# Sunaina

Sunaina Yella is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu films. She debuted in Telugu with Kumar Vs Kumari (2005) and in Tami debut with Kadhalil Vizhunthen (2008). She has since starred in the films Vamsam (2010), Neerparavai (2012), Trip and Raja Raja Chora (both 2021), and the television shows Nila Nila Odi Vaa (2018), Chadarangam (2020) and Inspector Rishi (2024).

## Early life and career

Sunaina was born in April 1989 in Nagpur, India into a Telugu family. She was raised in Nagpur and later moved to Hyderabad along with her parents.
She had her first screen appearance in Kumar Vs Kumari (2005), a Telugu film. Her next film 10th Class (2006) was her first breakthrough in Telugu cinema. She next made her Malayalam and Kannada cinema debut in Best Friends (2006) and Gange Baare Thunge Baare (2008) respectively.
Her rise to fame was by starring with Nakul in Kadhalil Vizhunthen (2008) which was her Tamil début film. Prior to that, she shot for a short scene in Sivaji (2007), which did not make the final cut. She later starred in Vamsam (2010) in which she appeared as a beautiful village girl and did very well, and continued with performance oriented films where she secured her first Filmfare nomination for Neerparavai (2012). Her performance was critically praised and she was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil.
After that she appeared in films like Samar (2013), Vanmam (2014) and also gave a guest appearance opposite Vijay in Theri (2016). She then appeared in Nambiyaar (2016), Kavalai Vendam (2016), Thondan (2017). In 2018, she acted in the drama film Kaali starring Vijay Antony and Anjali. Next, she appeared in Nila Nila Odi Vaa, Viu original romantic thriller series that released in September 2018. She has also done Sillu Karupatti (2019), and comedian Yogi Babu’s film titled Trip (2021).
Raja Raja Chora (2021) was considered to be her comeback in Telugu cinema after 10th Class (2006). She had also appeared in the Amazon Prime Video series Inspector Rishi, released in 2024.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

### Films

| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
| 2005 | Kumar Vs Kumari | Sudha | Telugu | |
| 2006 | Something Special | Mahi | Telugu | |
| 2006 | 10th Class | Sandhya | Telugu | |
| 2006 | Best Friends | Kavya | Malayalam | |
| 2007 | Missing | Kavya | Telugu | |
| 2008 | Gange Baare Thunge Baare | Ganga | Kannada | |
| 2008 | Kadhalil Vizhunthen | Meera | Tamil | |
| 2009 | Maasilamani | Divya Ramanathan | Tamil | |
| 2010 | Yaathumagi | Anna Lakshmi | Tamil | |
| 2010 | Vamsam | Malar Kodi | Tamil | |
| 2012 | Pandi Oliperukki Nilayam | Valar Mathi | Tamil | |
| 2012 | Thiruthani | Sugeesha | Tamil | |
| 2012 | Neerparavai | Esther | Tamil | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil |
| 2013 | Samar | Roopa | Tamil | |
| 2014 | Vanmam | Vadhana | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Theri | Bride | Tamil | Cameo appearance |
| 2016 | Nambiar | Saroja Devi | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Kavalai Vendam | Deepa | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Thondan | Bagalamugi | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Pelliki Mundu Prema Katha | Anu | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Kaali | Poo Mayilu (Parvathy) | Tamil | |
| 2019 | Enai Noki Paayum Thota | Mythili | Tamil | |
| 2019 | Sillu Karupatti | Amudhini | Tamil | |
| 2021 | Trip | Lidi (Paapi) | Tamil | |
| 2021 | Raja Raja Chora | Vidya | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Estate | Reba | Tamil | |
| 2022 | Laththi | Kavitha | Tamil | |
| 2023 | Regina | Regina | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Rocket Driver | Kamala | Tamil | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Network | Notes |
| 2018 | Nila Nila Odi Vaa | Nila | Tamil | Viu | |
| 2019 | High Priestess | Radhika | Telugu | ZEE5 | Appears in the episode "Friends" |
| 2019 | Fingertip | Rekha | Tamil | ZEE5 | Season 1; Appears under segment "Greed". |
| 2020 | Chadarangam | Kranthi | Telugu | ZEE5 | |
| 2022 | Meet Cute | Kiran | Telugu | SonyLIV | Appears under segment "Ex-Girlfriend" |
| 2024 | Inspector Rishi | Kathryn "Kathy" | Tamil | Amazon Prime Video | |