Happy Birthday Rashmika Mandanna: Tracing how the Karnataka crush is winning over the rest of India

Rashmika who made her debut in the Kannada film industry with Kirik Party took just three years to become one of the most sought-after actors across state boundaries. Just a few films old, Rashmika is sure going from strength to strength

Here's a pictorial account of how she went about making her own path... in her own way

A model-turned-actor, RM made her debut with Kirik Party, in which she was paired opposite Rakshit Shetty. Her role as Saanvi became an instant heartthrob

Kirik Party, made on a modest budget, heaped rich returns at the box office, and RM came to be known as Karnataka's Crush

In her very second film, RM starred opposite Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar in Anjani Putra, a remake of the Tamil film, Poojai. She showcased her humour skills with this film.

RM next shared screen space with Golden Star Ganesh in Chamak, a romantic drama directed by Suni. Delivering a good performance in a challenging role, she won a Filmfare nomination

Two years since her Kannada debut, RM took a plunge in the Telugu film industry with Naga Shaurya-starrer Chalo. Interestingly, she played a Tamil girl Karthika in this action comedy

RM rose to fame in Telugu with Geetha Govindam. The actor was paired opposite Vijay Deverakonda, and the film went on to be a blockbuster hit of 2018. She won her first Filmfare for her role as Geetha

She followed it with the multistarrer Devadas, starring opposite Nani. Dear Comrade, her next film, considered to be her best work so far, marked her second project with Vijay Deverakonda

RM returned to Kannada with the Darshan-starrer Yajamana. The film directed by acclaimed music director V Harikrishna was one of the successful films of 2019, and completed a 100-day run

Her next big-ticket film in Telugu was the Sankranthi release, Sarileru Neekevvaru, in which she was paired opposite the Prince of Tollywood, Mahesh Babu

RM's golden run at the box-office continued with her recent release, Bheeshma, starring Nithin that also featured senior actor, Anant Nag.

She returned to Kannada cinema with the Nanda Kishore directorial, which starred Dhruva Sarja

After making a mark in Telugu and Kannada, Rashmika finally made her debut in Tamil with the Karthi blockbuster, Sulthan. The golden run continues!

If her previous films were blockbusters, not sure what we call the Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa, which created waves all over Srivalli became a household name, and indeed the National Crush

Further establishing her credentials in Telugu cinema with the family entertainer, Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu, RM understood the importance of keeping all kinds of audience entertained with her presence

The planning of her career is something that is inspirational and impressive. She will be making her Bollywood debut with the Sidharth Malhotra-fronted Mission Majnu

And her next step in Bollywood is even bigger as RM is working in Amitabh Bachchan-Vikas Bahl's Goodbye. The leaps are just getting bigger now!

And in that process, RM is set to star opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. EVerything about this project is hyped, and RM's presence just adds multiple layers to it

It isn't like RM will just be in Bollywood, as she is returning to Tamil with Vijay's next with Vamshi, which will be a Tamil-Telugu bilingual. Well, happy birthday indeed, Rashmika Mandanna!