Anjali (actress) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anjali
Anjali in 2013
Born	(1986-06-16) 16 June 1986 (age 39) Razole, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Years active	2006–present

Anjali, born on June 16, 1986, is a talented Indian actress. She is well-known for her work in Tamil and Telugu films. Many people see Anjali as one of the best actors in Tamil cinema. She is famous for choosing roles where she can show off her acting skills.

Anjali has won several important awards. These include three Filmfare Awards South and two Nandi Awards. She started her acting journey after some modeling work. Her first film was the Telugu thriller Photo in 2006. Her big break came with another thriller, Kattradhu Thamizh (2007). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil two times in a row. These awards were for her amazing performances in Angadi Theru (2010) and Engaeyum Eppothum (2011). She also received a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Angadi Theru.

She had a lot of success in Telugu cinema between 2013 and 2014. Some of her popular films from this time include Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, Balupu, Masala, Geethanjali, and Dictator. She even won a Nandi Award for Best Actress for her role in the horror-comedy Geethanjali (2014).

Early Life and Education

Anjali was born on June 16, 1986, in Razole, a town in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India. She comes from a Telugu family. Anjali has two brothers and one sister.

She finished her early schooling in Razole. Later, she moved to Chennai to continue her studies. In Chennai, she earned a degree in mathematics. Anjali has shared that her parents always dreamed of becoming actors themselves. She feels that she is helping them "realize their dreams" through her own acting career.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out: 2006–2008

Anjali first tried to enter the film world in 2002. She was supposed to be in a film called Sathamintri Muthamidu. However, that movie, and a couple of others, never got made.

During a modeling job, director Siva Nageswara Rao noticed her. He offered her a main role in his Telugu thriller film Photo (2006). This was her first movie. She then played the main female role in another Telugu romance film, Premalekha Raasa (2007). This movie did not do well at the box office.

Her big break came later that year with her first Tamil film, Kattradhu Thamizh. This movie was directed by Ram and received great reviews. Anjali was highly praised for playing Anandhi. Anandhi was the childhood friend and love interest of the main character. Critics said she was "a delight to watch" and "a breath of fresh air." Her performance earned her the Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress. Even though the film was not a big commercial success, Anjali became very popular.

In 2008, she appeared in two more films. One was Honganasu, her first movie in Kannada. The other was Aayudham Seivom in Tamil. Critics did not like Aayudham Seivom much.

Becoming a Star: 2010–2012

Anjali's next important role was as Kani in Angadi Theru (2010). Kani was a strong and independent sales girl in a textile shop. This drama film showed the lives of young people working in big retail stores. The movie was filmed in real locations using hidden cameras. Anjali even said they wore uniforms and pretended to be real sales-people.

Angadi Theru received excellent reviews. Anjali's acting also got a lot of praise. She won several awards for it, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. After this, she appeared in two family dramas. These were Rettaisuzhi and Magizhchi. Both films received good reviews for her acting.

In 2011, Anjali made her debut in Malayalam cinema with Payyans. She then had a main role in Thoonga Nagaram. She also made a short appearance in a song in the film Ko. She then starred in Karungali, where she played a housewife in a difficult marriage. This film was not very successful.

While working on Thoonga Nagaram, she got a small supporting role in Mankatha. This was a big-budget film starring Ajith Kumar. Mankatha became Anjali's highest-grossing film at the time. However, her role in it was small.

Later, director AR Murugadoss cast her in a main role in his film Engaeyum Eppothum. Anjali played a brave and strong nurse. Critics once again praised her performance. The Hindu newspaper said she "steals the show in the climax." In 2012, her only starring role was in Kalakalappu. A critic noted that "Anjali scores well with her natural performance."

Continued Success: 2013–2014

In 2013, Anjali starred in the Telugu film Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu. She acted alongside famous stars like Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, and Samantha. This film was a big success and Anjali received many compliments for her role. One critic said she gave an "easy breezy but endearing performance" as the innocent Seetha.

She then appeared in Vathikuchi and Settai. Settai was a remake of the Hindi film Delhi Belly. Both films received mixed reviews.

After a special dance number in Suriya's Singam II, she starred in two more Telugu films. These were Balupu with Ravi Teja and Masala with Venkatesh. Her 2014 film was the horror-comedy Geethanjali. For this film, she won the Nandi Award for Best Actress.

Recent Work: 2015–Present

In early 2015, Anjali returned to Kannada films after seven years. She starred opposite Puneeth Rajkumar in Rana Vikrama. In Tamil, she appeared in Sakalakala Vallavan. She also had a special guest role in the Telugu film Sankarabharanam.

In 2016, her first release was the Telugu film Dictator with Balayya Balakrishna. This film was a big hit, and her role was well-liked. In Tamil, she starred in Karthik Subbaraj's Iraivi. Her performance as a happy girl who becomes a long-suffering wife was highly praised.

Later, she signed a Telugu action thriller called Chitrangada (2017). In December 2017, her film Balloon had a moderate performance. She then acted in the Tamil film Peranbu (2019) with Mammootty. She also starred in the horror film Lisaa (2019).

In 2020, Anjali acted in the web series Paava Kadhaigal. The next year, she played Zarina in the successful film Vakeel Saab (2021). This film did very well at the box office. In 2023, Anjali was seen in the Malayalam film Iratta. The Tamil film Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai (2024) was shown at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

She has also appeared in recent Telugu movies like Geethanjali Malli Vachindi (2024) and Gangs of Godavari (2024). She is also part of the upcoming film Game Changer (2025). The film Madha Gaja Raja (2025), which was made twelve years ago, is also set to release.

Awards and Recognitions

Anjali has received many awards for her acting. Here are some of them:

Images for kids

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  Anjali in 2013

See also

In Spanish: Anjali para niños