# Laila (actress)

Laila (born 24 October 1980) is an Indian actress. Making her acting debut in the mid-1990s and later becoming one of the leading actresses throughout the 2000s. She has acted predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, as well as in a few Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films.

## Career

Laila made her debut in Dushman Duniya Ka (1996) and her lead debut in the Telugu film Egire Paavurama (1997), directed by S. V. Krishna Reddy.
Laila began to receive offers from prominent directors to feature in Tamil films and turned down films such as Dharma Chakkaram and Kadhal Palli by K. S. Ravikumar and Pavithran respectively. She subsequently signed on to appear in the lead role in VIP after Pooja Kumar had walked out of the project. However, Laila was left unimpressed when the producer asked her to consider changing her stage name to Pooja, as the invitations for the film had already been printed, and furthermore, she revealed that she was unaware of Rambha also being a heroine in the film. Laila subsequently dropped out of the project, wanting to make her Tamil debut in a film where she played the sole heroine.
She ventured into Tamil films in Kallazhagar (1999) with Vijayakanth. Laila then worked with Prashanth in Parthen Rasithen (2000) and Ajith in Dheena 2001). Then came Dhill (2001) with Vikram as well as four films with Suriya in Nandha (2001), Unnai Ninaithu (2002), Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Pithamagan (2003). In between, Laila took a break and went back to Mumbai. However, she returned to Kollywood with a big bang. Her role in the movie Ullam Ketkumae (2005) won her accolades.
Laila has made a comeback to the Tamil entertainment industry. She first appeared in a ready-made flavored milk commercial (Aachi Badam Milk) post her sabbatical in 2018. She appeared as the judge for the dance show DJD Juniors on Zee Tamil alongside actresses Sudha Chandran and Sneha. She made her post-sabbatical film comeback with Sardar (2022).

## Personal life

Laila was born on 24 October 1980. She married Mehdi, an Iranian businessman on 6 January 2006. She dated him for eight years before marriage. According to Laila, they were engaged for four years before marriage. The couple has two sons.

## Filmography
### Films

List of Laila film credits :
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
| 1996 | Dushman Duniya Ka | Lata | Hindi | |
| 1997 | Itha Oru Snehagatha | Hema | Malayalam | |
| 1997 | Egire Paavurama | Jyoti | Telugu | |
| 1997 | Pellichesukundam | Laila | Telugu | |
| 1997 | Ugadi | Laila | Telugu | |
| 1998 | Khaidi Garu | Rajyam | Telugu | |
| 1998 | Pavitra Prema | Dr. Shakunthala Devi | Telugu | |
| 1998 | Love Story 1999 | Meena | Telugu | |
| 1998 | Subhalekhalu | Manasa | Telugu | |
| 1999 | Kallazhagar | Aandaal | Tamil | |
| 1999 | Naa Hrudayamlo Nidurinche Cheli | Mini | Telugu | |
| 1999 | Rojavanam | Roja | Tamil | |
| 1999 | Mudhalvan | Kalakkal Shuba | Tamil | |
| 2000 | Devara Maga | Sowmya | Kannada | |
| 2000 | Parthen Rasithen | Sarika | Tamil | |
| 2000 | Nuvve Kavali | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance in "Ole Ole Ole" |
| 2001 | Dheena | Chithra | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Dhill | Aasha | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Alli Thandha Vaanam | Divya | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Nandha | Kalyani | Tamil | Won–Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil |
| 2002 | Kamarasu | Vasanthi | Tamil | |
| 2002 | Unnai Ninaithu | Nirmala | Tamil | |
| 2002 | Mounam Pesiyadhe | Gautham's lover | Tamil | Cameo |
| 2003 | Three Roses | Nandhu | Tamil | |
| 2003 | Pithamagan | Manju | Tamil | Won–Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress ITFA Best Actress Award |
| 2003 | War and Love | Serina | Malayalam | |
| 2003 | Swapnakoodu | | Malayalam | Guest appearance |
| 2004 | Gambeeram | Vijayalakshmi | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Jaisurya | Baby | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Rama Krishna | Lakshmi Vishwanath | Kannada | |
| 2004 | Mr & Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy | Sailaja | Telugu | |
| 2005 | Ullam Ketkumae | Pooja | Tamil | |
| 2005 | Kanda Naal Mudhal | Ramya | Tamil | |
| 2005 | Insan | Indu | Hindi | |
| 2006 | Paramasivan | Malar | Tamil | |
| 2006 | Thandege Thakka Maga | Pancharangi | Kannada | |
| 2006 | Thirupathi | Stage Drama artist | Tamil | Special appearance |
| 2006 | Mahha Samudram | Devi | Malayalam | |
| 2022 | Sardar | Sameera Thomas | Tamil | |
| 2024 | The Greatest of All Time | Dr. Radhika Sunil | Tamil | |
| 2025 | Sabdham | Nancy | Tamil | |
Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

### Television

List of Laila television credits :
| Year | Program | Role | Language | Channel | Notes | Ref. |
| 2019 | Dance Jodi Dance Juniors | Judge | Tamil | Zee Tamil | | |
| 2020 | Gokulathil Seethai | Herself | Tamil | Zee Tamil | Special appearance | |

### Web series

List of Laila web series credits :
| Year | Program | Role | Language | Channel |
| 2022 | Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie | Ruby | Tamil | Amazon original series |