Actor · Telugu cinema
Nayanthara
Nayanthara movies: 19 Telugu films on file, 2006–2026. Earliest on file: Lakshmi (2006). Latest release: Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu (12 January 2026).
- Films on file
- 19 (19 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2006–2026
- Born
- 18 November 1985 · November birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Yogi, Anamika
- Record
- Q2748319 on Wikidata
Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian) is an Indian actress and producer who works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, and more recently in Hindi. The media call her “Lady Superstar”. Over two decades she has appeared in more than 75 films, and her honours include five Filmfare Awards South, a Nandi Award and seven SIIMA Awards. In Telugu she is best remembered as Sita in Bapu’s Sri Rama Rajyam (2011).
She was born on 18 November 1984 in Bangalore, according to Wikipedia; Wikidata gives 1985. Her family is from Thiruvalla, Kerala, and she studied English literature at Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla, modelling part-time before films.
Career
She made her debut in the Malayalam film Manassinakkare (2003) and her Tamil debut in Ayya (2005). Her first Telugu film was Lakshmi (2006), followed by Boss (2006), V. V. Vinayak’s Yogi and Dubai Seenu (both 2007). Her role as Sasha in the Tamil Billa (2007) restored her standing in Tamil cinema. In 2010 all five of her releases were hits, including the Telugu Adhurs and Boyapati Srinu’s Simha.
Her only release of 2011 was Sri Rama Rajyam. Rediff called her Sita “the role of her lifetime”, and it won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu, the Nandi Award for Best Actress and the SIIMA award. After an eleven-month break she returned in Krish’s Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum (2012), playing a journalist opposite Rana Daggubati. She followed it with Greeku Veerudu (2013) with Nagarjuna and Anamika (2014).
In Tamil she won Filmfare Best Actress awards for Raja Rani (2013), Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015) and Aramm (2017), and she led female-centred films such as Maya and Kolamaavu Kokila. Her later Telugu work includes Babu Bangaram (2016), Jai Simha (2018), Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019), Aaradugula Bullet (2021) and Mohan Raja’s Godfather (2022) with Chiranjeevi. She made her Hindi debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan (2023), and in 2026 she appeared in Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu. With Vignesh Shivan she runs the production company Rowdy Pictures.
Awards
- Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu, Nandi Award for Best Actress and SIIMA Best Actress – Telugu for Sri Rama Rajyam (Filmfare winners; Idlebrain, Nandi Awards 2011).
- Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for Raja Rani, Naanum Rowdy Dhaan and Aramm, and Best Actress – Malayalam for Puthiya Niyamam, according to Wikipedia.
- Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu (The Hindu).
The full record is on Wikipedia’s awards page for Nayanthara.
Upcoming projects
No upcoming Telugu film is on our records. Wikipedia lists her next films as Toxic, Mookuthi Amman 2 and other Tamil and Malayalam projects. New Telugu films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch her films
- Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu: ZEE5, from 11 February 2026 (OTT details)
- Godfather: Netflix, from 19 November 2022, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Adhurs, Simha and Boss: Aha, from Aha’s listings (Adhurs)
- Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy: digital rights with Prime Video, per Wikipedia; no streaming date on file (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
She married the director Vignesh Shivan in Mahabalipuram on 9 June 2022, according to Wikipedia; Wikidata cites The Indian Express. The couple have two children.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film, release and OTT records.
Career on file
Nayanthara appears in 19 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2006 to 2026. The earliest of them is Lakshmi (2006), and the most recent release is Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu (2026). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019), Yogi (2007) and Anamika (2014). Other recent releases on file are Godfather (2022), Aaradugula Bullet (2021) and Jai Simha (2018).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing ten films with Nayanthara, followed by Venkatesh Daggubati (4) and Kota Srinivasa Rao (4). Among directors, V. V. Vinayak cast Nayanthara most often, in three films; next is Boyapati Srinu (2). Music on three of them is by Mani Sharma, with Devi Sri Prasad (2) and Ramana Gogula (2) next. Across these films the credits on file name 16 different directors, 14 music directors and 58 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 18 of them; they average 155 minutes, and the longest is Sri Rama Rajyam at 172 minutes. Nine of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (7), 2010s (9) and 2020s (3). 2007 is the busiest single year, with three films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.