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Real Name: | Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer |
Profession: | Indian actress |
Birthplace: | Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
Spouse: | Mustafa Raj |
Age: | 39 |
Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer (born 4 June 1984), known by her professional name Priyamani, is an Indian actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards South, and a Filmfare OTT Award.
Priyamani made her acting debut with the 2003 Telugu film Evare Atagaadu. She gained widespread recognition for her role as a village girl in the Tamil romantic drama Paruthiveeran in 2007, receiving a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Tamil. Her other notable works include Raam (2009), Raavan (2010), Raavanan (2010), Pranchiyettan & the Saint (2010), Chaarulatha (2012) and Idolle Ramayana (2016). She 2019, she has starred in the black comedy series The Family Man.
Priyamani Biography
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Born |
Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer
4 June 1984 (age 39) Bangalore, Karnataka, India
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Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2003–present |
Spouse |
Mustafa Raj (m. 2017)
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Awards | Full list |
Early life (Priyamani Biography)
Priyamani Iyer was born and raised in Bangalore, Karnataka. She is from a Tamil family Her father, Vasudeva Mani Iyer, owns a plantation business, and her mother, former national-level badminton player, Lathamani Iyer, was a bank manager at Union Bank of India. She modeled for Kanchipuram Silk, Erode Bharani Silks, and Lakshmi Silks during her school years. When she was in the 12th Standard, Tamil 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.
After completing her schooling, Priyamani modeled for print advertisements. Priyamani pursued a degree in Bachelor of Arts in psychology through correspondence. She can speak in English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi fluently.
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. Then she was signed by Tamil film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to act in the 2005 drama Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam. Before release, Babith said “Priyamani has come up with an excellent performance in the movie. Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam was critically acclaimed but failed at the box office. However, she won acclaim for her performance in the film. 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 co-starred with debutant Karthi. A rural subject that 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 the South Filmfare Award, the 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, Chandee, 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 (2014).In 2014, she posed for a PETA ad campaign, asking the public to boycott zoos that feature caged tigers.
Besides The Family Man, Priyamani was also in ZEE5‘s His Storyy, Narappa, and Virata Parvam.
Personal life (Priyamani Biography)
Priyamani married Mustafa Raj, an event organizer, in a private ceremony on 23 August 2017.
Filmography
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Films
Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
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2003 | Evare Atagaadu | Rekha | Telugu | credited as Priya |
2004 | Kangalal Kaidhu Sei | Vidhya Sadagopan | Tamil | |
Satyam | Sona | Malayalam | ||
2005 | Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam | Thulasi | Tamil | |
Otta Nanayam | Reshma | Malayalam | ||
2006 | Pellaina Kothalo | Lakshmi | Telugu | |
Madhu | Mercy | Tamil | ||
2007 | Paruthiveeran | Muthazhagu | Tamil | National Film Award for Best Actress (2006) |
Toss | Naina | Telugu | ||
Yamadonga | Maheswari | Telugu | ||
Nava Vasantham | Anjali | Telugu | ||
Malaikottai | Malar | Tamil | ||
2008 | Thotta | Nalina | Tamil | |
Thirakkatha | Malavika | Malayalam | ||
Hare Ram | Anjali | Telugu | ||
King | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance in song “Nuvvu Ready Nenu Ready” | |
2009 | Drona | Indhu | Telugu | |
Mitrudu | Indu | Telugu | ||
Puthiya Mukham | Anjana | Malayalam | ||
Arumugam | Yamini | Tamil | ||
Ninaithale Inikkum | Meera | Tamil | ||
Pravarakhyudu | Sailaja | Telugu | ||
Raam | Pooja | Kannada | ||
2010 | Shambo Shiva Shambo | Munimma | Telugu | |
Sadhyam | Suhani | Telugu | ||
Golimaar | Pavithra | Telugu | ||
Raavan | Jamuni | Hindi | ||
Raavanan | Vennila | Tamil | ||
Pranchiyettan and the Saint | Padmashree | Malayalam | ||
Eno Onthara | Madhumathi | Kannada | ||
Rakht Charitra II | Bhavani | Hindi | Bilingual film (also partially reshot in Tamil) | |
Telugu | ||||
Ragada | Priya / Ashtalakshmi |
Telugu | ||
2011 | Raaj | Mythili | Telugu | |
Kshetram | Naga Penchalamma/ Sohini Aggarwal |
Telugu | ||
Vishnuvardhana | Meera | Kannada | ||
2012 | Ko Ko | Cauvery | Kannada | |
Anna Bond | Meera | Kannada | ||
Grandmaster | Deepthi | Malayalam | ||
Chaarulatha | Chaaru and Latha | Kannada | Bilingual film | |
Tamil | ||||
2013 | Lakshmi | Priya | Kannada | |
Chennai Express | Dancer | Hindi | Special appearance in the song “1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor“ | |
Chandee | Ganga/Chandee | Telugu | ||
2014 | Alice: A True Story | Alice/Uma | Malayalam | |
Njangalude Veettile Athidhikal | Bhavana | Malayalam | ||
Ambareesha | Smitha | Kannada | ||
2015 | Ranna | Herself | Kannada | Special Appearance in the song “What to Do” |
2016 | Kathe Chitrakathe Nirdeshana Puttanna | Geethanjali | Kannada | |
Kalpana 2 | Kalpana | Kannada | ||
Dana Kayonu | Jagadhamba (Jhummi) | Kannada | ||
Idolle Ramayana / Mana Oori Ramayanam | Susheela | Kannada/Telugu | Bilingual film | |
2017 | Chowka | Mariea D Souza | Kannada | |
2018 | Dhwaja | Ramya | Kannada | |
Ashiq Vanna Divasam | Shyni | Malayalam | ||
2019 | Pathinettam Padi | Gowri Vasudev | Malayalam | Cameo appearance |
Nanna Prakara | Dr. Amrutha | Kannada | ||
2020 | Ateet | Janvi | Hindi | Zee5 film |
2021 | Naarappa | Sundaramma | Telugu | Amazon Prime film |
2022 | Bhamakalapam | Anupama Mohan | Telugu | Aha film |
Virata Parvam | Comrade Bharatakka | Telugu | ||
Salaam Venky | Adv. Nanda Kumar | Hindi | Cameo appearance | |
Dr. 56 | Priya Krishna | Kannada | Bilingual film | |
Tamil | ||||
2023 | Custody | Dakshayani | Telugu | Bilingual film |
Tamil | ||||
Jawan† | TBA | Hindi | Completed | |
Quotation Gang† | TBA | Tamil | Completed | |
Khaimara † | TBA | Kannada | Filming | |
Maidaan † | TBA | Hindi | Delayed |
Television (Priyamani Biography)
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Language | Network |
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2019–present | The Family Man | Suchitra Tiwari | Hindi | Amazon Prime Video |
2021 | His Story | Sakshi | Hindi | Alt Balaji, ZEE5 |
2023 | Sarvam Shakthi Mayam | Priya | Hindi | ZEE5 |
As a host or judge
Year | Program | Language | Channel | Notes |
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2014 | D 4 Dance | Malayalam | Mazhavil Manorama | |
2015 | D 2 – D 4 Dance | |||
Dancing Star 2 | Kannada | ETV Kannada | ||
2016 | Dancing Star Juniors | |||
Kings of Dance | Tamil | Star Vijay | ||
D 3 – D 4 Dance | Malayalam | Mazhavil Manorama | Asiavision Television Award for Best Celebrity Judge | |
Dancing Star 3 | Kannada | Colors Kannada | ||
2017 | D4 junior v/s seniors | Malayalam | Mazhavil Manorama | |
Dance Jodi Dance 2 | Tamil | Zee Tamil | ||
Dhee 10 | Telugu | ETV Telugu | ||
2018–2019 | Dhee 11 | ETV Telugu | ||
2018–2019 | Dance Kerala Dance | Malayalam | Zee Keralam | |
2019 | Teas Best Partner | Mazhavil Manorama | ||
Kerala Dance League | Amrita TV | Celebrity judge | ||
D5 junior | Mazhavil Manorama | Grand finale jury | ||
Famously Filmfare | Malayalam Kannada |
MX Player | Host | |
2019–2020 | Comedy Stars | Malayalam | Asianet | Recurring Judge |
2019–2020 | Comedy Stars Weekend Challenge | Asianet | ||
Dance Jodi Dance 3.0 | Tamil | Zee Tamizh | ||
2020 | Dhee Champions | Telugu | ETV Telugu | |
2021 | Dhee 13 | |||
2022 | Dhee 14 Dancing Icon |
Short films (Priyamani Biography)
Year | Title | Role | Language | Channel |
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2017 | Hand of God | Eleena | Malayalam | Mazhavil Manorama |
2019 | White | Blind lady | English | YouTube |
Awards and nominations (Priyamani Biography)
Year | Award Category | Language | Work/Film | Result |
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2006 | National Film Award for Best Actress | Tamil | Paruthiveeran | Won |
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress | Won | |||
2007 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil | Won | ||
Vijay Award for Best Actress | Won | |||
2008 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam | Malayalam | Thirakkatha | Won |
2009 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada | Kannada | Raam | Nominated |
2011 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam | Malayalam | Pranchiyettan and the Saint | Nominated |
2012 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada | Kannada | Chaarulatha | Won |
Suvarna Film Award for Best Actress | Won | |||
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Kannada | Won | |||
2016 | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu | Telugu | Mana Oori Ramayanam | Nominated |
2017 | Kalaimamani Awards | Tamil | Contribution to Tamil Cinema | Won |
2020 | Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Actor Series (Female): Drama | Hindi | The Family Man | Nominated |
Filmfare OTT Awards Best Actor, Drama Series (Female) – Critics Choice | Won |