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Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress and producer who is primarily working in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
films, in addition to some Telugu 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. She is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Filmfare Award South and 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 ...
. Amala started her career in the Malayalam film '' Neelathamara'' (2009), and later appeared in the Tamil film ''
Mynaa ''Mynaa'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed and written by Prabhu Solomon. Jointly distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram, it stars Vidharth, Amala Paul and Thambi Ramaiah. The soundtrack by D. ...
'' (2010), which earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She further received two SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for her performance in '' Run Baby Run'' (2012) and '' Oru Indian Pranayakadha'' (2013). She went onto appear in successful films such as ''
Vettai ''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action comedy film co-produced, written and directed by N. Linguswamy. The film stars Arya (actor), Arya and R. Madhavan in the lead roles, while Sameera Reddy, Amala Paul, Ashutosh R ...
'' (2012), '' Thalaivaa'' (2013), '' Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (2014), '' Hebbuli'' (2017), '' Thiruttu Payale 2'' (2017), '' Ratsasan'' (2018) and '' The Goat Life'' (2024). Her titular role in '' Mili'' (2015), won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.


Early life

Amala Paul was born on 26 October 1991 in
Ernakulam, Kerala Ernakulam (; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'') is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part of the state, spans an area of about , and ...
. Amala was born to Paul Varghese (d. 2017) and Annice Paul. Her brother Abijith Paul also appeared in films following Amala's entry into the film industry. After completing her schooling from Nirmala Higher Secondary School Aluva, she took a sabbatical to begin a career in films, but has since joined St. Teresa's College in
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
, to pursue a B.A. degree in English. Amala's father had been strictly against Amala pursuing an acting career but relented when her brother strongly supported her ambition. She later claimed that she had performing arts in her, revealing that her mother was a singer and her father was into theatre in college.


Career


2009–2010: Early career

After finishing studies, Lal Jose offered her a supporting role in his film, '' Neelathamara'' (2009). Despite emerging a success, the film failed to attract any further offers, as she had anticipated. She pursued roles in Tamil films and went on to sign for the low-budget comedy film '' Vikadakavi'', which was delayed and ultimately became her sixth release, while also signing on to play the lead role in another small budget film '' Veerasekaran'' (2010). The film, which became her maiden Tamil release, was panned by critics and went completely unnoticed, while Amala's role was labelled as "minimal", and she later cited that she regretted doing the film and many of her scenes were edited out. Amala then went on to work in Samy's controversial '' Sindhu Samaveli'' (2010), portraying the role of Sundari, who has an illicit relationship with her father-in-law. She was approached after the major portions of her next release, ''Mynaa'' were ready, and signed on for Sindhu Samaveli before listening to the entirety of the story, claiming that she was shocked but not upset with the controversial scenes which she heard later. The director of the film had previously drawn criticism for his depictions of illicit romances as well as for assaulting his previous lead actress in a film, but Amala played down the issue citing that she had no problem with the director. Upon release, the film met with contrasting reviews, whilst some critics refused to give the film a rating, declaring their disgust at the film's plot. Paul claimed that she received death threats from anonymous callers and was publicly scolded by women at a cinema hall in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. Amala's next release, the romantic drama film ''
Mynaa ''Mynaa'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed and written by Prabhu Solomon. Jointly distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram, it stars Vidharth, Amala Paul and Thambi Ramaiah. The soundtrack by D. ...
'' (2010), by
Prabhu Solomon Prabhu Solomon (born 7 May 1969) is an Indian film director who has primarily worked on Tamil films. After making his directorial debut in 1999 with ''Kannodu Kanbathellam'', he had a middling career before rising to prominence with the success ...
, made her a recognised actress in the industry. The film had garnered much anticipation prior to release, with noted distributors
Udhayanidhi Stalin Udhayanidhi Stalin (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian politician, film producer and former actor who has been the 3rd and current deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2024, serving under Chief Ministe ...
and Kalpathi S. Aghoram purchasing the rights of the film after being impressed with it. Amala played the village belle Mynaa. The film was successful at the box office.


2011–2019: Experimentation and success

Following the success of the Tamil film, ''Mynaa'', Amala was billed as the "new top star of 2011" as she subsequently signed on to several prominent projects. Her first release of 2011 was in a supporting role in the Malayalam drama film '' Ithu Nammude Katha'', a remake Tamil film '' Naadodigal'', and her next release with '' Vikadakavi''. Both films opened to limited screens due to the moderate budget of the projects, with her performance in the latter being described as "full of potential". She went on to sign three big budget films with the drama '' Deiva Thirumagal'', directed by Vijay, featuring her opposite Vikram and alongside Anushka, becoming her next release. Her portrayal of school correspondent Shwetha Rajendran won critical acclaim, with a reviewer citing that her "expressive eyes help her leave a mark in a small but important role", whilst another critic claimed that she "acquits herself well". Her final release of 2011 was
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...
's '' Bejawada'', which marked her début in Telugu language films. Amala's first release of 2012 was in Lingusamy's ''
Vettai ''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action comedy film co-produced, written and directed by N. Linguswamy. The film stars Arya (actor), Arya and R. Madhavan in the lead roles, while Sameera Reddy, Amala Paul, Ashutosh R ...
'', alongside Arya, Madhavan and
Sameera Reddy Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. Reddy is bes ...
. The film opened to critical and commercial acclaim with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' claiming that the film "entertains without breaking any new ground, though it can also surprise". Amala won mixed feedback for her performance, while the critic from
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
mentioned that she "is lovely to look at and her feisty performance proves that a star is born". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com cited that she "struts, pouts and hams to the hilt". The actress had three films released on the Valentine's Day weekend of 2012, with
Balaji Mohan Balaji Mohan (born 25 May 1987) is an Indian filmmaker and actor in Tamil-language films. After discontinuing his engineering studies to pursue his passion for becoming a director, he enrolled at a film academy and attended courses and workshop ...
's bilingual '' Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi'' / ''Love Failure'' becoming critical and commercial successes. The film, made in Tamil and Telugu, featured her alongside Siddharth and portrayed her as a college girl, Parvathi, showing her romantic skills. About the Tamil version, a reviewer from ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote: "Amala Paul, after coming across as convincing in her last few movies, looks finally set as a leading lady", while another critic labelled that she "comes across as natural" and "it is a pleasure to see her in a role and costumes that suit her age as compared to her recent movies". Rediff.com called the Telugu version of the film "refreshing", highlighting that the lead pair's on-screen chemistry "sparkles". The romantic thriller ''
Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal ''Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic psychological thriller film directed by Elred Kumar starring Atharvaa and Amala Paul, while Jayaprakash, Anupama Kumar, Santhanam, Yashika and Nassar played suppo ...
'', opposite Atharvaa, also released on the same day in which she played Charulatha, a modern girl based 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 ...
. The film won mixed reviews, though the lead pair's on-screen chemistry was praised by critics, while another reviewer noted that "Amala renders an effortless act". She played a notable role in renowned director Dr. Biju's '' Akasathinte Niram'', which was her first art-house film. The film was screened at the competition section for the Golden Goblet Award in the 15th
Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF, , French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai'') is the largest film festival in Asia and China's longest-running international cinema event. The first festival was established in Octobe ...
. She paired with veteran Malayalam actor
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
in the film '' Run Baby Run'', in which she played the role of a senior news channel editor. The film was a big commercial success and her performance as well as her chemistry with Mohanlal were highly appreciated. In 2013, Amala achieved her first commercial success in
Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...
. Her first release in 2013, V. V. Vinayak's directorial '' Naayak'', opposite
Ram Charan Konidela Ram Charan (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and is also known for his dancing. He has featured in '' ...
, went on to be one of the biggest critical as well as commercial successes of the year. Her next film was Puri Jagannadh's romantic comedy '' Iddarammayilatho'' opposite
Allu Arjun Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinemaand has been featured in ''Forbes Indias Celebrity 100 list since 2014. Allu Arjun's accolades include a Na ...
. Sangeetha Devi Dundroo of ''The Hindu'' commented: "Amala Paul manages to pull off a character that traverses a thin line between being naïve and downright silly. We wish we saw more of her." Another reviewer, Sasidhar AS from ''The Times of India'' commented: "Amala Paul's characterisation is a delight, and she plays Komali so effectively that you'll be left wondering who else could have done the role better than her. She was a perfect choice to play a traditional Telugu girl." She was later seen in A. L. Vijay's action entertainer '' Thalaivaa'', opposite Vijay, as a police officer. Her last release of the year was the
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
film '' Oru Indian Pranayakadha''. In 2014, her first release was
Samuthirakani P. Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K. Balachander, in '' Paarthale Paravasam''. He won the National F ...
's '' Nimirndhu Nil'', opposite
Jayam Ravi Ravi Mohan (born 10 September 1980), better known by his former stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his lead acting debut in ''Jayam (2003 film), Jayam'' (2003) ...
, which was simultaneously shot in Telugu as '' Janda Pai Kapiraju'', in which Nani reprised the role of Jayam Ravi. Her second release saw her collaborating with
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...
in the blockbuster film, ''VIP''. Amala's performance was well received and also saw her reprising her role in its sequel, ''VIP 2'' in 2017 that was a commercial success as well. In 2015, she played the titular role in ''Mili'' with
Nivin Pauly Nivin Pauly (born 11 October 1984) is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South, two Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, and ...
. She also co-starred with Suriya in '' Pasanga 2'' . In 2016, she acted in '' Amma Kanakku'' an official remake of ''
Nil Battey Sannata ''Nil Battey Sannata'' (; slang for "Good for Nothing"), released internationally as ''The New Classmate'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay ...
'' by Ashwini Iyer, and won acclaim for her performance. In 2017 she starred in the Kannada film 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 ...
in '' Hebbuli'' which was a commercial success. Amala switched back to two Tamil films in 2018, both which went on to become commercial successes. '' Bhaskar Oru Rascal'' saw her playing the role of Anu opposite
Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, film director and entrepreneur known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi cinema, Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuste ...
. While in '' Ratsasan'', she starred alongside
Vishnu Vishal Vishal Kudawla (born 17 July 1984), known professionally as Vishnu Vishal, is an Indian actor and film producer who appears in Tamil film industry. After a brief career in cricket, he started his acting career in the year 2009 playing the lead ...
which received critical acclaim. In 2019, she starred in Tamil-Telugu bilingual film, '' Aadai'', which met with positive reviews.


2021–present: Continued success

In 2021, she appeared in anthology films '' Kutty Story'' and '' Pitta Kathalu''. She was next seen in web series, '' Kudi Yedamaithe'' in Telugu, '' Ranjish Hi Sahi (web series)'' in Hindi and '' Victim: Who is Next?'' in Tamil. The OTT film, ''
Cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...
'' (2022), which is an investigative thriller was released on
Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...
on 12 August. The film saw Amala venture into Production. She was also seen in back to back Malayalam films, ''The Teacher'' and ''Christopher'' which turned out be average. In 2023, she did a cameo alongside
Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...
in ''
Bholaa ''Bholaa'' is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language Action film, action thriller film directed by Ajay Devgn and produced by Devgn Films, Reliance Entertainment, T-Series (company), T-Series Films and Dream Warrior Pictures. It is a remake of the 2019 T ...
.'' 2024 saw one of Amala's highest grossing release with the critically acclaimed ''Aadujeevitham''. Starring alongside Prithviraj, the film turned out to become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time collecting 158.15 crore, also becoming one of the highest grossing Indian film of 2024.


Personal life

Amala had changed her on-screen name to Anakha, on director Samy's insistence, who cited that another actress,
Amala Akkineni Amala Akkineni (''née'' Mukherjee) (born 12 September 1967) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist. She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a ...
had already made her name popular. However, after the failure of her 2011 film '' Sindhu Samaveli'', she reverted to her birth name, since she felt that the replacement had brought her bad luck. Her brother Abijith Paul is also an actor and appeared in minor roles in a few films. As early as 2011, when Amala was working on '' Deiva Thirumagal'', she was romantically linked to director A. L. Vijay, but denied that the pair were dating. On 7 June 2014, she got engaged to Vijay at
Aluva Aluva () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Aluva Sivarathri festival, Sivarathri festival, which is celebra ...
in Kochi. The couple got married on 12 June 2014 at Mayor Ramanathan Chettiar Hall,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. In 2016, Amala and Vijay filed for a divorce due to disagreement between her and her in-laws on continuing her acting career. They divorced in 2017. She married entrepreneur Jagat Desai in 2023. They have a son named Ilai born on 11 June 2024. In January 2018, Amala was arrested for
tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
. A crime branch investigation had found that she had registered her luxury car in Puducherry with fake documents. Later, the case was closed citing
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
al issues.


Media image

Amala is considered among the highest-paid Malayalam actresses. She was named the Kochi Times Most Desirable Women in 2013, and was placed 3rd in 2014. Her performance in ''Aadai'' is regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by ''
Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...
''.


Filmography


Films


Television


Awards


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Amala Actresses from Kochi Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Living people Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Malayali people Female models from Kerala Indian Christians 1991 births Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses in Kannada cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners St. Teresa's College alumni Syro-Malabar Catholics