Amala Paul

Amala Paul(born 26 October 1991)is an Indian actress and producer who primarily appears inTamil,MalayalamandTelugufilms. She is a recipient of aTamil Nadu State Film Award, aFilmfare Award Southand twoSouth Indian International Movie Awards.
Amala started her career in the Malayalam filmNeelathamara(2009), and later appeared in the Tamil filmMynaa(2010), which earned her theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She further received twoSIIMA Award for Best Actress – Malayalamfor her performance inRun Baby Run(2012) andOru Indian Pranayakadha(2013). She went onto appear in successful films such asVettai(2012),Thalaivaa(2013),Velaiilla Pattadhari(2014),Hebbuli(2017),Thiruttu Payale 2(2017),Ratsasan(2018) andThe Goat Life(2024). Her titular role inMili(2015), won her theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.
Amala Paul was born on 26 October 1991 inErnakulam, Kerala.Amala was born to Paul Varghese (d. 2017) and Annice Paul into a Christian family.Her brother Abijith Paul also appeared in films following Amala's entry into the film industry. After completing her schooling from Nirmala Higher Secondary School Aluva,she took a sabbatical to begin a career in films, but has since joinedSt. Teresa's CollegeinKochi, to pursue a B.A. degree in English.
Amala's father had been strictly against Amala pursuing an acting career, but was forced to  her decision with her brother strongly backing her ambition.She later claimed that she had performing arts in her, revealing that her mother was a singer and her dad was into theatre in college.
After finishing studies,Lal Joseoffered her a supporting role in his film,Neelathamara(2009). Despite emerging a success, the film failed to attract any further offers, as she had anticipated.She pursued roles in Tamil films and went on to sign for the low-budget comedy filmVikadakavi, which was delayed and ultimately became her sixth release, while also signing on to play the lead role in another small budget filmVeerasekaran(2010). The film, which became her maiden Tamil release, was panned by critics and went completely unnoticed,while Amala's role was labelled as "minimal",and she later cited that she regretted doing the film and many of her scenes were edited out.Amala then went on to work inSamy's controversialSindhu Samaveli(2010), portraying the role of Sundari, who has an illicit relationship with her father-in-law. She was approached after the major portions of her next release,Mynaawere ready, and signed on for Sindhu Samaveli before listening to the entirety of the story, claiming that she was shocked but not upset with the controversial scenes which she heard later. The director of the film had previously drawn criticism for his depictions of illicit romances as well as for assaulting his previous lead actress in a film, but Amala played down the issue citing that she had no problem with the director.Upon release, the film met with contrasting reviews, whilst some critics refused to give the film a rating, declaring their disgust at the film's plot.Paul claimed that she received death threats from anonymous callers and was publicly scolded by women at a cinema hall inChennai.
Amala's next release, the romantic drama filmMynaa(2010), byPrabhu Solomon, made her a recognised actress in the industry. The film had garnered much anticipation prior to release, with noted distributorsUdhayanidhi Stalinand Kalpathi S. Aghoram purchasing the rights of the film after being impressed with it.Amala played the village belle Mynaa.The film was successful at the box office.
Following the success of the Tamil film,Mynaa, Amala was billed as the "new top star of 2011" as she subsequently signed on to several prominent projects.Her first release of 2011 was in a supporting role in the Malayalam drama filmIthu Nammude Katha, a remake Tamil filmNaadodigal, and her next release withVikadakavi. Both films opened to limited screens due to the moderate budget of the projects, with her performance in the latter being described as "full of potential".She went on to sign three big budget films with the dramaDeiva Thirumagal, directed byVijay, featuring her oppositeVikramand alongsideAnushka,becoming her next release. Her portrayal of school correspondent Shwetha Rajendran won critical acclaim, with a reviewer citing that her "expressive eyes help her leave a mark in a small but important role", whilst another critic claimed that she "acquits herself well".Her final release of 2011 wasRam Gopal Varma'sBejawada, which marked her début in Telugu language films.
Amala's first release of 2012 was inLingusamy'sVettai, alongsideArya,MadhavanandSameera Reddy.The film opened to critical and commercial acclaim withThe New York Timesclaiming that the film "entertains without breaking any new ground, though it can also surprise".Amala won mixed feedback for her performance, while the critic fromSifymentioned that she "is lovely to look at and her feisty performance proves that a star is born".Pavithra Srinivasan ofRediff.comcited that she "struts, pouts and hams to the hilt".The actress had three films released on the Valentine's Day weekend of 2012, withBalaji Mohan's bilingualKadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi/Love Failurebecoming critical and commercial successes. The film, made in Tamil and Telugu, featured her alongsideSiddharthand portrayed her as a college girl, Parvathi, showing her romantic skills. About the Tamil version, a reviewer fromThe Hinduwrote: "Amala Paul, after coming across as convincing in her last few movies, looks finally set as a leading lady", while another critic labelled that she "comes across as natural" and "it is a pleasure to see her in a role and costumes that suit her age as compared to her recent movies".Rediff.comcalled the Telugu version of the film "refreshing", highlighting that the lead pair's on-screen chemistry "sparkles".The romantic thrillerMuppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal, oppositeAtharvaa, also released on the same day in which she played Charulatha, a modern girl based inBangalore. The film won mixed reviews, though the lead pair's on-screen chemistry was praised by critics, while another reviewer noted that "Amala renders an effortless act".She played a notable role in renowned directorDr. Biju'sAkasathinte Niram, which was her first art-house film. The film was screened at the competition section for the Golden Goblet Award in the 15thShanghai International Film Festival. She paired with veteran Malayalam actorMohanlalin the filmRun Baby Run, in which she played the role of a senior news channel editor. The film was a big commercial success and her performance as well as her chemistry with Mohanlal were highly appreciated.
In 2013, Amala achieved her first commercial success inTelugu cinema. Her first release in 2013,V. V. Vinayak's directorialNaayak, oppositeRam Charan, went on to be one of the biggest critical as well as commercial successes of the year.Her next film wasPuri Jagannadh's romantic comedyIddarammayilathooppositeAllu Arjun. Sangeetha Devi Dundroo ofThe Hinducommented: "Amala Paul manages to pull off a character that traverses a thin line between being naïve and downright silly. We wish we saw more of her."Another reviewer, Sasidhar AS fromThe Times of Indiacommented: "Amala Paul's characterisation is a delight, and she plays Komali so effectively that you'll be left wondering who else could have done the role better than her. She was a perfect choice to play a traditional Telugu girl."She was later seen inA. L. Vijay's action entertainerThalaivaa, oppositeVijay, as a police officer.Her last release of the year was theMalayalamfilmOru Indian Pranayakadha.
In 2014, her first release wasSamuthirakani'sNimirndhu Nil, oppositeJayam Ravi,which was simultaneously shot in Telugu asJanda Pai Kapiraju, in whichNanireprised the role of Jayam Ravi.Her second release saw her collaborating withDhanushin the blockbuster film,VIP. Amala's performance was well received and also saw her reprising her role in its sequel,VIP 2in 2017 that was a commercial success as well.
In 2015, she played the titular role inMiliwithNivin Pauly. She also co-starred withSuriyainPasanga 2.
In 2016, she acted inAmma Kanakkuan official remake ofNil Battey SannatabyAshwini Iyer, and won acclaim for her performance. In 2017 she starred in the Kannada film oppositeSudeepainHebbuliwhich was a commercial success.
Amala switched back to two Tamil films in 2018, both which went on to become commercial successes.Bhaskar Oru Rascalsaw her playing the role of Anu oppositeArvind Swamy. While inRatsasan, she starred alongsideVishnu Vishalwhich received critical acclaim. In 2019, she starred in Tamil-Telugu bilingual film,Aadai, which met with positive reviews.
In 2021, she appeared in anthology filmsKutty StoryandPitta Kathalu. She was next seen in web series,Kudi Yedamaithein Telugu,Ranjish Hi Sahi (web series)in Hindi andVictim: Who is Next?in Tamil. The OTT film,Cadaver(2022), which is an investigative thriller was released onDisney+ Hotstaron 12 August. The film saw Amala venture into Production.
She was also seen in back to back Malayalam films,The TeacherandChristopherwhich turned out be average. In 2023, she did a cameo alongsideAjay DevgninBholaa.
2024 saw one of Amala's highest grossing release with the critically acclaimedAadujeevitham. Starring alongsidePrithviraj, the film turned out to become one of thehighest-grossing Malayalam filmsof all time collecting 158.15 crore, also becoming one of the highest grossing Indian film of 2024.
Amala had changed her on-screen name to Anakha, on director Samy's insistence, who cited that another actress,Amala Akkinenihad already made her name popular. However, after the failure of her 2011 filmSindhu Samaveli, she reverted to her birth name, since she felt that the replacement had brought her bad luck.Her brother Abijith Paul is also an actor and appeared in minor roles in a few films.
As early as 2011, when Amala was working onDeiva Thirumagal, she was romantically linked to directorA. L. Vijay, but denied that the pair were dating.On 7 June 2014, she got engaged to Vijay atAluvain Kochi.The couple got married on 12 June 2014 at Mayor Ramanathan Chettiar Hall,Chennai.In 2016, Amala and Vijay filed for a divorce due to disagreement between her and her in-laws on continuing her acting career.They divorced in 2017.
She married entrepreneur Jagat Desai in 2023.They have a son named Ilai born on 11 June 2024.
In January 2018, Amala was arrested fortax evasion. A crime branch investigation had found that she had registered her luxury car inPuducherrywith fake documents.Later, the case was closed citingjurisdictionalissues.
Amala is considered among the highest-paid Malayalam actresses.Amala was named theKochi Times Most Desirable Womenin 2013,and was placed 3rd in 2014.Her performance inAadaiis regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" byFilm Companion.