Background
Priya Mani was born to Vausdev Mani Iyer and Latha Mani Iyer in Palakkad, Kerala. She grew up and schooled in Bangalore, Karnataka. As a result of her dynamic exposure in different South Indian states, she speaks fluent Telugu and Tamil (her mother tongue)apart from Malayalam. After completing her schooling, Priya was roped in to model for print advertisements. As a subsequent result of her extended modelling, 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 film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei which was released in 2004. She is currently doing her final year B.A Psychology
Career
Early Career
Priya's early career started off on a wrong foot. Her debut film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei in Tamil flopped when released in 2004, and her Telugu debut Evare Atagaadu too sank without a trace. Priya then made her debut in her native film industry, Malayalam, where she starred opposite another rising actor who would go on to establish himself as a popular actor in Tamil as well, Prithviraj Sukumaran, through the film Satyam but the film failed to do well in the box-office either. Despite the failures, she was hired by another revered Tamil director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to star opposite rising Tamil star 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.
Success in Telugu
Priyamani found success coming for her finally in the year 2006, when she starred opposite veteran Telugu actor Jagapathi Babu in the film Pellaina Kothalo, a film which told the story of a newly-wed couple and their struggles. The film was a surprise hit given its low budget and modest star cast and propelled Priya to fame in Tollywood. Success still evaded her in Tamil as her next film Madhu flopped miserably.
Paruthi Veeran and beyond
After three years in search of the elusive film that will make her get noticed, Priya managed to prove both her acting credentials and also fame appeal with the 2006 film Paruthi Veeran, directed by another respected Tamil director, Ameer Sultan. She was paired alongside debutant Karthi Sivakumar, who is the younger brother of popular Tamil star Surya 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. Priya's performance was anonymously praised and she went on to win the Indian National Award for best actress, followed by the a Filmfare award, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress and also an award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.
Success was incessant from then on for Priya, who had another blockbuster in Telugu, starring opposite Jr. NTR in the 2007 film Yamadonga. She quickly dispelled her village belle image which she attained from Paruthi Veeran by making a glamorous appereance in her 2007 Tamil film Malaikottai opposite Vishal. The film found decent box-office success in the industry and Priya immediately became the new glam doll and dream girl of the industry.
She again won huge 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 Sri Vidya. She played the main lead role with Prithviraj Sukumaran playing a supportive role in the film, for which she is being touted to win yet another National Award.
Future projects
Priya is being paired for the third time with good friend and actor Prithviraj Sukumaran for her next Tamil film Ninaithale Inikkum, which is a remake of Malayalam blockbuster Classmates. This is the pair's first association in Tamil. She is also acting in a commercial entertainer opposite Bharath, in a film called Arumugam, apart from acting in a Telugu film called Drona opposite young actor Nitin.
However, her biggest project in the pipeline happened when she was hired by ace Indian director Mani Ratnam for his next bilingual film Ashokavanam. Priya's co-stars in the film include Prithviraj Sukumaran, which whom she is co-starring for the fourth time, Vikram and also former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. It is believed that she is featuring in the Tamil version of the film, which is also being simultaneously made in Hindi as Raavan with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role. It is unknown as to who is playing her character in the Hindi film, should Priya retain the role in Hindi- it will mark her Bollywood debut
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kangalal Kaithu Sei | Vidya | Tamil | |
| Evare Atagaadu | Priya | Telugu | ||
| 2004 | Satyam | Sona | Malayalam | |
| 2005 | Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam | Thulasi | Tamil | |
| 2006 | Otta Nanayam | Malayalam | ||
| Pellaina Kothalo | Lakshmi | Telugu | ||
| Madhu | Mercy | Tamil | ||
| 2007 | Paruthi Veeran | Muthazhagu | Tamil | Winner: National Film Award for Best Actress Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress Winner: Osian Cinefan Festival Best Actress Award |
| Toss | Naina | Telugu | ||
| Yamadonga | Maheswari | Telugu | ||
| Nava Vasantham | Anjali | Telugu | ||
| Malaikottai | Malar | Tamil | ||
| 2008 | Thotta | Nalina | Tamil | |
| hareram | Anjali | Telugu | ||
| Thirakkatha | Malavika | Malayalam | ||
| King | Telugu | Special appearance | ||
| 2009 | Drona | Indu | Telugu | |
| Arumugam | Tamil | Filming | ||
| Ninaithale Inikkum | Tamil | Filming | ||
| Ashokavanam | Tamil | Filming | ||
| Mitrudu | Telugu | Filming |
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