Ramya: Journey from Kannada film industry to Parliament (see pics)

New Delhi: Newly elected Member of Parliament Kannada actress Ramya was born as Divya Spandana in Bangalore, Karnataka on 29 November 1982. She is a known actress of Kannada films and also appears in Tamil and Telugu films.Ramya studied at St. Hilda's school in Ooty and in Sacred Heart School (Church Park), Chennai. She did her graduation at St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore.Apart from being an actress, Ramya also the brand ambassador of the cricket franchise team Royal Challengers Bangalore. She started her career in films with Kannada film Abhi, opposite Puneet Rajkumar in 2003. The film was a commercial success. The same year, she had another release in Kannada with Excuse Me, which also did well at the box office, and also stepped into Telugu filmdom with the film Abhimanyu.In 2004, Ramya made her debut in Tamil film industry with the film Kuththu opposite Silambarasan Rajendar, which did an average business at the box office.In 2005 Ramya had four releases; all of them were in Kannada. The films did well on box office and were major hits. Her performance was also critically acclaimed and her name was established as a leading actress in Karnataka.In 2006 she starred in the remake of Hindi movie Julie. Ramya essayed the role of a single, unwed mother in the film. The film failed at the box office.In 2007, Ramya starred in three feature films; Arasu, co-starring Puneet Rajkumar and Meera Jasmine, was a huge hit. She then appeared as a sex worker in a short film Prarambha, directed by Santhosh Sivan. The film was a part of Mira Nair's AIDS Jaago project. Her another release in the year was Polladhavan, opposite Dhanush. The film released during the 2007 Diwali period and did really well at the box office. Even superstar Rajinikanth was all praises for the entire crew of Polladhavan.Ramya's first release in 2008 was the Kannada film Mussanjemaatu with Sudeep and film turned out to be a big hit for which she also received a nomination for a Best Actress Award at the 56th Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, Ramya did Just Math Mathalli which released on January 26, 2010. The film was a huge success and it also received rave reviews. Her role in the film was also very much appreciated.Check out her more pic...