Shriya Saran

At 41 years old, Shriya Saran has this physical status:

While in her second year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher's recommendation, she was invited to appear in the music video of Renoo Nathan's "Thirakti Kyun Hawa". Shot in Banaras, the video was seen by Ramoji Films who offered her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam. Saran accepted the part and, even before it was released she was signed to four more films, including Nuvve Nuvve, in which she played a millionaire's daughter who falls for a middle-class man. In 2002, she starred in Santosham, co-starring Nagarjuna, Prabhu Deva and Gracy Singh, which was her first commercial success. The film took the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film and Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu). Saran played a woman who lets someone she loves go with another, but wins him back later in life. For her performance, she earned a nomination for the CineMAA Award for Best Actor- Female, giving her a good foothold in the Telugu industry in the early part of her career.

In 2003, Saran acted in a supporting role in her first Hindi film, Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in leading roles. She performed as one of the lead female roles in Telugu film Tagore, along with Jyothika and Chiranjeevi which was screened at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, and was a commercial success. She followed it with her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan, which was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu, in which she played a football coach. Though she acted in films in three languages that year, eight of the first ten films of her career were in Telugu.

In 2004, Saran acted in two Telugu and two Hindi films, including Arjun and Nenunnanu, where she played a student in classical singing. She had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films, the most notable for her being Chatrapathi. There she appeared opposite Prabhas and earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. Meanwhile, she tried to make her comeback in Tamil with Mazhai,a remake of the Telugu film Varsham, where she reprised the role done by Trisha in the original. Neither the movie nor her performance were received well. Also in 2005, she appeared as one of only three characters in the film Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu, which was about a married couple's first night together, and made a guest appearance in a children's film called Bommalata, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. Saran's only lead role in 2006, excluding three special appearances, was in the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam.

In 2007, she was chosen to play the lead female role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss after Aishwarya Rai rejected the role due to busy schedules. which was the most expensive Indian film at that time. R.G. Vijayasarathy wrote in his review for Rediff that, aside from her beauty, Saran "proves that she can act too". Her performance earned her a South Scope Style Award for Best Tamil Actress, her first award win, and a nomination at the Vijay Awards. The role made her a star in the south Indian film industry. During this phase of her career, she made several special appearances in item numbers, including in the films Devadasu, Munna, and Tulasi.

Also in 2007, Saran made her comeback in Hindi cinema with Awarapan, which was a joint production between India and Pakistan. She played a Muslim woman and had to learn Urdu. This was her fourth Hindi film, but the others had failed to make any impact. Sanjay Ram, writing for Business of Cinema, gave the film 2.5 of 5 stars and said that Saran provided a brief, compelling performance. Saran later said that the film strengthened her conviction that all religions are equal. Later that year she appeared in one more Tamil film, Azhagiya Tamil Magan, opposite Vijay. Though critics exalted her looks, her performance received mixed reviews, with one reviewer, Nandhu Sundharam of Rediff, going so far as to say that her "acting is as bad as her looks are good". That same year Saran made a special appearance in a scene in the Kannada film Arasu. She appeared in six films in 2007 in four languages.

In 2008, Saran made her American cinema debut in Ashok Amritraj's The Other End of the Line. She played the role of Priya Sethi, who works as a telephone operator in an Indian call centre, while acting alongside Jesse Metcalfe, Anupam Kher and Tara Sharma. Shriya's performance was praised by critics, particularly her on-screen chemistry with Jesse Metcalfe. John Anderson, writing for Variety magazine, said it was "a winning Stateside debut for beautiful Indian actress Shriya Saran."

Saran acted in the Hindi film Mission Istaanbul with Zayed Khan, and Shabbir Ahluwalia in 2008. She played the character of Anjali Sagar which was inspired by the character of Romila Dutta played by Preity Zinta in the film Lakshya, a journalist who desires to have a child with her husband, which leads to their separation, since he is reluctant. Bollywood Hungama critics said that her character was wasted, as again she gets very little screen time. However, she did pick up the Stardust Exciting New Face Award.

Her most important 2009 release was the commercially successful Tamil film Kanthaswamy, alongside Vikram. She earned a nomination at the Vijay Awards. Vikram said in an interview that her role was on par with his, and she easily stole the show on most occasions. Of her character in the film, Saran said that it was the best she has done so far. Also that year she appeared as the female lead in Thoranai. A reviewer said that her glamour and the songs were the only high points of the film. For Thoranai and Kanthaswamy together, she received her third award win, the Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actress. She then appeared in another English film, Cooking with Stella, which is a comedy that takes a look at the serious nature of relationships between servants and employers. It was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, which Saran attended.

In 2010, Saran made her Malayalam debut with Pokkiri Raja, in which she appeared opposite Mammootty and Prithviraj. The film broke the record in Malayalam cinema for opening week gross income, though it was not received well critically. It was said of Saran that all she had to do was look pretty. She then enacted her first lead role in a Telugu film after five years, in the commercially successful action-comedy Don Seenu opposite Ravi Teja, where she plays the sister of a mobster. In the opinion of some critics, she stole the show with her dances and romantic scenes.

The year 2010 was her second busiest after 2005, having appeared in eight films, this time in four languages.

In 2011, Saran appeared in Rowthiram, where she worked with Tamil actor Jiiva for the first time. The film received fairly low reviews. Although some reviews said that Saran was not given much opportunity to show her acting skills, mainly just adding a romantic touch to a mostly violent film, she was referred to by another as the pivot around which the film revolves. Her performance earned her Best Actress Award at the International Tamil Film Awards. Her only other film in 2011 was a special appearance in a song for the Tamil film Rajapattai.

Saran's first release of 2012 was her second Malayalam project, Casanovva, co-starring Mohanlal and directed by Rosshan Andrrews. The movie was delayed many times, and it was rumored that Saran would leave the project, but in October 2010, the producer of the film announced that shooting would commence in Dubai with Shriya Saran among the cast. It was released on 26 January. Her next release was in Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai, from director Rumy Jafry, which began shooting in September 2011, and released on 3 February. She then was seen in the critically average comedic Telugu film Nuvva Nena, with actors Allari Naresh and Sharwanand, followed by Sekhar Kammula's much delayed Life is Beautiful.

Saran has starred in Deepa Mehta's long delayed English project Midnight's Children, which is based on Salman Rushdie's highly acclaimed novel of the same name. It was filmed under the working title of Winds of Change. It was screened at several film festivals in late 2012 in Canada and finally made its general release in India on 1 February 2013.

In early 2013, Saran appeared in an item number in the film Zila Ghaziabad. This was her first item number in a Hindi film. On 7 June, Saran's Pavitra was released, in which she played a prostitute. At a press conference in Hyderabad, she said that the film is very special for her, and that she was touched by the sensitivity that director/writer Janardhana Maharshi gave to the topic. Her bi-lingual film Chandra, directed by Roopa Iyer, was simultaneously made in Kannada and Tamil languages. She played the role of a princess in the film opposite Kannada actor Prem Kumar. The film released in Kannada on 27 June 2013, and in Tamil on 14 February 2014. It became a moderate success at the Kannada box office. The film marked Saran's return to Tamil cinema after more than five years.

Saran's first film of 2014, released 23 May, was the Telugu family drama Manam, which was a success in India and America. Saran's first film of 2015 was Gopala Gopala, a remake of the Bollywood blockbuster OMG – Oh My God!, released in the January festive season. She will next appear in director Karan Bhutani's Hindi film Valmiki Ki Bandook, which is currently under production. She appeared opposite Ajay Devgan in Drishyam, a remake of the Malayalam film of the same name, which turned out to be a box office success. In mid-January 2016, she made a special appearance in Nagarjuna's Oopiri, while also signing for her next Hindi film Tadka, opposite Nana Patekar. In May 2016, she was cast as a female lead in the Telugu-language epic historical action film Gautamiputra Satakarni.

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