Shriya Saran Craeer

Early career (2001–2003)

While in her sophomore year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher's recommendation, she was invited to appear in the music video of Renoo Nathan's Thirakti Kyun Hawa. Shot in Banaras, the video was seen by Ramoji Films who offered her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam. Saran accepted the part and later signed for four films including Santosham, Chennakeshava Reddy, Nuvve Nuvve and Tagore. In 2002 she starred in Santosham(2002), co-starring Nagarjuna, Prabhu Deva and Gracy Singh. For her work in the film, Saran earned her first nomination for the CineMAA Award for Best Actor- Female.

In 2003, Saran acted in her first Hindi film, Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in leading roles. She was cast as the lead in the Telugu film Neeku Nenu Naaku Nuvvu opposite Uday Kiran. Collaborating with V. V. Vinayak again, she performed the lead role in his Tagore, a remake of the Tamil film Ramana. Tagore was a commercial success. She followed it with her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan.^[16]

[edit]Ups and downs (2004–2007)

After a moderate year in 2004, Saran had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films. For Chatrapati, in which she appeared oppositePrabhas, she earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. Meanwhile, she made her comeback in Kollywood withMazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham. Neither the movie nor her performance were received well.

Saran's only 2006 release, excluding special appearances, was the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam. In 2007, she was chosen to play the lead female role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss, which was the most expensive Indian film at that time.R. G. Vijayasarathy wrote in his review for Rediff that aside from her beauty, Saran "proves that she can act too".

Early career (2001–2003)

While in her sophomore year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher's recommendation, she was invited to appear in the music video of Renoo Nathan's Thirakti Kyun Hawa.^] Shot in Banaras, the video was seen by Ramoji Films who offered her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam. Saran accepted the part and later signed for four films including Santosham, Chennakeshava Reddy, Nuvve Nuvve and Tagore.In 2002 she starred in Santosham(2002), co-starring Nagarjuna, Prabhu Deva and Gracy Singh. For her work in the film, Saran earned her first nomination for the CineMAA Award for Best Actor- Female.

In 2003, Saran acted in her first Hindi film, Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in leading roles. She was cast as the lead in the Telugu film Neeku Nenu Naaku Nuvvu opposite Uday Kiran. Collaborating with V. V. Vinayak again, she performed the lead role in his Tagore, a remake of the Tamil film Ramana. Tagore was a commercial success. She followed it with her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18,^] alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan.

[edit]Ups and downs (2004–2007)

After a moderate year in 2004, Saran had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films. For Chatrapati, in which she appeared opposite Prabhas, she earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. Meanwhile, she made her comeback in Kollywood withMazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham. Neither the movie nor her performance were received well.

Saran's only 2006 release, excluding special appearances, was the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam. In 2007, she was chosen to play the lead female role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss, which was the most expensive Indian film at that time R. G. Vijayasarathy wrote in his review for Rediff that aside from her beauty, Saran "proves that she can act too". Her performance earned her a South Scope Style Award for Best Tamil Actress and a nomination at the Vijay Awards.

Saran then made her comeback in Hindi cinema with Awaarapan alongside Emraan Hashmi, which was a joint production between India and Pakistan. She received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for her role. Later that year she appeared in one more Tamil film, Azhagiya Tamil Magan opposite Vijay. Though critics exalted her looks, her performance received mixed reviews.

[edit]Recent work (2008–present)

In 2008, she made a special appearance in the Vadivelu-starrer Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan which turn out to be her only Tamil release of 2008. She then acted in the Hindi film Apoorva Lakhia's Mission Istanbul with Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Shabbir Ahluwalia. She played the character of Anjali Sagar which was inspired by the character of Romila Dutta played by Preity Zinta in the film Lakshya; a journalist who desires to have a child with her husband, which leads to their separation, since he is reluctant. Rediff and Bollywood Hungama critics said that her character was totally wasted and also had a weak characterization. However, she did pick up the Stardust Exciting New Face Award.

Saran then made her Hollywood debut in Ashok Amritraj's The Other End of the Line. She played the role of Priya Sethi who works as a telephone operator in an India Call Centre, while acting alongside Jesse Metcalfe, Anupham Kher and Tara Sharma. Shriya's performance was praised by critic, particularly her on-screen chemistry with Jesse Metcalfe

In 2009, she appeared in Tamil film Kanthaswamy, gaining her a nomination at the Vijay Awards, and her third award win, this time the Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actress in Tamil.

In 2010, Saran made her Malayalam debut with Pokkiri Raja in which she appeared opposite Mammootty and Prithviraj. The film created big hype among the audience in Kerala and was declared a super hit in the first week, breaking the record in Malayalam cinema by grossing over 22,100,000 (US$490,620) in its first week of release, surpassing the old record holder Twenty:20. Saran herself was appreciated for her performance. She then enacted her first lead role in a Telugu film after five years, in the successful action-comedy film Don Seenu opposite Ravi Teja.

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