Elli AvrRam

Elli AvrRam
Elli AvrRam at Elle Beauty Awards 2016
Born (1990-07-29) 29 July 1990 (age 34)
Stockholm, Sweden
NationalitySwedish-Greek
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Elisabet Avramidou Granlund (Greek: Ελισάβετ Αβραμίδου Γκράνλουντ; born 1989/1990[1]), known professionally as Elli AvrRam, is a Swedish-Greek actress[2] and is now based in Mumbai, India.[3] She is known for her Hindi film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon.[4] AvrRam came to prominence after participating in the Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss in 2013.[5][6] Elli along with Aamir Khan had a special appearance in the Koi Jaane Na film song "Har Funn Maula".[citation needed]

Early life

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Elli was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in Tyresö kommun,[7] Stockholm. Her Greek father, Jannis Avramidis, is a musician who is now settled in Sweden; and her Swede mother, Maria Granlund, is an actress who had a part in Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander.[2] AvrRam took an interest in figure skating, singing and dancing from her initial years. AvrRam received training in acting from her mother and aunt who runs a theater in Skåne County, Sweden.[2] AvrRam felt a connection to India since her childhood. In an interview with the local Stockholm newspaper Mitt i, she said, "Even when I was five, I was fascinated by Indian dance and the colorful clothes." Since her father is a Greek musician, she found some Greek songs are related to Indian melodies. AvrRam dreamt of being a Bollywood actress since her adolescence.[7] She would go to a video store in Stockholm that used to sell Hindi movies and she would buy Bollywood films from there. She also used to watch Hindi films on YouTube.[7]

Career

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At 17, AvrRam became a member of the Stockholm-based Pardesi Dance Group, and gave dance performances, primarily on Bollywood songs.[7][8]

AvrRam has done some acting projects in Sweden,[2] the most noticeable of them is the December 2008 crime drama romance film, Förbjuden Frukt, where she played the role of Selen – the lead character's teen girlfriend. The film is set against the backdrop of violent crime, where she falls in love with a boy with a criminal past.[9]

In 2010, AvrRam participated in Miss Greece beauty contest.[10] She also appeared on the Swedish TV-show Gomorron Sverige.[11]

In September 2012,[12] AvrRam moved to Mumbai on a tourist visa to pursue an acting career in Bollywood. About the decision of acting in Hindi movies, she expressed in an interview with N Magazine, "[When] I was 14, I had a TV in my room and watched Devdas which is almost four hours long. I didn't move the entire time. I thought, 'Wow, I want to act and dance like that. I have to do Bollywood movies.'" She signed up with a modeling agency and soon got a work visa. The agency helped her getting auditions. The first considerable project she managed to get was a TV commercial for Eveready Industries India with the leading Indian actor Akshay Kumar.[citation needed]

She eventually got her first major breakthrough by bagging a lead role in Saurabh Varma's comedy thriller film Mickey Virus.[citation needed] AvrRam recollected, "The photographer who took pictures of me knew a director who was looking for a girl for a lead role. I called him and had come to audition for his film."[7] She disclosed, "Before I auditioned for Mickey Virus, I asked director to send me the script so I could memorize the words, because I didn't know Hindi yet. I was sent four pages of dialogue and there was no one who could tell me how to pronounce certain words. At the audition they liked my acting but the accent wasn't right." She was shortlisted along with 200 other hopefuls and managed to beat others.[2] AvrRam revealed in an interview, "When I told the director that mom worked with Ingmar Bergman, he gave a strong reaction: 'What!? Has she worked with Bergman?' They were incredibly impressed."[7] For her Bollywood launch, AvrRam has taken formal training in dance form and Hindi pronunciation.[13] In this film she plays the role of Kamayani George,[citation needed] the love interest of the character Mickey Virus, played Manish Paul, who is a popular TV host and is making his debut in film industry. The film, shot in Delhi, released on 25 October 2013.[citation needed]

Avram in 2018

The first Swedish actress to act in Bollywood, AvrRam has been noted for looks very similar to the actress Katrina Kaif.[14]

In 2013, AvrRam participated as a contestant on an Indian reality TV show, Bigg Boss 7, where celebrities from various walks of life live together in a large house, completely cut off from the outside world. They try to avoid being evicted every week by public votes, with the aim of prize money at the end. The show, based on Dutch-based Endemol's Big Brother, went on air in September 2013 and is hosted by the actor Salman Khan.[6] After spending ten weeks on the show, she got evicted in November 2013. AvrRam said in an interview with PTI, "I did not come to Bigg Boss for money or fame but with the agenda to have fun. This show has helped me become a household name. I am very humbled by the appreciation I have received from audiences and will cherish this experience for years to come."

In October 2013, colleges in Chandigarh reportedly banned the students from possessing or displaying posters of AvrRam in the campus and dormitories as the college authorities considered her images inappropriate.[15]

In 2014, Elli appeared as a guest contestant in Colors TV's dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in its seventh season for the teen ka tadka special week along with Sophie Choudry.[16]

In 2015, her third film, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon released in September. The film received good reviews and was a success at the box office. In 2017, she appeared in two films Naam Shabana[17] and Poster Boys.[18] She later presented the reality show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.

In 2018, appeared in the film Baazaar in the song "Billionaire" along with Rohan Mehra and Saif Ali Khan. While the film failed at the box office, the song got good reviews.[19]

AvrRam performed a dance act on the song "Chamma Chamma" for the film Fraud Saiyaan. The special song, was released in December 2018 by Tips Industries and gained over 15 million YouTube views in just three days of its release. Despite popularity of song, film was flopped in box-office[20][21][22] At the song launch event, AvrRam said, "I signed up for this dance song because it's such an iconic thing to get to be part of the recreation of it." She appeared in another song "Zila Hilela" along with Sidharth Malhotra in Ekta Kapoor's movie Jabariya Jodi.[23]

In March 2019, she appeared in a music video called, Haaye Oye, released by Sony Music India. In 2020, she acted in the film Malang playing the role of Jesse. In 2021, she made her Tamil debut with the film Naane Varuvean opposite Dhanush. Her last special dance number "Har Funn Maula" with Aamir Khan got more than 90 million views on YouTube .[24]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Movies

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Year Name Role Language Notes
2013 Mickey Virus Kamayani aka Kate George Hindi [citation needed]
2014 Butterfly Vijaylakshmi Kannada Unreleased
Paris Paris Tamil
2019 Fraud Saiyaan Chandani (item number "Chamma Chamma") Hindi
Jabariya Jodi Dancer in the song 'Zila Hilela'
Perspective Beautiful Woman English Short film
2020 Malang Jessabelle a.k.a. Jessie Hindi
2021 Koi Jaane Na Special appearance in the song "Har Funn Maula" Hindi
With You - Backar du så backar jag Lilly Swedish Short film
2022 Naane Varuvean Madhuri Tamil
Goodbye Daisy Bhalla Hindi
2023 Ganapath Dimple Bajwa
Conjuring Kannappan Dr. Magdalene Ellis Tamil

Television

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Year Name Role Notes Ref.
2013 Bigg Boss 7 Contestant 10th place
2014 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 Appeared in teen ka tadka special
2016 Box Cricket League 2
2017 The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Host

Web series

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Year Name Role Ref.
2019 The Verdict – State vs Nanavati Sylvia Nanavati
Typewriter Anita
Inside Edge 2 Sandy

References

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  1. ^ "You are hereBiggboss 7 > Housemates > Elli Avram". In.com India – A web18 Venture. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e De Villiers, Pierre. "Swedish actress Elli AvrRam is breaking new ground – by starring in an upcoming Bollywood film". Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  3. ^ "These pictures of Elli AvrRam in printed monokini will leave you stunned!".
  4. ^ "Do you know how Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon did at the Box Office?". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Elli Avram meets her parents on Bigg Boss 7". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b Goyal, Divya (17 September 2013). "'Bigg Boss 7' complete list of contestants". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Carlsson, Anders. "Från Tyresö till Bollywood". Mitt i Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Pardesi Dance Group". Pardesi Dance Group on Youtube. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Förbjuden Frukt (2008) Official trailer. starring Elli AvrRam, Gguveli, Haisem Ali, Arif Karadeniz". Ali Gohari. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Katrina Kaif has a twin in Bigg Boss 7 contestant Elli AvrRam!". FILMS OF INDIA. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Bollywood goes crazy over actress Elisabet Avramidou Granlund | Neos Kosmos". Neos Kosmos. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Spot the difference: Elli AvrRam and Katrina Kaif". Living Media India Limited. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  13. ^ Mankermi, Shivani (31 August 2013). "Bollywood gets ready to unleash a new stock of hotties". Living Media India Limited/Mail Today. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Bigg Boss 7: Elli Reminds Salman Khan of Katrina Kaif!". 9 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Elli AvrRam banned!". The Times of India. TNN. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 Teen Ka Tadka Week: Krystle, Elli, Dadi and others come". The Times of India. 30 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Naam Shabana song Dil Hua Besharam: This dance number in Taapsee Pannu film looks bland. Watch video". 19 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Poster Boys Song Kudiya Shehar Di: Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Shreyas Talpade Shake A Leg With Elli AvrRam On This Peppy Punjabi Number – Watch Video". 11 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Baazaar Box Office Collection Day 4: With A 'Decline,' Saif Ali Khan's Film Earns ₹ 13 Crore". 30 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Fraud Saiyyan song Chamma Chamma blatantly objectifies Elli AvrRam in Urmila Matondkar's chartbuster remix". firstpost.com. Firstpost. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Chamma Chamma Official Song – Fraud Saiyaan Elli AvrRam, Arshad Neha Kakkar, Tanishk, Ikka,Romy". Tips Official on YouTube. Retrieved 16 December 2018 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ "China Gate song 'Chamma Chamma' to be recreated for Prakash Jha's film, Fraud Saiyyan". Firstpost. Firstpost. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  23. ^ "Jabariya Jodi new song out: Sidharth Malhotra and Elli AvrRam recreate hit Bhojpuri song Zilla Hilela". 11 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Aamir Khan, Elli AvrRam shatter the screens with their chemistry in cabaret song Har Funn Maula". The Indian Express. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
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