Janani Iyer

Janani (formerly Janani Iyer) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Malayalam movies. She made noticed for her role in the Tamil cinema feature film Avan Ivan. Her notable films including Thegidi (2014) and 7th Day (2014). She is the 3rd runner up of the reality show Bigg Boss 2 which aired in 2018.

Personal life Janani Iyer was born in Kathivakkam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She did her schooling at DAV Gopalapuram and graduated with B.E. Computer Science and Engineering at Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai. After her undergraduate studies, she was seated in Wollongong University, Australia. She dropped her studies plan and became a part of the cast of Avan Ivan. On 16 April 2025, actress Janani announced her engagement to her longtime friend Sai Roshan Shyam. The couple became engaged in a private and intimate ceremony attended by close family and friends. Janani confirmed the news by sharing a photograph from the ceremony on her official Instagram account. She married Roshan Shyam in an intimate Hindu ceremony in Chennai on 30 March 2026.

Career After her studies, she ventured into modeling and appeared in over 150 regional television advertisements. However, Janani stated that she had always dreamt of becoming an actress, considering acting to be her "passion in life". In early 2010, following the recommendation of director A. L. Vijay, Janani went to audition for director Bala, who was looking for a Tamil-speaking newcomer for the lead female character for his film project, Avan Ivan (2011). A critic from Sify wrote, "Janani Iyer looks beautiful and it is a relief to watch a Tamil girl speaking in her own voice." She also made her debut in Malayalam cinema with 3 Dots though the film did not perform well commercially.

In 2014, she appeared alongside Ashok Selvan in the crime thriller Thegidi, which won positive reviews and became a surprise success at the box office. A critic from IndiaGlitz.com noted "Janani Iyer is sweet and plays her part perfectly as Madhu the innocent girl". While waiting for better offers from the Tamil film industry, she prioritised working on Malayalam films and notably starred in films such as 3 Dots (2013) opposite Kunchacko Boban, 7th Day (2014) opposite Prithviraj which was a commercial success and Koothara (2014) alongside Mohanlal and Bharath. She also featured opposite actor Asif Ali in successive ventures, Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal (2014) and Ithu Thaanda Police (2016). During the period, a further Malayalam film, Edison Photos opposite Nivin Pauly was cancelled.

Janani made a return to Tamil films in 2017 by featuring in the mystery film Adhe Kangal and the horror comedy Balloon. The following year, the long-delayed Vidhi Madhi Ultaa (2018) had a theatrical release, but went unnoticed at the box office. In 2018, she appeared on the Tamil television reality show Bigg Boss Tamil 2 hosted by Kamal Haasan, which is telecasted on Star Vijay.

Filmography

+Key Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Web series

+ Year Title Role Language Notes Ref. 2023 MY3 Keerthana Tamil