Yasmin later made her acting debut in Thiagarajan Kumararaja 's Tamil gangster film '' Aaranya Kaandam '' ( 2011 ) , after being approached by the director who had spotted her face on a hoarding in Chennai . Once she was on board , Yasmin prepared for her role under the tutelage of Guru Somasundaram in a ten day workshop . The film narrates the tale of a drug lord Singaperumal , played by Jackie Shroff , who is well past his prime and imprisons the young Subbu , played by Yasmin and abuses her at will , eager as he is to prove his potency . The film was honoured with two National Film Awards for Best Editing and Best Debut Film of a Director category respectively . Yasmin won rave reviews for her portrayal of Subbu , with Sify.com stating she " is fantastic in her debut role " and " she brings out the innocence and the cunning cruelty of the character very well " . Likewise , Rediff.com noted " Yasmin Ponnappa makes you gnash her teeth as the dumb blonde but it 's a measure of her success that you feel the exasperation " . Later entertainment portals Fully Filmy and Behindwoods both listed Yasmin 's role in the film as amongst the strongest female characters ever written in Tamil cinema
National Film Awards
59th National Film Awards
Yasmin Ponnappa