Anuja Iyer is an Indian actress and model who works in the

Tamil film industry Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood ...

. She made her acting debut in the low budget horror flick '' Sivi'' (2007) and became noted for her performances in '' Ninaithale Inikkum'' (2009) and '' Unnaipol Oruvan'' (2009). Since April 2010, she has been working as a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

for the popular entertainment website ''Behindwoods''.

Early life

Anuja was born as Sandhya into a

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...

family in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

.About me
behindwoods.com She did her schooling at Rosary Matriculation Higher Secondary School,

Santhome Santhome is a locality in Mylapore in Chennai city (formerly Madras) in India. History The word ''Santhome'' or ''San Thome'' is derived from Saint Thomas. The tradition is that he was martyred in AD 72 at St.Thomas Mount in the city, and was ...

, Chennai and went on to pursue a B.Com (Honours) degree at

Shri Ram College of Commerce Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. Founded in 1926 by industrialist Lala Shri Ram, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious college for commerce and economics in India. SRCC was ranke ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. She then studied under the

Sanwa Bank was a major Japanese bank headquartered in Osaka, which operated from 1933 to 2002. It merged with Tokai Bank to form UFJ Bank (now part of MUFG Bank). In the 1990s, it was the most profitable bank in the world, and second-largest in terms of asse ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

programme, and finished her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

Indian Institute of Mass Communication Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is an Indian media centre of learning and civil service training institute for the Indian Information Service Cadre funded and promoted by the Government of India in New Delhi. The IIMC is an auto ...

(IIMC), Delhi, graduating with a PRSI (Public Relations Society of India) Award.

Career

Her first film was the horror flick, '' Sivi'' (2007), in which she played a ghost. She was praised for her performance. Her second film, ''

Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai ''Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai'' () also known as ''M3V'', is a 2008 Tamil language film directed by debutant Krishnan Seshadri Gomatam, who previously worked as an assistant to Mani Rathnam and P. C. Sreeram. The film stars Sathyajit, Anuja Iyer ...

'' (2008), termed as Tamil cinema's first "urban centric film" received critical acclaim, winning awards at international film festivals for its innovative approach to film making. Her role was once again lauded by critics and audiences. In 2009, she appeared in the college drama '' Ninaithale Inikkum'', a remake of the 2006 Malayalam film ''

Classmates A classmate is a student who is member of the same class, in any of its meanings (a course, a lesson, a graduating year). Classmate(s) may also refer to: * ''Classmates'' (1914 film), a 1914 silent film produced by the Biograph Company * ''Clas ...

''. Anuja played the character of a reserved Muslim college student Shalini who attempts to take revenge on the murderer of her lover. Later that year, she starred in ''Unnaipol Oruvan'' and its Telugu version ''

Eeenadu ''Unnaipol Oruvan'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''Someone Like You'') is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language vigilante thriller film directed by Chakri Toleti in his directorial debut. It stars Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal. T ...

'' alongside veteran actors

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...

and

Venkatesh Venkatesh is a given name and family name from the Indian subcontinent derived from Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. Notable persons with the name include: * A. Venkatesh Naik (born 1936), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (directo ...

. Her portrayal of Natasha Rajkumar, a

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

, was appreciated by critics and fetched her a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Award at the

56th Filmfare Awards South The 56th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honored its selection of the best 2008 in film, South Indian films of 2008 and was held on Friday, 31 July 2009, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India. Nominations The nominees for the 56th Filmf ...

. In 2013, Anuja hosted season 2 of

Raj TV Raj TV is a Tamil language Indian general entertainment channel based in Chennai, India, which was launched on 14 October 1994. Rajtv became as the second most popular channel in Tamil. It is available through digital and mobile entertainment ...

's Carnatic music reality-talent show, '' Tanishq Swarna Sangeetham''. In 2015, she got engaged to entrepreneur Bharat Ram.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iyer, Anuja Actresses from Chennai Indian film actresses Tamil actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu cinema