Actor · Telugu cinema
Kalyani Priyadarshan
Kalyani Priyadarshan movies: 3 Telugu films on file, 2017–2019. Earliest on file: Hello (2017). Latest release: Ranarangam (15 August 2019).
- Films on file
- 3 (3 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2017–2019
- Born
- 5 April 1992 · April birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Hello, Ranarangam, Chitralahari
- Record
- Q46994915 on Wikidata
Kalyani Priyadarshan (born 5 April 1993) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. The daughter of filmmaker Priyadarshan and actress Lissy, she began behind the camera as an assistant production designer before making her acting debut in the Telugu film Hello (2017), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. Her honours also include a Kerala Film Critics Association Award and four SIIMA Awards, and she is considered one of the highest-paid actresses in Malayalam cinema.
Early life
Kalyani was born in Chennai into a Malayali family and is the elder of two children; her younger brother is Siddharth. She went to school at Lady Andal in Chennai and later studied in Singapore, where she was part of theatre groups. She then earned a BArch from Parsons School of Design in New York.
Behind the camera
Her first film work was as an assistant production designer to Sabu Cyril on the Hindi film Krrish 3 (2013). In 2016 she worked as an assistant art director on the Tamil film Iru Mugan.
Telugu debut
Kalyani made her acting debut opposite Akhil Akkineni in Hello (2017). The film was well received but earned below average at the box office. The Hindu called hers a commendable debut and noted her chemistry with Akhil, and the role brought her several awards. She has described Hello as the best film of her career.
In 2019 she played an innocent, naive young woman opposite Sai Dharam Tej in Chitralahari, a commercial success. Her other two films that year, the Telugu Ranarangam opposite Sharwanand and her Tamil debut Hero opposite Sivakarthikeyan, did not do well.
Malayalam success
She entered Malayalam cinema in 2020 with Varane Avashyamund, opposite Dulquer Salmaan, one of the year’s highest-grossing Malayalam films, which won her the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Malayalam. In 2021 she played a modern woman opposite Silambarasan in the Tamil hit Maanaadu, while Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea failed at the box office.
2022 was a turning point: all three of her Malayalam releases succeeded. She played an engineer opposite Pranav Mohanlal in Hridayam, one of the year’s biggest hits; an IT professional opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran in Bro Daddy, released directly on Disney+ Hotstar; and a vlogger opposite Tovino Thomas in Thallumaala. In 2023 she played an aspiring football commentator in Sesham Mike-il Fathima and a college student and trained boxer in Antony, and in 2024 she reunited with Pranav Mohanlal in Varshangalkku Shesham, another commercial success.
Lokah and recent work
In 2025 she played the title character in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, opposite Naslen: a woman named Chandra who is secretly a yakshi and, in the film’s telling, a superheroine. It was described as the first superheroine film in Malayalam and Indian cinema. The film was well reviewed and, according to the source, grossed over ₹300 crore, placing it among the highest-grossing Malayalam films and Indian films with a female lead. Released a day apart from it, Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira, opposite Fahadh Faasil, was panned and failed. She is set to appear next in the Tamil film Genie, opposite Ravi Mohan.
Public image
Kalyani endorses brands including Kalyan Jewellers and Ajio and has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Ritz and You & I. In 2020 she was named Kochi Times Most Desirable Woman and placed 8th on the Chennai Times list.