Aindrita Ray (born 19 April) is an Indian actress who primarily works in
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
also appeared in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
films. Ray is a recipient of two
South Indian International Movie Awards
The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and hono ...
, along with nominations for five
Filmfare Awards South
The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...
.
Ray made her acting debut in 2007, with ''
Meravanige
''Meravanige'' (Kannada: ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ) is a 2008 Indian Kannada romance film, romantic thriller film directed by Mahesh Babu from a story written by Janardhana Maharshi and stars Prajwal Devaraj and Aindrita Ray in the lead roles.
...
''. She had her breakthrough with ''
Manasaare'' (2010), for which she received the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada
The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Kannada cinema, Kannada films ''(Sandalwood)''. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. The year indicates the year ...
nomination. Ray received two more Filmfare Best Actress nomination for her performance in ''
Veera Parampare'' (2010) and ''
Bhajarangi'' (2013). For the last of these, she won the
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Kannada. Her other successful films include — ''
Paramathma'' (2011), ''
Mungaru Male 2
''Mungaru Male 2'' () is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Shashank. It stars Ganesh, Neha Shetty and Ravichandran with Shilpa Manjunath, Aindrita Ray, P. Ravi Shankar and Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles.
De ...
'' (2016), ''
Chowka
''Chowka'' is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Tharun Sudhir, in his directional debut, and produced by Dwarakish, marking his 50th production film. The film features an ensemble cast of Vijay Raghavendra, Prem, D ...
'' (2017), ''
Premam Poojyam'' (2021), ''
Kshamisi Nimma Khaatheyalli Hanavilla'' (2022) and ''
Thimayya & Thimayya'' (2022).
Early life and background
Ray was born on 19 April
as the youngest daughter into a
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
family in
Udaipur
Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...
, Rajasthan, where she spent her childhood, before moving to
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
.
With her father, A. K. Ray, being a
prosthodontist in the
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
, she along with her family moved from one place to another, finally settling in
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
.
Ray studied at
Baldwin Girls' High School
Baldwin Girls' High School (BGHS), founded in 1880, is an all-girls Methodist school and one of the oldest in Bangalore, India. The school follows the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education syllabus and has classes from pre-nursery up to the ...
, Bangalore. Later, she joined MR Ambedkar Dental College, Bangalore to pursue a bachelor's degree in
dental science. While studying, she did parttime modelling, appearing in
television advertisements
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, which paved way for her entry into the film industry. She started acting in Kannada movies, and once in a while appearing in Amateur/Short films.
Career
Debut and breakthrough (2008-2010)
Ray trained under fashion choreographer M. S. Sreedhar. She appeared first on-screen in a song in the 2006 Kannada film ''
Jackpot''. Ray began her acting career in the 2008 film ''
Meravanige
''Meravanige'' (Kannada: ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ) is a 2008 Indian Kannada romance film, romantic thriller film directed by Mahesh Babu from a story written by Janardhana Maharshi and stars Prajwal Devaraj and Aindrita Ray in the lead roles.
...
'', playing Nandini, opposite
Prajwal Devaraj
Prajwal Devaraj (born 4 July 1987) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Kannada cinema. He made his debut with the Kannada film '' Sixer'' (2007) for which he won the Best Debut actor award at the Suvarna Film Awards. This was followed by t ...
. The film received a moderate success at the box office, with ''
Rediff.com
Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' praising her performance, dance and adding that she makes a mark "effectively".
Ray had four releases in 2009. She first played Padma in ''
Junglee'', opposite
Duniya Vijay
}
B. R. Vijay Kumar, professionally known as Duniya Vijay and Duniya Viji, is an Indian actor and film director known for his work in Kannada films. As an actor, he began his career playing small roles until he got his big break in '' Duniya'' ...
and then played Divya opposite
Chiranjeevi Sarja
Chiranjeevi Sarja (17 October 1980 - 7 June 2020) was an Indian film actor who appeared in Kannada films. Hailing from a family of actors, Sarja acted in more than 20 films in a career spanning 11 years.
Early life and family
Sarja was born ...
in ''
Vayuputra
''Vayuputra'' () is a 2009 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by Kishore Sarja and produced by Arjun Sarja. A remake of Tamil film ''Sandakozhi'', the film stars Chiranjeevi Sarja in his film debut, alongside Ambareesh, Aindrita Ray ...
''. Her final film that year, ''
Manasaare'', proved to be her breakthrough. Her portrayal of a mentally challenged girl, Devika opposite
Diganth
Diganth Manchale (born 28 December 1983), known professionally as Diganth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, Kannada films. Diganth made his lead acting debut in ''Miss California (film), Miss California'' (2006) and ...
won her the
Suvarna Film Award for Best Actress, along with nomination for
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada
The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Kannada cinema, Kannada films ''(Sandalwood)''. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. The year indicates the year ...
. A critic from ''
Deccan Herald
''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...
'' stated: "Aindrita with less dialogue, and easy on the eye, manages to emote well with her eyes and smile."
In her first film of 2010, Ray played Drushti opposite Santhosh Aryan in ''
Nooru Janmaku''. She then played Sanjana in ''
Nannavanu'', opposite Prajwal Devaraj. ''
Veera Parampare'' was her only successful film that year, where she played Sapna, a village chief daughter opposite
Sudeepa
Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Kichcha Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer and television presenter, who primarily works in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tami ...
. The film earned her another Filmfare for the Best Actress nomination. Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana noted that Ray gets to her "bubbly self" and performs well.
Recent works
After a series of flops, Ray was cast in the supporting role in the
Puneeth Rajkumar
Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...
starrer ''
Paramathma''. She was widely acclaimed by the critics for her obsessive character role. She was also noticed by the critics in ''
Dhool
''Dhool'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Dharani. The film stars Vikram and Jyothika in lead roles while Reema Sen, Vivek, Sayaji Shinde, Telangana Shakuntala and Pasupathy play other supporting ...
''. The other films, ''
Manasina Maathu'' and ''Kaanchana'', however film failured at Box office.
In 2012, she starred in ''
Parijatha'', opposite
Diganth
Diganth Manchale (born 28 December 1983), known professionally as Diganth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, Kannada films. Diganth made his lead acting debut in ''Miss California (film), Miss California'' (2006) and ...
, which found moderate success. Her other films include ''
Tony'', with
Srinagara Kitty
Krishna (born 8 July 1977) known by his stage name Srinagara Kitty, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Kannada television series and films. He started off as a child artist working in a host of television serialized dramas before making ...
in the lead and ''
Rajani Kantha'', with
Duniya Vijay
}
B. R. Vijay Kumar, professionally known as Duniya Vijay and Duniya Viji, is an Indian actor and film director known for his work in Kannada films. As an actor, he began his career playing small roles until he got his big break in '' Duniya'' ...
.
In 2014, she made her Bengali film debut with ''
Bachchan'', opposite
Jeet and directed by Raja Chanda, which incidentally was a remake of the Kannada movie ''
Vishnuvardhana
Vishnuvardhana () was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in 1108. Originally a follower of Jainism and known as ...
''.
In 2017, Ray appeared in Raja Chanda's Bengali film ''
Amar Aponjon'', alongside
Soham Chakraborty
Soham Chakraborty (born 4 March 1984) is an Indian actor, producer, television personality and politician. He has appeared in more than 100 Tollywood (Bengali cinema), Bengali films, as child artist (Master Bittu) and as male lead. He earned n ...
,
Priyanka Sarkar
Priyanka Sarkar (born 31 December 1990) is an Indian film and television actress who mostly works in Bengali films. She started her career working in the Bengali television industry in 2003 while she was only 12 years old. Later she worked in se ...
and
Subhashree Ganguly.
In 2021, she is appearing in Hardik Gajjar's Hindi feature film ''
Bhavai
Bhavai, also known as ''Vesha'' or ''Swang'', is a popular folk theatre form of western India, especially in Gujarat.
Etymology
''Bhavai'' may derive from the Sanskrit word ''Bhava'', meaning expression or emotion. It is also associated wit ...
'' opposite
Pratik Gandhi
Pratik Gandhi (born 28 April 1980) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi films, theater, and television. He is best known for portraying Harshad Mehta in the Sony LIV biographical series ''Scam 1992'' ( ...
, releasing in theatres on 1 October.
Personal life
Ray met actor
Diganth Manchale on the sets of ''
Manasaare'' in 2008, and they eventually started dating. After 10 years of courtship, Ray and Diganth got married on 12 December 2018, in a traditional
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
wedding ceremony, at
Nandi Hills,
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
.
Media image
Ray was placed first in ''
Rediff.com
Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' 's "Top 5 Kannada Actress" list of 2009. In
Bangalore Times Most Desirable Women list, Ray was placed 5th in 2012, 19th in 2014 and 7th in 2016, 6th in 2018, 7th in 2019 and 9th in 2020. In 2024, Ray and Diganth along with
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
, donated a mechanical elephant to a temple in Mysuru.
Filmography
Films
Web series
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Aindrita
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Indian film actresses
Indian web series actresses
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses in Bengali cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Actresses in Kannada cinema
People from Udaipur
Actresses from Rajasthan
Bengali actresses
Female models from Rajasthan
21st-century Indian actresses