She made her film debut as one of the two heroines in the Tamil film
Vennira Adai (1965) replacing the then-fifteen-year-old
Hema Malini, whom the director fired because she was too thin and unseasoned. Hema went on to Bollywood and become a top star in Hindi films. The other heroine in the film
Jayalalitha J became a top star in Tamil films and later became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
