reshma has also appeared in few mainstream Kannada films. Her career came to an end in between 2003–2005 period, after the rapid surge of internet in India among many other reasons. Reshma disappeared in 2008 and is reportedly living in Karnataka with her family.^[1]

Career

A native of Mysore, Karnataka, Reshma entered into acting with the Kannada film Asai Noor. In the late 90's, the soft-porn or B-grade films started appearing in Malayalam film industry. It was at that time that Reshma's dubbed film Mayoori (2000) was released in Kerala in Malayalam. Reshma made her debut in Malayalam with the role of Damayanthi in the film Kaumaram directed by A. T. Joy. After that, she played the titular role in AT Joy's movie Lovely. This movie was commercially successful and gave her a break in Malayalam. After that, she starred in another film titled Nalam Simham. This movie's title was similar to the Malayalam film Narasimham, starring Mohanlal.^[2]

Reshama tried to change the direction of her career by playing a non-glamorous character in Natar Raghu's film Love Letter. But the film stalled midway. After that, she returned to the old path. In 2002, she acted in the films Nirappakittu and Asura Yugam. But Reshma soon faced a sudden downfall in her career due to the rapid internet surge in India, because of which the sale of B-grade movie CDs decreased. This was a major setback to the whole South Indian soft porn industry as well, and many B-grade actress including Reshma was forced to leave the industry in 2005.^[3]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
1999	Bas Karo Tum
2000	Bali Umar
2001
	Kinavu Pole	Shibani
	Layathalangal
	Aalilathoni
	Thirunelliyile Penkutty	Pallavi
	Louli
	Tharunnyam
	Lasyam
	Naalaam Simham
	Mohanayanangal	Sicily
2002
	Qatil Dilruba
	Sugandhavally
	Premasallapam
	Mohaswapnam
	Doctor Prema
	Asurayugam
	Apsara
	Adenthottam	Reetha
	Aalolam Kili	Aishwarya
	Nisagandhi
	Nakhachithrangal	Nancy Fernandez	^[4]
	Madhuram
	Diana	Reshma
	Sneha	Sneha
	Yamam	Greeshma
	Kiske Liye Yeh Jawani
	Soundharyalahari
2003	Vivadam	Suma
2003	Sundarikutty

Popularity and legacy

Within a few years of Reshma's entry into the softcore porn industry, the fame of Shakeela, the popular softcore porn actress of that time declined. Even though Reshma completely left the industry in 2005, her videos are still one of the main earner of porn websites in India.^[5] According to the film scholar Darshana Sreedhar Mini, "Reshma was more daring with her co-stars and more camera friendly. She reportedly received around ₹5 lakhs per film during 1998-99. The remuneration was very high even by today’s standards. But Reshma was riding high on a boom that was propelling the south Indian (especially Malayalam) porn industry at that time".^[6]

According to film analyst Sunil Mannannur, "Reshma is an actress who entered into the privacy of the Malayalees and enlivened their days and nights. She had the reputation of being the most beautiful B-grade actress from South India and the title of lucky star who made most of the films she acted in become super hits. Even when many of the superstar films failed at the box office, Reshma's B-grade films were money-spinners of those days. Today's audiences have forgotten Reshma, apart from enjoying her movies well. No one would have thought about where that woman is, what she is doing and how she is living. Even so, there is no need to think like that now, because there are porn stars ahead of Reshma at our fingertips today. Not only Reshma but other actresses of that time who sent the audience into a frenzy went into oblivion when the audience wandered in search of differences"; he says.^[7]

Disappearance

In December 2007, the police took Reshma along with two other women and two agents into custody from a hotel in Kochi, allegedly for doing sex work. The police allegedly denied Reshma the right to be accompanied by a woman police officer while questioning a woman. The businessmen or the clients who were rounded up in the police raid were allegedly let off by the police immediately. A policeman took her phone, started recording his interrogation on it, and threatened her. The video was later leaked.^[8] Reshma was charged under various sections of the IPC, but was granted bail later. After this incident, a year later, she disappeared, reportedly moving to a different city. In 2017, the actress Shakeela, during an interview claimed that she has contact with Reshma and revealed she is living discreetly in a small town in Karnataka.^[9]

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References

↑ "ഷക്കീലയ്ക്കും മറിയയ്ക്കുമൊപ്പം തരംഗം സൃഷ്ടിച്ച രേഷ്മ ഇന്ന് എവിടെ ? സിനിമ ജീവിതം യഥാര്‍ഥ ജീവിതത്തിലേക്കും പകര്‍ത്തിയപ്പോള്‍ സംഭവിച്ചത്..." RashtraDeepika. 21 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
↑ "ബി ഗ്രേഡ് സിനിമയിലെ വിപ്ലവ നായിക രേഷ്മ ഇപ്പോൾ ഇവിടെയുണ്ട്!". Samayam Malayalam (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
↑ Mini, Darshana Sreedhar (2019). "The Rise of Soft Porn in Malayalam Cinema and the Precarious Stardom of Shakeela". Feminist Media Histories. 5 (2): 49–82. doi:10.1525/fmh.2019.5.2.49. S2CID 181897151. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
↑ "Nakhachithrangal was Directed by A.T Joy". www.dailymotion.com. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
↑ newskairali (23 September 2017). "രേഷ്മക്ക് എന്ത് സംഭവിച്ചു? ഇപ്പോളെവിടെയാണ്? അറിയാമെന്ന് ഷക്കീല". Kairali News | Kairali News Live (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
↑ Mini, Darshana Sreedhar (2016). "The Spectral Duration of Malayalam Soft-porn: Disappearance, Desire, and Haunting". BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies. 7 (2): 127–150. doi:10.1177/0974927616667971. ISSN 0974-9276. S2CID 193768554. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
↑ Mannanur, Sunil (4 November 2019). "ബി ഗ്രേഡ്‌ സിനിമകളും ചില കാണാക്കാഴ്ചകളും– Part 2 | PravasiExpress" . Retrieved 6 October 2023.
↑ Prakash, Sadhu (15 August 2022). "Reshma:ഒരു കാലത്ത് യുവാക്കളുടെ ഹരമായിരുന്ന മാദകറാണി രേഷ്മയ്ക്ക് സംഭവിച്ചതെന്ത്? രേഷ്മ ഇപ്പോള്‍ എവിടെ? » Breaking Kerala". Breaking Kerala. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
↑ Kottoor, Asim (16 November 2017). "ഷക്കീല,രേഷ്മ,മറിയ: ഇവര്‍ ഇന്നെവിടെയാണ്?". East Coast Movies & Entertainments News (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

External links

Reshma at IMDb

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[1] "ഷക്കീലയ്ക്കും മറിയയ്ക്കുമൊപ്പം തരംഗം സൃഷ്ടിച്ച രേഷ്മ ഇന്ന് എവിടെ ? സിനിമ ജീവിതം യഥാര്‍ഥ ജീവിതത്തിലേക്കും പകര്‍ത്തിയപ്പോള്‍ സംഭവിച്ചത്..." RashtraDeepika. 21 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.

[2] "ബി ഗ്രേഡ് സിനിമയിലെ വിപ്ലവ നായിക രേഷ്മ ഇപ്പോൾ ഇവിടെയുണ്ട്!". Samayam Malayalam (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

[3] Mini, Darshana Sreedhar (2019). "The Rise of Soft Porn in Malayalam Cinema and the Precarious Stardom of Shakeela". Feminist Media Histories. 5 (2): 49–82. doi:10.1525/fmh.2019.5.2.49. S2CID 181897151. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

[4] "Nakhachithrangal was Directed by A.T Joy". www.dailymotion.com. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

[5] wskairali (23 September 2017). "രേഷ്മക്ക് എന്ത് സംഭവിച്ചു? ഇപ്പോളെവിടെയാണ്? അറിയാമെന്ന് ഷക്കീല". Kairali News | Kairali News Live (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

[6] Mini, Darshana Sreedhar (2016). "The Spectral Duration of Malayalam Soft-porn: Disappearance, Desire, and Haunting". BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies. 7 (2): 127–150. doi:10.1177/0974927616667971. ISSN 0974-9276. S2CID 193768554. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

[7] Mannanur, Sunil (4 November 2019). "ബി ഗ്രേഡ്‌ സിനിമകളും ചില കാണാക്കാഴ്ചകളും– Part 2 | PravasiExpress" . Retrieved 6 October 2023.

[8] Prakash, Sadhu (15 August 2022). "Reshma:ഒരു കാലത്ത് യുവാക്കളുടെ ഹരമായിരുന്ന മാദകറാണി രേഷ്മയ്ക്ക് സംഭവിച്ചതെന്ത്? രേഷ്മ ഇപ്പോള്‍ എവിടെ? » Breaking Kerala". Breaking Kerala. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

[9] Kottoor, Asim (16 November 2017). "ഷക്കീല,രേഷ്മ,മറിയ: ഇവര്‍ ഇന്നെവിടെയാണ്?". East Coast Movies & Entertainments News (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.

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