Ananya

Ayilya Gopalakrishnan, better known by her stage name Ananya, is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She is also a singer and an archer. She made her acting debut in the Malayalam film Positive (2008) and also debuted the following year in the Tamil film Naadodigal, which turned out to be a critical and commercial success. She received the Kerala State Television Award for Best Actress in 2012 for the telefilm Doore and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil for Engaeyum Eppothum in 2011. Early life Ananya was born as Ayilya to Malayali parents Gopalakrishnan Nair, a noted film producer, and Praseetha in Perumbavoor, Kerala. She has one younger brother Arjun. Her name was taken from her birth star Aslesha, called Ayilyam in Malayalam and Tamil. 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 for Women, 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.