Priyamani

Priyamani Raj (née Iyer; born 4 June 1984 ), known mononymously as Priyamani, is an Indian actress who works in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi films. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards South and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Priyamani began her career with the 2003 Telugu film Evare Atagaadu. She went on to star in Raam (2009), Puthiya Mukham (2009), Raavanan (2010), and Pranchiyettan & the Saint (2010). She gained praise for playing a strong female lead in Madurai pastures in the Tamil romantic drama Paruthiveeran (2007), which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for Thirakkatha (2008) and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada for Chaarulatha (2012). She has since starred in Idolle Ramayana (2016), Jawan (2023), Article 370 (2024), and Officer on Duty (2025).

Early life

Priyamani was born and raised in Bangalore, Karnataka, to a Tamil Palakkad Iyer family. Her father, Vasudeva Iyer, owns a plantation business, and her mother, former national-level badminton player Lathamani Iyer, was a bank manager at Union Bank of India.

Priyamani modelled for Kanchipuram Silk, Erode Bharani Silks, and Lakshmi Silks during her school years. When she was in the 12th standard, Tamil film director Bharathiraja introduced her to the film industry. While at school, she actively participated in extracurricular activities and in sports. She is the granddaughter of Carnatic vocalist Kamala Kailas. She is the cousin of film actress Vidya Balan and the niece of playback singer Malgudi Shubha.

Priyamani studied at Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, Bengaluru. After completing her schooling, she modelled for print advertisements. She then completed her pre-university course and the degree from Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College, Bengaluru. She can speak in English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi fluently. Film director Fazil had approached her for acting in a movie, and she rejected the offer prior to her board examinations and eventually made her film debut in a Tamil film.

Career Priyamani made her debut with Telugu film, Evare Atagaadu. Although she began her acting career with Bharathiraja's Tamil film, Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, it was Evare Atagaadu which was released first.

Priyamani then made her debut in Malayalam cinema with Sathyam. In 2006, Priyamani starred in the Telugu film Pellaina Kothalo. The film was a hit and got her three Telugu films.

Priyamani managed to prove her acting credentials and commercial appeal with 2007's Paruthiveeran, directed by Ameer, in which she was co-starred with debutant Karthi. A rural subject which told the story of a notorious young villager in Madurai, the film won critical acclaim and became a surprise box-office blockbuster. She went on to win the National Film Award, followed by South Filmfare Award, Tamil Nadu State Film Award and an award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.

She had another commercially successful film in Telugu, in the 2007 film Yamadonga and 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 Tamil, she had a single release in 2008: Thotta.

In 2009 she had two Tamil releases, the masala film Arumugam and the remake of the Malayalam blockbuster Classmates, titled Ninaithale Inikkum. The former was a commercial failure: Her Kannada debut film Raam was also a commercial success. All three of her Telugu releases that year, however, (Drona, Mitrudu, Pravarakhyudu) did not do well at the box office. In 2010 she acted in the satirical film Pranchiyettan & the Saint which became the longest-running Malayalam film since 2005. She won a Filmfare nomination for her role as a Mumbai-based interior decorator in the film.

She was subsequently signed by director Mani Ratnam for his bilingual film, titled Raavanan and Raavan in Tamil and Hindi respectively. Soon after, she was hired by Bollywood director-producer Ram Gopal Varma for his bilingual film Rakht Charitra. Varma decided to cast her after seeing her National Award-winning performance in Paruthiveeran. Her Kannada film Vishnuvardhana became a blockbuster hit and later she starred in Anna Bond. Although the film was poorly received by critics and featured on Rediff's "Most Disappointing Kannada Films of 2012" list, it went on to become a successful venture at the box office. She appeared in an item number in the Bollywood film Chennai Express. She has completed shooting for a Malayalam film, The True Story and the Telugu film, Chandi, in which she plays Ganga the granddaughter of a freedom fighter, who seeks revenge for the problems her family had to face. She was cast opposite Darshan in the Kannada film Ambareesha in (2014). In 2014, she posed for a PETA ad campaign, asking the public to boycott zoos that feature caged tigers. In 2024, she was cast in the Hindi film Article 370

Besides The Family Man, Priyamani was also in ZEE5's His Storyy, Narappa, and Virata Parvam.

Personal life Priyamani announced her engagement to Mustafa Raj, an event organiser, in 2016, and the couple married in Bengaluru in 2017. Priyamani is Hindu, while her husband is a Muslim; she has spoken about receiving negative text messages and online comments due to their interfaith marriage.

Bilingual film (also partially reshot in Tamil)

Special appearance in the song "1-2-3-4 Get on the Dance Floor"

Mana Oori Ramayanam Telugu

Pathinettam Padi Gowri Vasudev Cameo appearance Nanna Prakara Dr. Amrutha |Kannada 2020 Ateet Janvi Hindi ZEE5 film 2021 Naarappa Sundaramma

Amazon Prime film

Bhamakalapam Anupama Mohan Aha film Virata Parvam Comrade Bharatakka Salaam Venky Adv. Nanda Kumar Hindi Cameo appearance

Priya Krishna Kannada

Priya Krishnan Tamil

Custody Chief Minister Dakshayani TeluguTamil Jawan Lakshmi Hindi Partially reshot in Tamil

Bhamakalapam 2 Anupama Mohan Telugu Article 370 Rajeshwari Swaminathan

Maidaan Saira Rahim Quotation Gang Shakuntala Tamil 2025 Officer on Duty Geetha Hari Malayalam

S Saraswathi Lakshmi Telugu Jana Nayagan Sheila Rani

G.D.N Chellammal 2027 Hindi Filming Television Web series

As a host or judge

Short films

Awards and nominations