Rajathi, better known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Indraja, is an Indian actress who works in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

films, in addition to television shows.

Early life

Indraja was born as Rajathi in a

Telugu Brahmin Telugu Brahmins are ethnic-Telugu people, Telugus who belong to Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They fall under the Pancha-Dravida, Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in ...

family 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 ...

. She is the eldest of three sisters and comes from a

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

family. During school days, she won prizes in singing and drama competitions. A trained classical singer and dancer, she learned

Kuchipudi ''Kuchipudi'' ( ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit ...

dance form Madhavapeddi Murthy. She was preparing to be a journalist.

Career

Indraja was cast as a child actress in Rajinikanth-starrer Uzhaippali movie. With Jantar Mantar, her first movie as a grown-up, she adopted the name of her character in that movie, 'Indraja' as her stage name. Later, S. V. Krishna Reddy's ''Yamaleela'' catapulted her to instant stardom. The film ran for over a year. She acted in ''Thadayam'' and ''

Rajavin Parvaiyile ''Rajavin Parvaiyile'' () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film, directed by Janaki Soundar, starring Vijay and Indraja, with Ajith Kumar in a flashback appearance. The film revolves around Gowri, a rich man's daughter in the vi ...

'' but she was not able to make much headway in Tamil movies, as both movies failed to make an impact at the box office. She played the female lead roles in a number of successful

Malayalam film Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both the mainstream film industry ...

s, such as the 1999 action drama '' Ustaad'' alongside

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 ...

, crime thriller '' F.I.R'' alongside

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter and politician who is currently serving as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Minister of Tourism since June 2024. He was ele ...

, 2002 comedy-drama ''

Chronic Bachelor ''Chronic Bachelor'' is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy drama film, written and directed by Siddique. It is about the life of Sathyaprathapan, a bachelor. It features Mammootty, Mukesh, Rambha, Indraja, Bhavana, Innocent, L ...

'' alongside

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

, 2004 comedy drama ''

Mayilattam Mayilattam is an artistic and religious form of dance performed in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in reverence to Murugan, a regional form of the Hindu deity Kartikeya Kartikeya (/Sanskrit phonology, kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), ...

'' opposite

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...

, and 2005 action drama '' Ben Johnson'' alongside

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a Impersonator, mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had ...

are some of her most notable Malayalam films. After a hiatus post her marriage, she has returned to movies with some notable roles in several Telugu movies.

Personal life

Indraja is married to actor and businessman Mohammed Absar who has acted in many television serials. The couple has a daughter named Sara.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indraja Living people 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Telugu actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Kannada cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Tamil television Actresses from Chennai Year of birth missing (living people)