Ananya (actress)

Ayilya Nair (born 29 March 1987), better known by her stage name Ananya, is an Indian film actress, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. She made her acting debut in Malayalam with Positive (2008) and debuted the following year in Tamil with Naadodigal, which emerged a critical and commercial success. She has a list of films in Malayalam and Tamil. She received a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil for Engaeyum Eppothum.

Early life

Ananya was born as Ayilya to Malayali parents Gopalakrishnan Nair, a noted film producer, and Praseetha in Kothamangalam, Kerala. She has one brother Arjun, who is an engineering student. She appeared as a child artist in one of her father's productions (executive producer), Pai Brothers (1995). Ananya pursued a B.A. degree in Communicative English at St. Xavier's College, Aluva. During her childhood, she was an archer and won the State Championship. While representing her college in a television reality show "Star Wars", she was spotted by various directors and received acting offers. After declining five projects, she decided to give it a try, accepting to act in Positive.