Actor

Saranya Ponvannan

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Acting credits

100

Prolific

Very extensive acting filmography.

TMDB popularity

2.5

Moderate attention

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 100Series: 0

TMDB ID: 584504

IMDb ID: nm0764853

Known for: Acting

Born: April 26, 1970

Age: 55

Place of birth: Alappuzha, Kerala, India

Gender: Female

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1987 - 2025

Years active: 39

Average TMDB rating: 6.18

Wikidata: Q3530087

Also known as

Sheela

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Biography

Sheela better known by her stage name Saranya is an Indian film actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. Saranya made her debut in a lead role in Mani Ratnam's Nayagan and went on to play lead roles in a few films during the late 1980s. Following an eight-year sabbatical, she returned to feature films as a character artiste, essaying supporting roles, particularly playing mother characters to lead artists. For her performances in films including Raam (2005), Thavamai Thavamirundhu (2005), Em Magan (2006) and Kalavani (2010), she has received notable critical praise and several accolades, including three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress, while her performance in Thenmerku Paruvakaatru fetched her the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2011.Saranya is the daughter of Malayalam film director A. B. Raj. She is married to a fellow actor, Ponvannan.