Actress Shriya Saran

Shriya Saran is an Indian film actress. She began her career acting in music videos, while also attending an acting studio to follow her dream to act. After her debut in 2001 with Ishtam, she gained Telugu cinemas attention in 2002 by playing the role of Bhanu in Santhosham, her first major hit. Following the film, she appeared in several Telugu films with prominent actors, whilst, also making in-roads in Bollywood as well as the Tamil film industry. In 2007, Saran became a national figure after her performance alongside Rajinikanth in Sivaji: The Boss."Shriya regaining her position". after which she has signed several Hindi, Tamil and also a Hollywood film. She is the first actress to pair up with father and son-in-law.

Saran performs predominantly in leading heroine roles in high-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers. Following commercial successes with Santhosham (2002) , Tagore (2003), Sivaji: The Boss (2007) is the highest grosser in the indian film history and Kanthaswamy (2009) she established herself as one of the leading actresses in the South Indian film industry. Her other major box office film which established her career is Nuvve Nuvve (2002), Nenunnanu (2003) and Chatrapathi (2005) which earned her a Filmfare best actress in Telugu, Thiruvilayadal Arambam (2006), Azhagiya Tamil Magan (2007) and Kutty (2010) in Tamil, Awaarapan (2007) which earned her Filmfare nomination for best debut actress and Mission Istaanbul (2008) in Hindi and Pokkiri Raja (2010) which is her debut film in Malayalam.

Shriya Saran was born in Dehradun as the second child to Pushpendra Saran and Neeraja Saran. She was brought up in Ranipur, a few miles from Haridwar. Her father Pushpendra Saran was a worker at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and her mother is a school teacher. She has an elder brother Abhiroop. Saran completed her schooling from Delhi Public School, Haridwar and later studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and received a B. A. degree.

Whilst studying her second year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera. She eventually quit her studies to participate for the shoot. Following her dance teachers recommendation, she was given the chance to appear in the music video of Reenu Nathans Tirakthi Kyon Hawa. The video—shot at Banaras—gave her fame, prompting Ramoji Films to offer her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam starring and directed by newcomers. Even before the release of Ishtam, Saran signed four mega-budget films including Santosham, Chennakeshava Reddy, Nuvve Nuvve and Tagore with actors Nagarjuna, Balakrishna, Tarun and Chiranjeevi respectively.

Saran started her acting career with the Telugu film Ishtam (2001), produced by Usha Kiran Movies. The film didnt fare well at the box office, but she was noticed by many Telugu producers and directors. Soon she signed for Nagarjunas Santosham (2002), which was a major hit. Her portrayal of Bhanu won appreciation from critics and audience alike. Her final release of 2002 was Nuvve Nuvve with Tarun, which became a blockbuster, whilst also earning her many accolades for her performance as Anjali.

In 2003, Sarans debut Hindi film Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia DSouza in lead, released first, a remake of the 2000 Telugu blockbuster Nuvve Kavali, which itself was a remake of a Malayalam film. She enacted a supporting role, which was considered very small compared to that of Genelia, with Bollywood Hungamas reviewer Taran Adarsh citing that "The film couldve easily done without the other girls track (Girija), who loves the lead man but he doesnt reciprocate". The movie garnered poor box office returns, and failed to propel her career in Bollywood.

After her failed Bollywood debut, she again concentrated in South Indian films. She was cast to essay the lead role in the Telugu film Neeku Nenu Naaku Nuvvu opposite Uday Kiran. She played the character of Mahalakshmi and was praised for her acting and dancing talents. After the success of her next Telugu release Tagore, she turned a leading and one of the most sought-after actresses in Telugu cinema. Her subsequent release Ela Cheppanu also earned her many accolades, but only did average business at the box office. She next made her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, again alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan. The A. R. Rahman musical became a moderate success at the box-office, failing to gain her more projects in Tamil.