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Trisha Krishnan [a] is an Indian actress known for her work mainly in Tamil and Telugu films. She has also acted in Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada films. She was first seen in 1999 in a minor supporting role in Jodi , then 2000 in the music video of Falguni Pathak's song "Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye". [1]
The first project she accepted as a lead actress was Priyadarshan's Lesa Lesa , but a delay in the film's release meant that her first appearance in a lead role was in Ameer's directorial debut Mounam Pesiyadhe in 2002, which was a commercial success. [2] [3] The following year, Trisha appeared as a terminally ill woman in Manasellam , [4] which was a commercial failure. [5] Her next release in 2003 was Hari's action film, Saamy in which she played a soft-spoken Brahmin girl and attracted praise for her performance. [6] The film became a major commercial success, resulting in Trisha receiving new offers, including those from several high-budget productions. [7] [8] Lesa Lesa , which was to have been her debut as a lead actress, was released next. This romantic musical, based on the 1998 Malayalam film Summer in Bethlehem , earned her the ITFA Best New Actress Award. [9] Following Lesa Lesa, she starred in Alai and Enakku 20 Unakku 18 both of which were commercial failures. [10] [5] She made her debut in Telugu cinema in the same year with Tamil-Telugu simultaneously shot movie Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (Nee manasu Naaku Telusu), was also unsuccessful. [11] [12] Trisha's next Telugu release was Varsham in 2004. It was a major success, and won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award (Telugu). [13] It also resulted in her receiving more offers for roles in Telugu films. [11] Later in 2004, Trisha played the role of a damsel in distress where a kabaddi player tries to save from a corrupt politician who wants to marry her in Ghilli . [14] It was a major commercial success. [15] She appeared in Mani Ratnam's political drama Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004), starring as part of an ensemble cast that included Siddharth, R. Madhavan and Suriya. [16] The Telugu romantic comedy Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005) featured Trisha as a village girl and was a commercial success. [17] It earned her another Filmfare Award and her first Nandi Award for Best Actress. [18] [19] She reprised the role in the Tamil remake Unakkum Enakkum (2006) which was also successful. [20] [21] Selvaraghavan's Telugu film Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule (2007) the movie was a critical and commercial success won Trisha her third Filmfare Best Actress Award (Telugu). [22] [23] The same year she featured opposite Ajith Kumar in A. L. Vijay's Kireedam was a commercial success. [24] In 2008, her releases Bheemaa and Kuruvi both failed commercially, [25] while Abhiyum Naanum and Krishna earned her Filmfare nominations for Best Actress in the Tamil and Telugu categories respectively. [26] [27] Trisha starred in two films released in 2009: Sarvam and Sankham . The former was commercially unsuccessful, [28] while the latter was critically derided. [29] The following year, she played a Kerala Christian girl in Gautham Vasudev Menon's romance Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010). It was a major commercial success and, as well as being a breakthrough film in her career, [30] earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress (Tamil). [31] The same year, she made her Hindi cinema debut with Khatta Meetha (2010). Although a critical and commercial failure, [32] [33] it earned her nomination for a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. [34] Her sole Telugu release that year was Namo Venkatesa . [35] Both her 2011 releases – Teen Maar and Mankatha were successful. [36] [37] She had two releases in 2012, Bodyguard (a remake of the same titled Malayalam film) and Dammu were successful. [38] [39]
Trisha appeared in two Tamil films in 2013 the mystery thriller Samar , [40] and Endrendrum Punnagai, which earned her a Filmfare nomination. [41] Her sole release in 2014 was Power , which marked her debut in Kannada cinema was a commercial success. [42] Trisha's 2015 films included the crime thriller Yennai Arindhaal , [43] the comedy Sakalakala Vallavan , [44] the Tamil-Telugu bilingual thriller Thoongaa Vanam / Cheekati Rajyam, [45] and the sports drama Bhooloham . [46] In 2016, she appeared in the comedy horror films Aranmanai 2 and the Tamil-Telugu bilingual Nayaki (spelt Nayagi in Tamil), [47] [48] followed by the political thriller Kodi , which earned her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil. [49] [50] Trisha won Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Tamil) for '96 (2018), [51] and in the same year made her debut in Malayalam cinema in Hey Jude . [52] In 2019, she co-starred with Rajinikanth in Petta. In 2020, she reprised her role as Jessi from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) in the short film Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn , presenting a fresh narrative. Paramapadham Vilayattu (2021) was released directly on Disney+ Hotstar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She reunited with director Mani Ratnam for his magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan (2022), portraying Princess Kundavai, earning critical acclaim and a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2023, she reprised her role in Ponniyin Selvan: II receiving another Filmfare nomination. That year, she also starred in the film The Road and featured in the highly anticipated film Leo, marking her fifth collaboration with Vijay after 15 years, and Leo become one of the highest-grossing South Indian films of 2023. [53] In 2024, Ghilli was re-released for its 20th anniversary and became one of the highest-grossing re-releases Indian films. [54] In August, her web series Brinda was released on Sony Liv, where she shines in her role as a police officer. [55] She made a special appearance in the film The Greatest of All Time , captivating audiences with her performance in the dance number "Matta". [56] In 2025, she starred in her second Malayalam film Identity , which achieved significant commercial success.
Her next releases, Vidaamuyarchi and Good Bad Ugly , mark her fifth and sixth collaborations with Ajith Kumar, her third collaboration with Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan Thug Life is set for release in 2025, along with her second collaboration with Chiranjeevi in Vishwambhara , also scheduled for a 2025 release.
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Language(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Jodi | Gayathri's friend | Tamil | Uncredited cameo | [57] |
2002 | Mounam Pesiyadhe | Sandhya | Tamil | [58] | |
2003 | Manasellam | Malar | Tamil | [4] | |
Saamy | Bhuvana | Tamil | [59] | ||
Lesa Lesa | Balamani | Tamil | [60] | ||
Alai | Meera | Tamil | [61] | ||
Enakku 20 Unakku 18 | Preethi | Tamil | Bilingual film | [62] | |
Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu | Telugu | [63] | |||
2004 | Varsham | Shailaja | Telugu | [64] [65] | |
Ghilli | Dhanalakshmi | Tamil | [14] | ||
Aayutha Ezhuthu | Meera | Tamil | [16] | ||
2005 | Thirupaachi | Su bh a | Tamil | [66] | |
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana | Siri | Telugu | [67] | ||
Ji | Bhuvana | Tamil | [68] | ||
Athadu | Poori | Telugu | [69] | ||
Allari Bullodu | Trisha | Telugu | [70] | ||
Aaru | Maha | Tamil | [71] | ||
2006 | Aathi | Anjali | Tamil | [72] | |
Pournami | Pournami | Telugu | [73] | ||
Bangaram | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance | [74] | |
Unakkum Enakkum | Kavitha | Tamil | [20] | ||
Stalin | Chitra | Telugu | [75] | ||
Sainikudu | Varalakshmi | Telugu | [76] | ||
2007 | Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule | Keerthi | Telugu | [77] | |
Kireedam | Divya | Tamil | [78] | ||
2008 | Krishna | Sandhya | Telugu | [79] | |
Bheemaa | Charu | Tamil | [80] | ||
Velli Thirai | Herself | Tamil | Cameo | [81] | |
Kuruvi | Devi / Radhadevi | Tamil | [82] | ||
Bujjigadu | Meghana (Chitti) | Telugu | [83] | ||
Abhiyum Naanum | Abhi | Tamil | [84] | ||
King | Sravani | Telugu | [85] | ||
2009 | Sarvam | Dr. Sandhya | Tamil | [86] | |
Sankham | Mahalakshmi | Telugu | [87] | ||
2010 | Namo Venkatesa | Pooja | Telugu | [35] | |
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa | Jessie Thekekuthu | Tamil | [88] | ||
Ye Maaya Chesave | Herself | Telugu | Cameo | [89] | |
Khatta Meetha | Gehna Ganphule | Hindi | [90] | ||
Manmadan Ambu | Ambujakashi (Nisha) [b] | Tamil | [91] | ||
2011 | Teen Maar | Meera Shastri | Telugu | [92] | |
Mankatha | Sanjana | Tamil | [93] | ||
2012 | Bodyguard | Keerthi | Telugu | [38] | |
Dammu | Sathya | Telugu | [39] | ||
2013 | Samar | Maya | Tamil | [40] | |
Endrendrum Punnagai | Priya | Tamil | [94] | ||
2014 | Power | Prashanti | Kannada | [95] | |
2015 | Yennai Arindhaal | Hemanika | Tamil | [43] | |
Lion | Mahalakshmi | Telugu | [96] | ||
Sakalakala Vallavan | Divya | Tamil | [44] | ||
Thoongaa Vanam | Mallika | Tamil | Bilingual film | . [97] [98] | |
Cheekati Rajyam | Telugu | [45] | |||
Bhooloham | Sindhu | Tamil | [46] | ||
2016 | Aranmanai 2 | Anitha | Tamil | [47] | |
Nayaki | Gayathri | Telugu | Also singer for the song "Bayam" | [48] [99] | |
Nayagi | Tamil | ||||
Kodi | Rudhra | Tamil | [49] | ||
2018 | Hey Jude | Crystal Ann Chakraparambu | Malayalam | [52] | |
Mohini | Mohini / Vaishnavi [c] | Tamil | [100] | ||
'96 | Janaki "Janu" Devi | Tamil | [101] | ||
2019 | Petta | Saro | Tamil | [102] | |
2020 | Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn | Jessie | Tamil | Short film | [103] [104] |
2021 | Paramapadham Vilayattu | Dr. Gayathri | Tamil | [105] | |
2022 | Ponniyin Selvan: I | Kundavai Ilaiya Piratti | Tamil | [106] | |
Raangi | Thaiyal Nayagi | Tamil | [107] | ||
2023 | Ponniyin Selvan: II | Kundavai Ilaiya Piratti | Tamil | [108] | |
The Road | Meera | Tamil | [109] | ||
Leo | Sathya Parthiban/Sathya Leo Das | Tamil | [110] | ||
2024 | The Greatest of All Time | Dancer | Tamil | Special appearance in the song "Matta" | [111] |
2025 | Identity | Alisha Abdul Salam / Ann | Malayalam | [112] | |
Vidaamuyarchi † | Kayal | Tamil | Post-production | [113] | |
Good Bad Ugly † | TBA | Tamil | Post-production | [114] | |
Vishwambhara † | TBA | Telugu | Post-production | [115] | |
Thug Life † | TBA | Tamil | Completed | [116] | |
Suriya 45 † | TBA | Tamil | Filming | [117] | |
TBA | Ram † | Dr.Vineetha | Malayalam | Completed | [118] |
Year | Title | Role | Language | Platform | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Brinda | SI Brinda | Telugu | SonyLIV | Web series | [119] |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Performer(s) | Album | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | "Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye" | Woman in the painting | Falguni Pathak | Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye | [120] |
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