Kajal Aggarwal (Hindi:
काजल अगरवाल; born on 19 June 1985) is an Indian film actress,
who predominantly appears in Telugu films. She has also appeared in Tamil and Hindi films.
Kajal made her film debut in the 2004 Hindi 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,
and fetched her a Filmfare Best Telugu Actress nomination. Following further consecutive successes with
Darling (2010),
Brindaavanam (2010) and
Mr. Perfect (2011), she established herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu cinema.
Early life
She was born in Mumbai, India to Suman Agarwal and Vinay Agarwal. She has a sister named Nisha Aggarwal, has also begun to act in Telugu films. She finished her studies in Mumbai. The actress started her modeling career while she was in college.
Career
Kajal made her acting debut in the 2004 Hindi film she is a romantic actress and sexy also. She had her first kiss in Arya 2
Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na, in which she enacted a minor supporting role as the friend of Diya, the film’s lead, played by Aishwarya Rai.
She then signed in veteran Tamil director Bharathiraja's
Bommalattam. The film, however, got delayed and released in late 2008.
In 2007, she made her debut in the Telugu film industry and played her first leading role 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.
In 2008, she had her first Tamil film release, Perarasu's action entertainer
Pazhani, co-starringBharath. 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, both films failed to boost her career as her roles were too insignificant.
Both her Telugu releases,
Pourudu and
Aatadista opposite Sumanth and Nitin, respectively, neither received positive reviews nor were successul at the box office.
In 2009, she had four releases, she first starred in another Tamil film
Modhi Vilayadu, which garnered mixed reviews and was a financial failure, following which she appeared in the high-budget Telugu historical drama
Magadheera, which saw her essaying 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. Rediff wrote that she "was quite a surprise package, [...] sweet and charming and looked like an 'ethereal' princess. She carries off both the roles fairly well",
while NDTV cited that "Kajal Agarwal is also an asset to the film. She is very apt for the character of the princess. Besides filling the glamour slot, she has proven that given a chance, she too can give an excellent performance".
The film was also highly commercially successful and broke several records,
emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time.
Following Magadheera’s phenomenal success, Kajal became one of the most sought-after actresses in the Telugu film industry, catapulting her into the main foray of lead Telugu actresses.
Her subsequent releases
Ganesh Just Ganesh and
Arya 2 received mixed reviews from critics, while her performance garnered positive feedback.
In 2010, Kajal starred in A. Karunakaran's
Darling alongside Prabhas received favorable reviews from both critics and the audience and became a commercial success at the box office.
In August, she appeared in Tamil thriller film
Naan Mohaan Alla opposite Karthi. The film is based on a real life incident, opened to unanimously positive reviews.
The movie performed well at the box office and was declared a blockbuster. Kajal's final release in 2010 was
Brindavanam opposite NTR Jr. and Samantha. The film was critically acclaimed and performed well at the box office.
In 2011, she was paired with Prabhas for the second time in
Mr. Perfect, directed by Dasaradh. The film opened to positive reviews, while Kajal won appraisal by critics with Times Of India writing, "What is applause-worthy in the movie is Kajal Agarwal's performance. She looks great, expresses well and fits into the role perfectly". In May, she appeared in Veera opposite Ravi Teja received negative reviews.
She is also making her debut in Kannada in Raju Hasan's
Thathasthu opposite Chirag.
She is playing female lead role opposite Surya in Maatraan
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
| 2004 | Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na | Diya's friend | Hindi |
|
| 2007 | Lakshmi Kalyanam | Lakshmi | Telugu |
|
| 2007 | Chandamama | Mahalakshmi | Telugu |
|
| 2008 | Pourudu | Samyukhta | Telugu |
|
| 2008 | Pazhani | Deepti | Tamil |
|
| 2008 | Aatadista | Sunnanda | Telugu |
|
| 2008 | Saroja | Pooja | Tamil |
|
| 2008 | Bommalattam | Anitha | Tamil |
|
| 2009 | Modhi Vilayadu | Easwari Lakshmiram | Tamil |
|
| 2009 | Magadheera | Yuvarani Mithravindha Devi,
Indira (Indu) | Telugu | Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actress |
| 2009 | Ganesh Just Ganesh | Divya | Telugu |
|
| 2009 | Arya 2 | Geethanjali | Telugu |
|
| 2010 | Om Shanti | Meghana | Telugu |
|
| 2010 | Darling | Nandini | Telugu | Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actress |
| 2010 | Naan Mahaan Alla | Priya Sudharsan | Tamil |
|
| 2010 | Brindaavanam | Bhoomi | Telugu | nominated, Cinemaa Best Telugu Actress |
| 2011 | Mr. Perfect | Priya | Telugu |
|
| 2011 | Veera | Chitti | Telugu |
|
| 2011 | Dhada (2011 film) |
| Telugu | Post-production |
| 2011 | Merupu |
| Telugu | Filming |
| 2011 | Singham |
| Hindi | Filming |
| 2011 | Gabbar Singh |
| Telugu | Filming |
| 2012 | Maatraan |
| Tamil | Pre-production |
| 2012 | The Business Man |
| Telugu | Pre-production |
