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| Priyamani |
Born Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer
June 4, 1984 (1984-06-04) (age 25)[1]
Palakkad, Kerala, India
Occupation Film actress
Years active 2004-present
Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer, better known by her stage name Priyamani, is an award-winning Indian film actress and model who has acted in several Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam language films. She is best known for earning a National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the 2006 Tamil film Paruthi Veeran directed by Ameer Sultan. Priyamani is Bollywood actress Vidya Balan's cousin.
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Website : http://priyamani.naughtymachine.com/
Early career
Her debut film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei in Tamil was released in 2004, and her Telugu debut Evare Atagaadu sank without a trace. Priyamani then made her debut in her native film industry, Malayalam, where she starred opposite another rising actor who would go on to establish himself as a popular actor in Tamil, Prithviraj Sukumaran, through the film Satyam [disambiguation needed], but this film also performed poorly at the box office. Despite these commercial failures, she was hired by Tamil film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to star opposite rising Tamil star Dhanush in the 2005 drama Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam. She won tremendous acclaim for her performance in the film, but the film's under-performance meant that box-office success still eluded her.
Success in Kannada
Priyamani found commercial success in 2009 when she starred opposite Kannada actor Puneet Rajkumar in the film Raam.
Success in Telugu
Priyamani found success coming for her finally in the year 2006, when she starred opposite middle-aged Telugu actor Jagapathi Babu in the film Pellaina Kothalo, a film about a newly-wed couple. The film was a surprise hit given its low budget and modest star cast, and it propelled Priyamani to fame in Tollywood.
Paruthiveeran and the future
After three years in search of the elusive film that would make her get noticed, Priyamani managed to prove both her acting credentials and also commercial appeal with the 2007 film Paruthiveeran, directed by the Tamil director Ameer Sultan. She was paired with debutant Karthi Sivakumar, who is the younger brother of Tamil star Surya Sivakumar. A rural subject which told the story of a notorious young villager in Madurai, the film won tremendous critical acclaim and also became a surprise box-office blockbuster. Priyamani's performance was unanimously praised and she went on to win the Indian National Award for Best Actress, followed by a Filmfare Award, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress and an award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.
She had another blockbuster in Telugu, starring opposite Jr. NTR in the 2007 film Yamadonga and opposite Vishal in the Tamil film Malaikottai.
She again won huge critical acclaim in 2008 for her role in the Malayalam film Thirakkatha, in which she played a role based on the turbulent real-life story of late film actress Srividya. She won a Filmfare award for the role.
Priyamani is being paired for the third time with good friend and actor Prithviraj Sukumaran for her next Tamil film, Ninaithale Inikkum, which is a remake of the Malayalam blockbuster Classmates. This is the pair's first association in Tamil. She is also acting in a commercial entertainer opposite Bharath in a film called Arumugam. She wore a bikini for the first time in the movie Drona but it failed to impress at the box office.
However, her biggest project in the pipeline happened when she was hired by ace Indian director Mani Ratnam for his next bilingual film, Raavana. Priyamani's co-stars in the film include Prithviraj Sukumaran, Vikram, Karthik Muthuraman, Prabhu Ganesan and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.. Soon after, she was roped in by Bollywood biggie Ram Gopal Varma for his big-budget trilingual Rakta Charitra, starring Vivek Oberoi and Tamil actor Surya Sivakumar. Varma decided to cast her in the film after he watched her National Award-winning performance in Paruthiveeran.
FILMOGRAPHY
2010 - Enakka Mani Unakka ( Tamil )
2010 - Raavanan ( Tamil )
2010 - Kadhal Mudichu ( Tamil )
2010 - Rattha Charithram ( Tamil )
2010 - Rakta Charitra ( Telugu )
2010 - Bet ( Telugu )
2010 - Tholaindhuponavargal ( Tamil )
2010 - Golimaar ( Telugu )
2010 - Priyatama Raave ( Telugu )
2010 - Shambo Shiva Shambo ( Telugu )
2010 - Master ( Malayalam )
2010 - Villain ( Telugu )
2010 - Rakta Charitra 2 ( Telugu )
2010 - Palnati Veerudu ( Telugu )
2010 - Puthiya Mukham ( Tamil )
2010 - Eno Onthara ( Kannada )
2010 - Sadhyam ( Telugu )
2009 - Ninaithale Inikkum ( Tamil )
2009 - Puthiya Mukham ( Malayalam )
2009 - Bhagavan ( Malayalam )
2009 - Thoota ( Telugu )
2009 - Aarumugam ( Tamil )
2009 - Raam ( Kannada )
2009 - Pravarakhyudu ( Telugu )
2009 - Mitrudu ( Telugu )
2009 - Drona ( Telugu )
2008 - Thirakkatha ( Malayalam )
2008 - King ( Telugu )
2008 - Hare Ram ( Telugu )
2008 - Thotta ( Tamil )
2007 - Yamadonga ( Telugu )
2007 - Paruthiveeran ( Tamil )
2007 - Toss ( Telugu )
2007 - Bhayya ( Telugu )
2007 - Nava Vasantham ( Telugu )
2007 - Malaikottai ( Tamil )
2006 - Pellaina Kothalo ( Telugu )
2006 - Madhu ( Tamil )
2005 - Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam ( Tamil )
2005 - Ottananayam ( Malayalam )
2004 - Sathyam ( Malayalam )
1999 - Chinna Raja ( Tamil )
2007 - Paruthi Veeran ( Tamil )
2006 - Otta Nanayam ( Malayalam )
2004 - Satyam ( Malayalam )
2002 - Evare Atagaadu ( Telugu )
2002 - Kangalal Kaithu Sei ( Tamil )
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