Kajal Aggarwal

Kajal Aggarwal
Born 19 June 1985[1]
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[2]
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Education B.M.M.[3]
Alma mater K.C. College
Occupation Model , Actress , Dancer
Years active 2004–present
Relatives
  • Nisha Aggarwal (sister)

Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian actress, who predominantly appears in Telugu and Tamil films. Through her successful film career, Kajal has become one of the most popular celebrities in South India.[4][5][6] In addition to her acting career, Kajal participates in stage shows and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products.

Kajal made her film debut in the 2004 Bollywood film Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na and entered the Telugu film industry through the film Lakshmi Kalyanam (2007). She had her first commercial success with Chandamama (2007) and rose to prominence after her performance in Magadheera (2009), which remains her biggest commercial success in South Indian cinema[7] and fetched her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress. Following further consecutive successes with Darling (2010), Brindavanam (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011),Businessman (2012),Naayak (2013),Baadshah (2013), Govindudu Andarivadele(2014) and Temper(2015).she established herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu cinema.[8]

She has also acted in Tamil films, Naan Mahaan Alla (2010) being her first notable project, but with Maattrraan (2012) and Thuppakki (2012), her biggest success in Tamil Cinema, and Jilla (2014),her next biggest success in Tamil movies,she emerged as a leading actress in Tamil cinema as well.[9] She made a comeback to Bollywood with Singham (2011) which was a blockbuster[10] while her next film Special 26 (2013) was also declared a box-office success.[11]

Early life

Kajal was born in Mumbai to Vinay Aggarwal, an entrepreneur, and Suman Aggarwal, a confectioner.[2] She has a younger sister, Nisha Agarwal, who is also an actress appearing in Telugu and Tamil films.[12] She studied at St. Anne's High School, Colaba, Mumbai and Jai Hind College, Mumbai.[3] She graduated from K.C. College, Mumbai with a degree in Mass Media.[3] She started her modelling career while she was still in college.[13] She was planning on pursuing MBA in Brand Management before deciding to pursue acting.[14][15]

Career

Debut and struggles (2004–08)

Kajal made her acting debut in the 2004 Bollywood film Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na, in which she enacted a minor supporting role as the friend of Diya,[16][17] following which she signed veteran Tamil director Bharathiraja's Bommalattam, alongside Arjun Sarja. The film, however, got delayed and released in mid 2008.

She made her debut in the Telugu film industry and played her first leading role in 2007 in Teja's Lakshmi Kalyanam alongside Kalyan Ram, which did not fare well at the box office. Later that year, she appeared in the Krishna Vamsi-directed film Chandamama, which opened to positive reviews and became her first major successful film.[18] In 2008, she had her first Tamil film release, Perarasu's action entertainer Pazhani, co-starring Bharath. Following this film, she had two more Tamil releases that year with Venkat Prabhu’s comedy-thriller Saroja, in which she did a guest appearance, and Bharathiraja's investigative thriller Bommalattam. Although the former went on to become a commercial as well as a critical success,[19] both films failed to boost her career as her roles were too insignificant.[20] Both her Telugu releases, Pourudu and Aatadista opposite Sumanth and Nitin, respectively, neither received positive reviews while the former was successful at the box office.

Public recognition and success (2009–11)

Kajal had four releases in 2009. she first starred in another Tamil film Modhi Vilayadu, opposite Vinay Rai which garnered mixed reviews and was a financial failure, following which she appeared in the high budget Telugu historical drama Magadheera, alongside Ram Charan Teja, which saw her playing double roles for the first time. The film, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, received universal critical acclaim, while Kajal, particularly, was praised for her portrayal of a princess in the film. Kajal was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu and was also nominated for the award for Best Telugu Actress in the South Scope Awards for her performance in the film.[21][22] The film was also highly commercially successful and broke several records,[23] emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time.[24][25][26] Magadheera's enormous success turned Kajal into one of the most sought-after actresses in Telugu cinema and catapulted her into the main foray of leading Telugu actresses.[27] The film was released again in Tamil as Maaveeran in 2011, which was also successful at the box office.[28] Her subsequent releases Ganesh Just Ganesh, opposite Ram and Arya 2 opposite Allu Arjun received mixed reviews from critics, while her performance garnered positive feedback.[29][30]

Kajal's first 2010 release was A. Karunakaran's romantic comedy Darling, which featured her alongside Prabhas and received favorable response, becoming a commercial success at the box office,[31] with Kajal receiving her second Filmfare nomination for Best Actress for her performance. Later that year, she appeared in the Tamil thriller film Naan Mahaan Alla opposite Karthi, which was based on a real life incident and opened to unanimously positive reviews.[32] The film was a box office success. The chemistry between Karthi and Kajal in the film was widely praised.[33] It was later dubbed in Telugu as Naa Peru Siva, in Andhra Pradesh and became a success there too.[34] Kajal's final release in 2010 was another romantic comedy Brindavanam opposite Jr. NTR and Samantha, which received critical acclaim and went on to become an economical success as well,[35] while fetching Kajal the CineMAA Award for Best Actress.

In 2011, she was paired with Prabhas for the second time in the romantic comedy Mr. Perfect, directed by Dasaradh. The film became a critical and commercial success. Kajal's performance in the film as a conservative doctor and her chemistry with Prabhas won appraisal by critics.[36][37] Kajal received her third Filmfare nomination for Best Actress in Telugu for her performance.[38] In May, she appeared in Veera opposite Ravi Teja that received negative reviews[39] and failed at the box office.[40]

In July that year, Kajal made her Bollywood comeback after 7 years with a leading role in the police story Singham, a remake of the same-titled 2010 Tamil film, opposite Ajay Devgn. The film received mixed reviews from critics,[41] as did her portrayal of a Goan girl Kavya Bhosle, with critics stating that Kajal had not much to offer in the hero-centric film. Komal Nahta noted that Kaajal Aggarwal acts with effortless ease. Her performance is good,[42] while Filmfare wrote that Kajal who looks pretty and has done what she has been told to, but probably deserved a meatier debut.[43] Nevertheless, the film was Blockbuster at the box office,[10] making Kajal a popular actress in Bollywood. She was nominated for 2 awards for her performance in the film- the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. Kajal finished 2011 with the Telugu film Dhada opposite Naga Chaitanya, which failed at the box office.[44]

Recent work (2012–present)

In early 2012, Kajal appeared in the Telugu gangster film Businessman alongside Mahesh Babu, directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film, a Sankranthi release, opened to positive reviews and turned out to be a blockbuster.[45][46] Kajal's performance in her role in the film, though limited, was praised by critics.[47]

Aggarwal in 2013

Kajal made a comeback in Kollywood later that year with two big releases; the first was the action thriller film Maattrraan opposite Surya and directed by K. V. Anand. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Her performance was well received; a review carried by The Indian Express summarised "Kajal does with utmost sincerity as the foreign language translator Anjali. It's this trait and her graceful demeanour which makes Kajal a pleasant watch.[48] The second was A. R. Murugadoss's Thuppakki, another action thriller film opposite Vijay, where she played the role of a boxer. The film was released on Deepavali and received mostly positive reviews from the critics. While Maattrraan was declared as an average success,[49] Thuppaki was declared as a blockbuster and has become the second Tamil film ever to enter the Rs.100 crore club.[50] Her final release in 2012 was the Telugu romantic film Sarocharu, opposite Ravi Teja for the second time in her career. Although her performance in the film was praised by critics, the film received poor reviews and did below-average business at the box office.[51]

In early 2013, she starred in V. V. Vinayak's action film Naayak opposite Ram Charan Teja and Amala Paul.[52] Upon release, the film received positive reviews and was a major commercial success.[53] She later starred in the Hindi film Special 26, a 1987 Heist Drama directed by Neeraj Pandey opposite Akshay Kumar. The Movie went on to be a major critical and commercial success.[54] She later appeared in Srinu Vaitla's Baadshah opposite Jr. NTR for the second time in her career. Upon release critics appreciated her performance. The Times of India commented "Kajal is as usual an eye-candy. She's got a good role and has done justice to her performance. Also she looks stunning in the songs."[55] The Movie was also a Blockbuster at the Box office, cementing her position in Telugu cinema.[56] Her final release in 2013 was All in All Azhagu Raja opposite Karthi which released on Diwali to negative reviews from critics.[57]

In early 2014,she starred in R. T. Neason's big budget venture Jilla, Tamil action thriller movie opposite Vijay,where she played the role of a police officer.The film was released on Pongal and received mostly positive reviews from critics and was declared as a blockbuster with a gross of more than INR1 billion (US$16 million).Jilla was one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2014.[58] She then featured in a cameo appearance in the Telugu action thriller film Yevadu starring Ram Charan Teja, Shruti Haasan and Amy Jackson along with Allu Arjun.[59] Her next release was Krishna Vamsi's Telugu action thriller film Govindudu Andarivadele opposite Ram Charan which released on October to positive reviews and was declared a blockbuster.[60]Govindudu Andarivadele grossed INR416.5 million (US$6.6 million) at the boxoffice and became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 2014.[61]

In early 2015 She starred in Puri Jagannadh's Telugu action thriller film Temper opposite N. T. Rama Rao Jr. which released on 13 February to positive reviews and was declared a blockbuster.[62]Temper grossed INR670 million (US$11 million) at the boxoffice and became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 2015.[63]She is currently shooting for Balaji Mohan's comedy drama film Maari opposite Dhanush which is scheduled to release on Summer 2015.[64] She has also signed Suseenthiran's Tamil action thriller movie opposite Vishal.

Brand endorsements

In addition to films, Kajal also endorses a large number of popular brands. Before starting her film career, she had acted in various commercials as a model.[15] Kajal represents Celebrity Cricket League as one of the brand ambassadors.[65] She is the brand ambassador for Lux in endorsing the beauty soap.[66] She endorses several Retail and Jewellery stores in south India namely, RS Brothers in Hyderabad, Sri Lakshmi Jewellery in Puducherry and AVR in Salem.[67][68] She has featured in television advertisements along with Karthi endorsing Bru instant coffee.[69] She has also endorsed mobile brands like Samsung Mobile[70] and has featured in advertisements for the Secunderabad based The Chennai Shopping Mall. In April 2012, Kajal was announced as the brand ambassador for Panasonic India.[71] In 2013, Kajal has been signed by Dabur India as the brand ambassador of its flagship hair oil brand DaburAmlaNelli.[72] She also endorses Green Trends, a leading salon brands in India.[73]

Filmography

Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Film Role Language Notes
2004 Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... Diya's sister Hindi
2007 Lakshmi Kalyanam Lakshmi Telugu
Chandamama Mahalakshmi Telugu
2008 Pourudu Samyukhta Telugu
Pazhani Deepti Tamil
Aatadista Sunnanda Telugu
Saroja Pooja Tamil Cameo appearance
Bommalattam Anitha Tamil
2009 Modhi Vilayadu Easwari Lakshmiram Tamil
Magadheera Yuvarani Mithravindha Devi
Indira (Indu) 		Telugu Dual role
Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
Ganesh Just Ganesh Divya Telugu
Arya 2 Geethanjali Telugu
2010 Om Shanti Meghana Telugu
Darling Nandini Telugu Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
Naan Mahaan Alla Priya Sudharsan Tamil
Brindaavanam Bhoomi Telugu CineMAA Award for Best Actress (Telugu)
2011 Mr. Perfect Priya Telugu Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
Veera Chitti Telugu
Singham Kavya Bhosle Hindi Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut
Dhada Rhea Telugu
2012 Businessman Chitra Telugu
Maattrraan Anjali Tamil
Thuppakki Nisha Tamil CineMAA Award for Best Actress (Tamil)
Sarocharu Sandhya Telugu
2013 Naayak Madhu Telugu
Special 26 Priya Chauhan Hindi
Baadshah Janaki Telugu
All in All Azhagu Raja Chitra Devi Priya Tamil
2014 Jilla Shanthi Tamil
Yevadu Deepthi Telugu Special appearance
Govindudu Andarivadele Satya Telugu
2015 Temper Shanvi Telugu
Maari Films that have not yet been released Avantikaa Tamil Post-production[74]
Paayum Puli Films that have not yet been released Tamil Filming[75]
Marma Manithan Films that have not yet been released Tamil Pre-production[76]
Do Lafzon Ki Kahani Films that have not yet been released Hindi Pre-production[77][78]

Awards and nominations

Aggarwal at Zee Cine Awards 2012
Award Category Film Result
CineMAA Awards Best Actress Brindaavanam (2010) Won
Best Actress Thuppakki (2013) Won
Filmfare Awards South Best Actress Magadheera (2009) Nominated
Best Actress Darling (2010) Nominated
Best Actress Mr. Perfect (2011) Nominated
Filmfare Awards Best Female Debut Singham (2011) Nominated
Zee Cine Awards Best Female Debut Won
Stardust Awards Superstar of Tomorrow - Female Won
Vijay Awards Best Actress Thuppakki (2013) Won
Favourite Heroine Won
2nd South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress Won (Critics)
Businessman (2013) Nominated
Cosmopolitan People's Choice Award Best Actress Thuppakki (2013) Won

Other awards/nominations

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kajal Agarwal takes a break on her birthday". Times of India. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mauli Singh. "Kajal Agarwal: I am here to stay...". Mid-Day. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Meet Ajay Devgn's love in Singh". Rediff.com. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  4. ↑ T.S. SUDHIR. "If You’re Willing, She’s Reddy". OutlookIndia.com. Retrieved Jul 18, 2011.
  5. ↑ Sunayana Suresh. "South’s top earning heroines". The Times Of India. Retrieved Apr 16, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Kajal: Most wanted". Sify.
  7. ↑ "Magadheera, 100 not out!". Rediff. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Top Telugu actresses". Rediff. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  9. ↑ "Kajal breaks the jinx!". Tamilkey.com. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Singham declared big hit at box office". Rediff.com. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  11. ↑ Special Chabbis and ABCD A Hit!. BollySpice (2013-02-13). Retrieved on 2013-07-13.
  12. ↑ "Kajal Agarwal's sister takes the plunge". Rediff. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  13. ↑ "Telugu cinema | Telugu movie | Telugu movies | Telugu films | Telugu cinema hero | Telugu movie hero | Telugu cinema heroine | Telugu movie heroine | Tollywood hero | Tollywood heroine | Telugu cinema news". Teluguone.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  14. ↑ Gaurav Malani (11 July 2011). "Salman should do Magadheera remake: Kajal". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Friday,10 August 2012 (16 July 2011). "Kajal says, 'Life has planned films for her. '". Morningcable.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  16. ↑ "Ajay Devgn to romance South actress Kajal". The Times of India. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  17. ↑ "Kajal to star with Ajay Devgn". Times of India. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  18. ↑ "Kajal: Flying high". Times of India. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  19. ↑ "Chennai Box Office (Oct 25 to 27, 2008)". Sify. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  20. ↑ "Waiting for Lady Luck". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
  21. ↑ "57th South Filmfare Awards Winners (Telugu)| Nominees | Other Details". Andhraspider.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  22. ↑ "South Scope Cine Awards Winners (Telugu) | Nominees | Other Details". Andhraspider.com. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  23. ↑ "Magadheera – a box office legend". idlebrain. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  24. ↑ "'Magadheera' earns 175 successful days!". Indiaglitz. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  25. ↑ Magadheera "Magadheera, 100 not out!". Rediff. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  26. ↑ "Tolly's bigger than Bolly". Times of India. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  27. ↑ "'Magadheera' earns 175 successful days!". Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  28. ↑ 23 Jun 2011 by admin (23 June 2011). "Ram Charan's Maaveeran rocks Tamil Nadu | Ram Charan Teja". Ramcharanteja.bizhat.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  29. ↑ "Arya 2 is disappointing". Rediff. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  30. ↑ "Review-Ganesh- Just Ganesh’ Review: Just Ok".
  31. ↑ "AN AVERAGE FARE". Indian Express. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  32. ↑ "Review". Sify.
  33. ↑ 12.58 pm IST 16 May 2012 (16 May 2012). "Karthi Sivakumar to romance Kajal Aggarwal again". Bollywoodlife.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  34. ↑ "Karthi hits T’wood big time". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  35. ↑ "Review of Telugu film Brindavanam". NDTV. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  36. ↑ "Review:Mr Perfect". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  37. ↑ "Mr.Perfect – Movie Review". TeluguCinema.Com. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  38. ↑ "59th Filmfare Awards South Nominees". Business of Tollywood. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  39. ↑ "Review: Veera is a tedious watch". Rediff. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  40. ↑ "'Nippu' Is Not Even 50 pc Of 'Veera'". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  41. ↑ "Singham Movie Reviews with Ratings". Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  42. ↑ Nahta, Komal. "Singham Review". Koimoi. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  43. ↑ Sukanya Venkatraghavan. "Singham movie review". Filmfare. Retrieved July 2011.
  44. ↑ "Sampath's 'Rachcha' tensions with 'Dhada' failure | ManaTelugu.in : Movies | Shows | Serials | News | Galleries and Many More". ManaTelugu.in. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  45. ↑ Sarah Salvadore. "Kajal Aggarwal has no dates for marriage". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  46. ↑ "Mahesh's Businessman Rewrites Boxoffice HISTORY". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  47. ↑ "Telugu Review: 'Businessman' a must watch for punchy dialogues, Mahesh's superb acting". IBNLive. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  48. ↑ Malini Mannath. "'Maattrraan' (Tamil)". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  49. ↑ "Kajal Agarrwal is no less than a TOP Hero". Andhrawishesh.com. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  50. ↑ "Tamil film 'Thuppakki' enters Rs100 crore club". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  51. ↑ "Box office report". 123telugu.com. 1 January 1998. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  52. ↑ "Ram Charan-VV Vinayak film is for both the mass and class audiences". IBNlive. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  53. ↑ "Naayak n SVSC Reminding 1997 n 2000". cinejosh.com. Retrieved 17 Jan 2013.
  54. ↑ "‘Special 26’ Box Office Collection: Akshay Starrer Beats ‘Khiladi 786’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ at Domestic BO". ibtimes.com. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  55. ↑ "Baadshah Telugu movie review highlights". The Times of India. Retrieved Apr 5, 2013.
  56. ↑ "Box office report". 123telugu.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  57. ↑ http://www.ibtimes.co.in/039all-in-all-azhaguraja039-review-roundup-joke-is-on-audiences-519090
  58. ↑ http://www.indianmoviestats.com/tamil/top-grossing-tamil-films-of.html
  59. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/Kajal-in-Ram-Charans-Yevadu/articleshow/15490191.cms?
  60. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/Govindudu-Andarivadele-opens-to-positive-reviews/articleshow/43983722.cms
  61. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20141103100900/http://www.ibtimes.co.in/box-office-collection-ram-charans-govindudu-andarivadele-gav-mints-over-41-crore-612912
  62. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20150213120804/http://www.ibtimes.co.in/temper-review-round-jr-ntr-gets-thumbs-critics-623400
  63. ↑ http://www.iluvcinema.in/telugu/jr-ntrs-temper-5-weeks-box-office-report-total-collections/
  64. ↑ http://www.kollyinsider.com/2014/11/dhanush-balaji-mohan-film-titled-maari.html
  65. ↑ "Bollywood News Kajal Aggarwal to be the face of CCL". bollywood hungama. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  66. ↑ "Kajal Agarwal as Lux Brand Ambassador". Maastars.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  67. ↑ "Sri Lakshmi Jewelery Ropes in Anoushka Shetty and Kajal Agarwal. | Brand Stop". Brandstop.in. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  68. ↑ "Actress Kajal Agarwal Stills at AVR Swarna Mahal Ad | Cinema Buzz". Cinebuzz.in. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  69. ↑ "Karthi and Kajal Agarwal for Bru". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  70. ↑
  71. ↑ "Panasonic plans to invest Rs600 cr on marketing". The Hindu.
  72. ↑ "Dabur signs actor Kajal Agarwal as face of Amla in South India". The Economic Times. 11 March 2013. Retrieved Mar 11, 2013.
  73. ↑ "CavinKare's saloon chain signs Kajal Agarwal as brand ambassador". Business Standard. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  74. ↑ Janani Karthik. "Director confirms Dhanush, Kajal Aggarwal flick". The Times of India. Retrieved Jan 9, 2014.
  75. ↑ "Vishal, Kajal Aggarwal head to Hyderabad". The Times of India. Retrieved Jan 6, 2015.
  76. ↑ "Kajal, Priya to romance Vikram in his next". Times of India. Retrieved Mar 11, 2015.
  77. ↑ "Randeep Hooda to romance Kajal Aggarwal in Do Lafzon Ki Kahani". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  78. ↑ "Impossible to live up to expectations as a star: Kajal Aggarwal". Business Standard.

External links

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