Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer, better known by her stage name Priyamani (Tamil: ப்ரியாமணி) is an Indian film actress and model who has appeared in several Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada films. She is best known for earning a National Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Muththazhagu in the 2006 Tamil film Paruthi Veeran, and for her role as Malavika in the 2008 Malayalam film Thirakkatha, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress.
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.[1] She is currently completing a B.A. in Psychology. She is the cousin of Bollywood actress Vidya Balan
Her debut film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei in Tamil was released in 2004, and her Telugu debut, Evare Atagaadu, sank without a trace. Priyamani then made her debut in the Malayalam film industry, where she starred opposite Prithviraj, through the film Satyam, but this film also performed poorly at the box office. Despite these commercial failures, she was signed by Tamil film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to star opposite 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.
