Nayanthara

Acting

Nayanthara

Born 1984-11-18 · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Diana Mariam Kurian, known mononymously as Nayanthara and widely celebrated as the "Lady Superstar" of South Indian cinema, is an Indian actress and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema alongside Hindi films. Born on November 18, 1984, in Bangalore, Karnataka, to a Malayali Christian family hailing from Thiruvalla, Kerala, she grew up across various parts of India due to her father's service in the Indian Air Force. She completed her schooling in Jamnagar and Delhi before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla. She began her acting career with Sathyan Anthikad's Malayalam family drama *Manassinakkare* (2003), followed by her Tamil debut in *Ayya* (2005), the blockbuster *Chandramukhi* (2005) opposite Rajinikanth, and her Telugu debut in *Lakshmi* (2006). Over a career spanning more than two decades and over 80 feature films, Nayanthara established herself as one of the most bankable and influential leading figures in Indian cinema. She delivered major commercial blockbusters and critical hits including *Ghajini* (2005), *Billa* (2007), *Yaaradi Nee Mohini* (2008), *Bodyguard* (2010), *Simha* (2010), *Sri Rama Rajyam* (2011), *Raja Rani* (2013), *Arrambam* (2013), *Thani Oruvan* (2015), *Naanum Rowdy Dhaan* (2015), *Puthiya Niyamam* (2016), *Velaikkaran* (2017), *Viswasam* (2019), *Bigil* (2019), *Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy* (2019), and *God Father* (2022). She is widely credited with spearheading the female-led cinematic movement across South Indian industries, single-handedly carrying high-concept critical and box-office successes such as the neo-noir horror *Maya* (2015), the social drama *Aramm* (2017), the dark comedy *Kolamaavu Kokila* (2018), the crime thriller *Imaikkaa Nodigal* (2018), the fantasy comedy *Mookuthi Amman* (2020), *Netrikann* (2021), and *Connect* (2022). In 2023, she made her Hindi cinema debut headlining Atlee's all-time record-grossing action thriller *Jawan* opposite Shah Rukh Khan, followed by her 75th film *Annapoorani* (2023) and the sports drama *Test* (2025). Her extensive slate extends to starring alongside Chiranjeevi in *Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu* (2026), the Malayalam multi-starrer spy thriller *Patriot* (2026), the period action epic *Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups* (2026), *Mookuthi Amman 2* (2026), and *Thani Oruvan 2* (2026). A recipient of five Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Award for Best Actress (*Sri Rama Rajyam*), the Tamil Nadu State Film Award, and multiple SIIMA Awards, she also co-founded the production company Rowdy Pictures, backing critically acclaimed international festival films such as *Koozhangal* (*Pebbles*).

Acting credits

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups poster
7.3

A powerful drug cartel pulls the strings behind a facade of sun-soaked beaches as a gritty, violent underworld power struggle emerges during the crumbling of Portuguese colonial rule.

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups

2026

Jawan poster
7.0

An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.

Jawan

2023

Connect poster
7.5

The announcement of a nation-wide lock-down due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the peace of a family. What follows is a series of bizarre events as one of them tries to invite the spirit of a family member.

Connect

2022

Patriot poster
6.6

When a Malayali DRW analyst tries to expose a corrupt regional politician from Kerala and his malpractices regarding spyware, he goes on the run, becomes a vlogger, and must clear his name of the false allegations levelled against him.

Patriot

2026

Arrambam poster
6.2

A former anti-terrorism officer teams up with a hacker and his girlfriend to execute a string of strategic attacks. As the authorities race to stop them, their true motive slowly unravels—a dangerous mission to uncover a high-level conspiracy involving government corruption and betrayal.

Arrambam

2013

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Monster

2027

Kanchana 4 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kanchana 4

Dubai Seenu poster
5.4

Seenu (Ravi Teja) is fondly called as Dubai Seenu. His sole aim in life is to fly to Dubai and earn tonnes of money. In the process, he gets hold of a broker and gets duped by him in Mumbai. He along with his friends starts a small canteen to earn his llivelihood. and eventually falls in love with a girl called Madhumati (Nayana Tara). He then witnesses an incident that prompts him to return back to Hyderabad. The rest of the story is all about how he helps out Madhumati.

Dubai Seenu

2007

Hi! poster
7.0

Two individuals initially exchange a simple "Hi," but through a series of chance encounters, shared experiences, and deep conversations, they gradually develop a strong connection and eventually fall in love.

Hi!

2026

Raja Rani poster
7.2

John and Regina, who dislike each other, are forced to get married and lead troubled lives. However, things take a turn when the couple suffers a sudden tragedy.

Raja Rani

2013

Airaa poster
4.9

A young woman encounters a supernatural presence in her grandmother's home.

Airaa

2019

Goa poster
6.0

Three young men, who always get into trouble in their village, dream of an effortless life. For this, they run away to Goa in the hope of finding and getting married to rich foreign women.

Goa

2010

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum poster
5.9

A boy is adopted by his grandfather after his parents are murdered. He grows up to be an actor to honor a promise to his dying grandfather that he would perform in a play in his native village. The performance leads him to his parents' murderers.

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum

2012

Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal poster
5.4

Rambo who lives a double life as a cab driver and bouncer falls in love with two women with contrasting personalities. What happens when he is forced to make a choice?

Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal

2022

Ethir Neechal poster
6.4

Kunchithapatham's unique name becomes the butt of joke and ridicule for others. He relates his failures to his name and wants to change it. He meets an astrologer who is popular in giving fancy names that could bring luck to people. His named his changed to Harish and soon after his luck changes.

Ethir Neechal

2013

Bigil poster
6.3

A do-gooder don wants his footballer son to uplift the life of his people by becoming a champion, but fate draws the youngster into a life of violence. Will he be able to fulfill his father’s dream when an opportunity comes his way seven years later?

Bigil

2019

Villu poster
3.8

A son decides to avenge his father, an army officer, who was falsely framed and killed by three corrupt officers. Fatefully, he also ends up falling in love with the daughter of one of the killers.

Villu

2009

Thalaimagan poster
4.0

Thaimagan is a story of an investigative journalist Dheeran (Sarathkumar) who is intent on exposing corrupt minister Shanmugavadivelu (Mukesh Tiwari) and his stooge, the state director general of police (DGP) Alangaram (Seema Biswas).The story revolves around a bottled water plant in a village sanctioned by the minister for a quid pro quo. Dheeran is against the project as it would deplete the ground water resources and warns the people and government about its dangers. The minister sends his goons to silence the newspaper owner (Vijayakumar) permanently. But the...

Thalaimagan

2006

Velaikkaran poster
6.9

An enterprising youngster in a slum wants his people to lead a life of dignity, but has to take on an ambitious capitalist, who only wants to dominate his field.

Velaikkaran

2017

E poster
5.8

E movie revolves around bio-war and its potential dangers and how poor gullible Indians are made victims by International pharmaceutical companies that come to India to uses its people as Guiana Pigs to test their new formulations.

E

2006

Chandramukhi poster
6.8

Creepy happenings in an abandoned mansion are attributed to the ghost of an ancient courtesan, back for revenge.

Chandramukhi

2005

Thaskara Veeran poster
3.9

After witnessing the murder of his father by Eappachan, Kochu flees his village to escape him. Years later, Kochu, now a don, returns to the village to avenge his father.

Thaskara Veeran

2005

Love Action Drama poster
6.1

Dineshan is in love with Shoba, but she insists he give up smoking and drinking before marriage. It’s easier said than done, but will love triumph?

Love Action Drama

2019

Maya poster
6.8

An artist realizes that the story that he is illustrating, about a ghost who was an inmate of an asylum in a forest, could be real. Meanwhile, an aspiring actress takes up a challenge to watch a horror film all alone in the theatre at night. How are these storylines connected?

Maya

2015

Behind the camera