Priyamani life and biography

Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer, better known by her stage name Priyamani is an Indian film actress and model who has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. She is best known for earning a National Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Muththazhagu in the 2006 Tamil film Paruthi Veeran, and for her role as Malavika in the 2008 Malayalam film Thirakkatha, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Malayalam).

Priyamani was born in a Tamil-speaking Iyer family in Palakkad, Kerala to Vasudeva Mani Iyer and Latha Mani Iyer. She grew up in Bangalore. As a result of her dynamic exposure to different South Indian states, she speaks Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. After completing her schooling, Priyamani modeled for print advertisements. As a result of her extended modeling, she began to earn opportunities to star in films. After being approached by several directors and being considered for roles, she finally starred in director Bharathiraja's Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, which was released in 2004.She is currently pursuing a degree in B.A. in psychology. She is the cousin of Bollywood actress Vidya Balan.

After her debut film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, her Telugu debut, Evare Atagaadu, sank without a trace. Priyamani then made her debut in the Malayalam film industry, where she starred opposite Prithviraj in Satyam, but this film also performed poorly at the box office. Despite these commercial failures, she was signed by Tamil film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to star opposite 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.

In 2006, Priyamani starred opposite Jagapathi Babu in the film Pellaina Kothalo. The film was a surprise hit given its low budget and modest star cast, and it propelled Priyamani to fame in Tollywood.

After three years in search of a film that would get her noticed, Priyamani managed to prove her acting credentials and commercial appeal with the 2007 film Paruthiveeran, directed by the Tamil director Ameer Sultan, in which she was paired with debutant Karthi 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 National Film Award, followed by a South Filmfare Award, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award and an award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. She had another blockbuster in Telugu, opposite Jr. NTR in the 2007 film Yamadonga and opposite Vishal in the Tamil film Malaikottai.

She again received 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 another Filmfare Award for her performance in the film.

In 2010 she acted opposite Mammootty in the satirical film Pranchiyettan & the Saint which went on to become the longest-running Malayalam film since 2005.[5] She won a Filmfare nomination for her role as a Mumbai-based interior decorator in the film.

Her biggest project in the pipeline happened when she was hired by the ace Indian director Mani Ratnam for his bilingual film, titled Raavanan and Raavan in Tamil and Hindi respectively. Soon after, she was roped in by Bollywood director-producer Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) for his big-budget trilingual film Rakht Charitra starring Vivek Oberoi and Surya Sivakumar. RGV decided to cast her in the film after seeing her National Award-winning performance in Paruthiveeran.

She was chosen along with her friend, actress Sneha, to promote the Chennai Marathon.

Filmography:

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Baburao Ninnodala Telugu Filming
Kshetram Telugu Filming
Vishnuvardhana Kannada Filming
Ko Ko Kannada Filming

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