Amala Paul

Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil and Malayalam films. She is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Filmfare Award South and two South Indian International Movie Awards.

Amala started her career in the Malayalam film Neelathamara (2009), and later appeared in the Tamil film Mynaa (2010), which earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She further received two SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for her performance in Run Baby Run (2012) and Oru Indian Pranayakadha (2013). She went on to appear in successful films such as Vettai (2012), Thalaivaa (2013), Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014), Hebbuli (2017), Thiruttu Payale 2 (2017), Ratsasan (2018) and The Goat Life (2024). Her titular role in Mili (2015) won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.

Early life Amala Paul was born on 26 October 1991 in Ernakulam, Kerala. Amala was born to Paul Varghese (d. 2017) and Annice Paul. Her brother Abijith Paul also appeared in films following Amala's entry into the film industry. After completing her schooling from Nirmala Higher Secondary School Aluva, she took a sabbatical to begin a career in films, but has since joined St. Teresa's College in Kochi, to pursue a B.A. degree in English.

Amala's father had been strictly against Amala pursuing an acting career but relented when her brother strongly supported her ambition.

Career 2009–2010: Early career After finishing studies, Lal Jose offered her a supporting role in his film, Neelathamara (2009). She pursued roles in Tamil films and went on to sign for the low-budget comedy film Vikadakavi, which was delayed and ultimately became her sixth release, while also signing on to play the lead role in another small budget film Veerasekaran (2010). Amala then went on to work in Samy's controversial Sindhu Samaveli (2010). Upon release, the film met with contrasting reviews, whilst some critics refused to give the film a rating, declaring their disgust at the film's plot. Paul claimed that she received death threats from anonymous callers and was publicly scolded by women at a cinema hall in Chennai.

Amala's next release, the romantic drama film Mynaa (2010), by Prabhu Solomon, made her a recognised actress in the industry. The film had garnered much anticipation prior to release, with noted distributors Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram purchasing the rights of the film after being impressed with it. Amala played the village belle Mynaa. The film was successful at the box office. She went on to sign three big budget films with the drama Deiva Thirumagal, directed by Vijay, featuring her opposite Vikram and alongside Anushka, becoming her next release. Her portrayal of school correspondent Shwetha Rajendran won critical acclaim, with a reviewer citing that her "expressive eyes help her leave a mark in a small but important role", whilst another critic claimed that she "acquits herself well". Her final release of 2011 was Ram Gopal Varma's Bejawada, which marked her début in Telugu language films.

Amala's first release of 2012 was in Lingusamy's Vettai, alongside Arya, Madhavan and Sameera Reddy. Amala won mixed feedback for her performance, while the critic from Sify mentioned that she "is lovely to look at and her feisty performance proves that a star is born". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com cited that she "struts, pouts and hams to the hilt". The actress had three films released on the Valentine's Day weekend of 2012, with Balaji Mohan's bilingual Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi / Love Failure becoming critical and commercial successes. The film, made in Tamil and Telugu, featured her alongside Siddharth and portrayed her as a college girl, Parvathi, showing her romantic skills. About the Tamil version, a reviewer from The Hindu wrote: "Amala Paul, after coming across as convincing in her last few movies, looks finally set as a leading lady", while another critic labelled that she "comes across as natural" and "it is a pleasure to see her in a role and costumes that suit her age as compared to her recent movies". Rediff.com called the Telugu version of the film "refreshing", highlighting that the lead pair's on-screen chemistry "sparkles". The romantic thriller Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal, opposite Atharvaa, also released on the same day in which she played Charulatha, a modern girl based in Bangalore. The film won mixed reviews, though the lead pair's on-screen chemistry was praised by critics, while another reviewer noted that "Amala renders an effortless act". She played a notable role in renowned director Dr. Biju's Akasathinte Niram, which was her first art-house film. The film was screened at the competition section for the Golden Goblet Award in the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival. She paired with veteran Malayalam actor Mohanlal in the film Run Baby Run, in which she played the role of a senior news channel editor. The film was a big commercial success and her performance as well as her chemistry with Mohanlal were highly appreciated.

In 2013, Amala achieved her first commercial success in Telugu cinema. Her first release in 2013, V. V. Vinayak's directorial Naayak, opposite Ram Charan, went on to be one of the biggest critical as well as commercial successes of the year. Her next film was Puri Jagannadh's romantic comedy Iddarammayilatho opposite Allu Arjun. Sangeetha Devi Dundroo of The Hindu commented: "Amala Paul manages to pull off a character that traverses a thin line between being naïve and downright silly. We wish we saw more of her." Another reviewer, Sasidhar AS from The Times of India commented: "Amala Paul's characterisation is a delight, and she plays Komali so effectively that you'll be left wondering who else could have done the role better than her. She was a perfect choice to play a traditional Telugu girl." She was later seen in A. L. Vijay's action entertainer Thalaivaa, opposite Vijay, as a police officer. Her last release of the year was the Malayalam film Oru Indian Pranayakadha.

In 2014, her first release was Samuthirakani's Nimirndhu Nil, which was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Janda Pai Kapiraju, in which Nani reprised the role of Jayam Ravi. Her second release saw her collaborating with Dhanush in the blockbuster film, VIP.

In 2015, she played the titular role in Mili with Nivin Pauly. She also co-starred with Suriya in Pasanga 2 .

In 2016, she acted in Amma Kanakku an official remake of Nil Battey Sannata by Ashwini Iyer, and won acclaim for her performance. In 2017 she starred in the Kannada film opposite Sudeepa in Hebbuli.

Amala switched back to two Tamil films in 2018, both which went on to become commercial successes. Bhaskar Oru Rascal saw her playing the role of Anu opposite Arvind Swamy. While in Ratsasan, she starred alongside Vishnu Vishal which received critical acclaim. In 2019, she starred in Tamil-Telugu bilingual film, Aadai, which met with positive reviews.

2021–2024: Continued success

In 2021, she appeared in anthology films Kutty Story and Pitta Kathalu. She was next seen in web series, Kudi Yedamaithe in Telugu, Ranjish Hi Sahi (web series) in Hindi and Victim: Who is Next? in Tamil. The OTT film, Cadaver (2022), which is an investigative thriller was released on Disney+ Hotstar on 12 August. The film saw Amala venture into Production.

She was also seen in back to back Malayalam films, The Teacher and Christopher which turned out be average. In 2023, she did a cameo alongside Ajay Devgn in Bholaa. 2024 saw one of Amala's highest grossing release with the critically acclaimed The Goat Life. Starring alongside Prithviraj, the film turned out to become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time collecting 158.15 crore, also becoming one of the highest grossing Indian film of 2024. After, she was seen in the psychological film, Level Cross.

Personal life Amala had changed her on-screen name to Anakha, on director Samy's insistence, who cited that another actress, Amala Akkineni had already made her name popular. However, after the failure of her 2011 film Sindhu Samaveli, she reverted to her birth name, since she felt that the replacement had brought her bad luck.

As early as 2011, when Amala was working on Deiva Thirumagal, she was romantically linked to director A. L. Vijay, but denied that they were dating. On 7 June 2014, she got engaged to Vijay at Aluva in Kochi. The couple got married on 12 June 2014 at Mayor Ramanathan Chettiar Hall, Chennai. In 2016, Amala and Vijay filed for divorce due to disagreement between her and her in-laws on continuing her acting career. They divorced in 2017.

She married entrepreneur Jagat Desai in 2023. They have a son named Ilai born on 11 June 2024.

In January 2018, Amala was arrested for tax evasion. A crime branch investigation had found that she had registered her luxury car in Puducherry with fake documents. Later, the case was closed citing jurisdictional issues.

Media image Amala is considered among the highest-paid Malayalam actresses. She was named the Kochi Times Most Desirable Women in 2013, and was placed 3rd in 2014. Her performance in Aadai is regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion.

Filmography Films

+ Year Title Role Language Notes 2009 Neelathamara Beena Malayalam 2010 Veerasekaran Sugandhi Tamil Sindhu Samaveli Sundari Credited as Anakha Mynaa Mynaa 2011 Ithu Nammude Katha Aishwarya Malayalam Vikadakavi Kavitha Tamil Deiva Thirumagal Shwetha Rajendran Bejawada Geetanjali Telugu 2012 Vettai Jayanthi Gurumurthy Tamil Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi Parvathi Partially reshot in Telugu as Love Failure Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal Charulatha "Charu/Latha" Akasathinte Niram Young lady Malayalam Run Baby Run Renuka 2013 Naayak Nandini Telugu Iddarammayilatho Komali Sankarabharanam Thalaivaa ACP Meera Narayanan Tamil Oru Indian Pranayakadha Irene Gardner Malayalam 2014 Nimirndhu Nil Poomari Tamil Velaiilla Pattadhari Dr. Shalini Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam Herself Special appearance Iyobinte Pusthakam Dancer Malayalam Cameo appearance 2015 Mili Milli Nair Janda Pai Kapiraju Indumathi Telugu Lailaa O Lailaa Anjali "Lailaa" Menon Malayalam Pasanga 2 Venba Thamizh Nadan Tamil 2016 2 Penkuttikal Aswathy Malayalam Amma Kanakku Shanti Gopal Tamil Shajahanum Pareekuttiyum Jia Malayalam 2017 Hebbuli Nandhini Kannada Achayans Reetha Fernandez Malayalam Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 Dr. Shalini Raghuvaran Tamil Thiruttu Payale 2 Agalya Selvam 2018 Bhaskar Oru Rascal Anu Ratsasan Vijayalakshmi 2019 Aadai Kamini / Sudhanthira Kodi 2021 Kutty Story Mrinalini Segment: "Edhirpaara Mutham" Pitta Kathalu Meera Telugu Segment: "Meera" 2022CadaverDr. Badhra ThangavelTamilAlso producer The TeacherDevika Malayalam 2023ChristopherSulekha BholaaDr. SwaraHindiCameo appearance 2024The Goat LifeSainu NajeebMalayalam Level CrossChaitali / Shikha

Television Year Title Role Language Notes 2021 Kudi Yedamaithe CI Durga Goud Telugu 2022 Ranjish Hi Sahi Amna Parvez Hindi Raju Vootla Party Herself Tamil Promote Cadaver Victim: Who is Next? Anjana Episode: "Confession"

Awards +List of awards Year Award Category Film Result 2011 Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards Best Actress -Tamil Mynaa Edison Awards Best Debut Actress Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress MGR-Sivaji Awards Best New Actress Vijay Awards Best Debutant Actress 2012 Jaya Awards Youth Female Icon of the Year Deiva Thirumagal 1st South Indian International Movie Awards Rising Female Star of South Indian cinema – 20132nd South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress – Malayalam Run Baby Run 2014 Vanitha Film Awards Most Popular Actress Oru Indian Pranayakadha Asianet Film Awards Best Actress 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress – Malayalam Amrita Film Awards Best Actor (Female) 2015 Vijay Awards Best Actress Velaiilla Pattadhari The Times of India Most Desirable Married Women of Kollywood Asiavision Awards Outstanding performer of the year – Female Mili 2016 11th Ramu Karyat Awards Best Actress Filmfare Awards South Critics Best Actress – Malayalam 2019 Behindwoods Gold Medal Behindwoods Gold Medal For Best Actress Critics – Tamil Aadai Critics Choice Movie Awards - Tamil Best Actress in a Leading Role Tamil Cinema Journalist Dailies Association Awards