Amala Akkineni | |
|---|---|
 Akkineni in 2010 | |
| Born | Amala Mukherjee (1967-09-12)12 September 1967 (age 58) Kalaikunda,West Bengal, India |
| Alma mater | Kalakshetra,Chennai |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1986–1993 2012–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Akhil Akkineni (b. 1994) |
Amala Akkineni (born 12 September 1967[1]) is an Indian actress,Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist.[2] She has predominantly worked inTamil films, in addition toTelugu,Hindi,Malayalam, andKannada-language films. She was a leading actress in the Tamil film industry from 1986 to 1992 and has appeared in many blockbusters in Tamil and other languages. She has won twoFilmfare Awards South, namelyBest Actress – Malayalam for the 1991 filmUlladakkam[3] andBest Supporting Actress – Telugu for the 2012 filmLife Is Beautiful.[4] Amala is the co-founder ofBlue Cross of Hyderabad,[5] a non-government organisation (NGO) inHyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights in India.[6][7]
Amala was born inKalaikunda,West Bengal, to aBengali father, M.K. Mukherjee and anIrish mother, Meitim Connolly.[8][9][10] Their family soon shifted toChennai, where she was brought up.[11] She has a brother.
Amala holds aBachelor of Fine Arts degree[12] inBharatanatyam from theKalakshetra Foundation,Chennai.[13][14] She has given many live performances worldwide.[15][16] She is fluent in English, Tamil, and Telugu and can also understand Bengali.[8][17]
Amala married Telugu actorNagarjuna Akkineni on 11 June 1992 and the couple has a son, actorAkhil Akkineni born in 1994. She is the step-mother of actorNaga Chaitanya.[18] They currently live inHyderabad.[16]
She was persuaded to join films byT. Rajendar, who visited her home with his wife Usha and convinced her mother to let her act in the film, which would be a classical film featuring her Bharatanatyam dancing.[19] That film wasMythili Ennai Kaathali (1986) which was a box office hit. After the film's success, she acted in severalTamil films such asMella Thirandhathu Kadhavu (1986),Panneer Nadhigal (1986) andVelaikkaran (1987).[20] She acted with her future husband Akkineni Nagarjuna in hits such asNirnayam andSiva.[21] She garnered acclaim for her role in the filmUlladakkam (1991).
She quit acting in 1992 following her marriage to Nagarjuna. After a hiatus of 20 years she made a comeback in 2012 with the Telugu filmLife is Beautiful.[22] She received aCineMAA Award for Best Outstanding Actress and Telugu category Filmfare Award for best supporting actress in 2013 for her portrayal.
She returned toMalayalam cinema withC/O Saira Banu after a gap of 25 years, sinceUlladakkam.[23]
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Mythili Ennai Kaathali | Mythili | Tamil film debut Nominated -Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil |
| Panneer Nathigal | Meera | ||
| Kanne Kaniyamuthe | Kavita | ||
| Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu | Noorjahan | ||
| Unnai Ondru Ketpen | Gita | ||
| Oru Iniya Udhayam | Anju | ||
| 1987 | Velaikaran | Kaushalya | |
| Poo Poova Poothirukku | Mary | ||
| Koottu Puzhukkal | Manga | ||
| Vedham Pudhithu | Vaidehi | Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Tamil | |
| Kavithai Paada Neramillai | |||
| Idhu Oru Thodar Kathai | Sumathi | ||
| 1988 | Agni Natchathiram | Anjali | |
| Kodi Parakkuthu | Aparna | ||
| Sathyaa | Geetha Nair | ||
| Jeeva | Geetha | ||
| Illam | Saradha | ||
| Kaliyugam | |||
| Nethiyadi | Amala | Guest appearance | |
| 1989 | Mappillai | Geetha | |
| Varam | |||
| Naalai Manithan | Preethi | ||
| Uthama Purushan | Rekha | ||
| Vetri Vizha | Lalitha | ||
| 1990 | Pudhu Padagan | Devi | |
| Pattanamthan Pogalamadi | The song "Saamakozhi" picturised for shelved filmKavadi Sindhu was used in this film.[24] | ||
| Mounam Sammadham | Hema | ||
| 1991 | Vaasalil Oru Vennila | Kamal | |
| Karpoora Mullai | Maya Vinodini | ||
| 2022 | Kanam | Adhi's mother | Shot simultaneously in Telugu[25] |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Kirayi Dada | Lata | Telugu film debut |
| 1988 | Chinababu | Madhu | |
| Raktha Tilakam | Radha | ||
| 1989 | Siva | Asha | |
| 1990 | Prema Yuddham | Latha | |
| Raja Vikramarka | Rekha | ||
| Aggiramudu | Manasa | ||
| 1991 | Nirnayam | Geetha | |
| Aagraham | Chitra | ||
| 2012 | Life Is Beautiful | Amma | |
| 2014 | Manam | Dance teacher | Cameo appearance |
| 2022 | Oke Oka Jeevitham | Adhi's mother | Shot simultaneously in Tamil[25] |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Dayavan | Sarita | |
| Kab Tak Chup Rahungi | Geeta | ||
| 1989 | Dost | Pooja | |
| Jurrat | Renu | ||
| 1990 | Shiva | Asha | |
| 2013 | Listen... Amaya | Sujata | |
| 2015 | Hamari Adhuri Kahani | Rohini Ruparel | Cameo appearance |
| 2018 | Karwaan | Tahira | |
| 2023 | Tumse Na Ho Payega | Pooja |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Bannada Gejje | Menaka | |
| 1991 | Agni Panjara | ||
| 1992 | Ksheera Sagara | ||
| Belliyappa Bangarappa | Mutthamma |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Ente Sooryaputhrikku | Maya Vinodini | Malayalam film debut |
| Ulladakkam | Reshma | ||
| 2017 | C/O Saira Banu | Adv. Annie John Tharavadi | |
| 2021 | The Fall into Spring | Sulochana Ramachandran | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Pushpaka Vimana | Magician's daughter |
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Penn | Tamil | Doordarshan | |
| 1992 | Sangursh | Hindi | Doordarshan | |
| 2010 | Super Mother | Judge | Tamil | Star Vijay |
| 2014–2015 | Uyirmei | Dr. Kavitha Sandeep | Tamil | Zee Tamil |
| 2019 | High Priestess | Swathi Reddy | Telugu | ZEE5 |
| 2020 | The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye | Maya's mother | Hindi | Amazon Prime Video |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
