Actor · Telugu cinema
Pragya Jaiswal
Pragya Jaiswal movies: 10 Telugu films on file, 2015–2025. Earliest on file: Kanche (2015). Latest release: Akhanda 2 (12 December 2025).
- Films on file
- 10 (10 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2015–2025
- Born
- 12 January 1991 · January birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Daaku Maharaaj, Nakshatram, Akhanda
- Record
- Q20649445 on Wikidata
Pragya Jaiswal (born 12 January 1991) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Telugu films. She began her career in the Tamil film Virattu (2014) and broke through with the Telugu period drama Kanche (2015), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. Her other films include Nakshatram (2017), Achari America Yatra (2018) and Akhanda (2021), her highest-grossing release. She has also won a SIIMA Award.
Early life
Jaiswal was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and studied at Symbiosis Law School in Pune. During her early days at Symbiosis she took part in beauty pageants and began modelling, and in 2014 she received the Symbiosis Sanskritik Puraskar for her achievements in art and culture.
Debut and Kanche
After her debut in Virattu, she moved into Telugu cinema in 2015 with Mirchi Lanti Kurradu, opposite Abijeet. Her turning point came later that year with Kanche, in which she played a princess opposite Varun Tej. The film was a commercial success, and a Deccan Chronicle reviewer remarked that she suited the role of a princess perfectly.
A busy 2017
She had four releases in 2017. Om Namo Venkatesaya and Gunturodu, opposite Manchu Manoj, both failed at the box office. In Nakshatram she played an IPS officer, a role The Times of India described as offering both glamour and substance, and she ended the year with an extended cameo in Jaya Janaki Nayaka. In 2018 she starred opposite Vishnu Manchu in Achari America Yatra, an average grosser.
Akhanda and after
In Akhanda (2021) she played an IAS officer, Saranya, opposite Nandamuri Balakrishna. The film was a commercial success and the third highest-grossing Telugu film of 2021, and Firstpost felt the character was relatively well written and that she carried it well. She played an NIA officer in Son of India (2022), which failed at the box office, and later appeared opposite Balakrishna again in Daaku Maharaj.
Hindi films
Jaiswal returned to Hindi cinema in 2024 with the ensemble comedy Khel Khel Mein, starring Akshay Kumar, in which she played a boutique owner opposite Aditya Seal. The Hindu praised her for playing an entitled character without turning her into a caricature.
Career on file
Pragya Jaiswal appears in 10 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2015 to 2025. The earliest of them is Kanche (2015), and the most recent release is Akhanda 2 (2025). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Daaku Maharaaj (2025), Nakshatram (2017) and Akhanda (2021). Other recent releases on file are Son of India (2022), Achari America Yatra (2018) and Jaya Janaki Nayaka (2017).
Nandamuri Balakrishna and Jagapati Babu are the most frequent co-stars, each sharing three films with Pragya Jaiswal, followed by Srikanth (2). Among directors, Boyapati Srinu cast Pragya Jaiswal most often, in three films. S. Thaman and Thaman S each scored two of them, more than any other music director. Dwaraka Creations produced two of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 8 different directors, 8 music directors and 32 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 9 of them; they average 148 minutes, and the longest is Akhanda at 169 minutes. Six of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2010s (6) and 2020s (4). 2017 is the busiest single year, with four films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.