Ananya Nagalla

Ananya Nagalla is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu films. She made her debut in the 2019 film Mallesham and went onto appear in films such as Play Back (2021) and Vakeel Saab (2021). She was nominated for SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Telugu.

Ananya Nagalla
Born	Sathupalli, Telangana, India
Education	Raja Mahendra College of Engineering, Ibrahimpatnam
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2019–present

Early life

Nagalla was born in a Telugu family in Sathupalli of Khammam district in Telangana (then in Andhra Pradesh) to Venkateswara Rao and Vishnu Priya.^[1][2] Her father is a businessman and her family moved to Hyderabad for her studies. She completed her BTech in Raja Mahendra College of Engineering, Ibrahimpatnam and worked in Infosys before pursuing a career in the film industry.^[1][2]

Career

While working, Nagalla appeared in the short film Shaadi and was nominated as Best Actress at the SIIMA Short Film Awards. She was later auditioned and selected for the 2019 biographical Mallesham co-starring Priyadarshi. She was credited with her birth name Anusha Nagalla in the film.^[3] Nagalla took a break from her work to prepare for the role.^[4] Reviewing the film, The Indian Express critic Murali Krishna CH appreciated her, stating "Ananya Nagalla shines in the role of Mallesham's wife Padma. Her innate innocence seeps into her performance."^[5] A reviewer from The News Minute stated: "Ananya is endearing and has been given a lot of scope to emote."^[6] The Hindu's Sangeetha Devi Dundoo also echoed the same and wrote: "Ananya brings in the innocence required for her part and makes a promising debut."^[7]

In 2021, Nagalla appeared in the sci fi drama film Play Back. A reviewer of Zee Cinemalu felt that Nagalla was the stand out among the actors. "Ananya was decent but none of the other actors could do justice for their characters," they added.^[8] In the same year, she also appeared in the Pawan Kalyan-starrer Vakeel Saab, a remake of the Hindi film Pink.^[9] Director Venu Sriram cast her in the film following her role in Mallesham.^[10] Sangeetha Devi in her review for The Hindu praised her performance, stating: "The women — Nivetha, Anjali and Ananya — are remarkable. Nivetha and Ananya in particular internalise and convey the mixed feelings of courage, fear and despair effectively."^[11] A Deccan Chronicle critic wrote: "Nivetha Thomas, Anjali and Ananya have excelled in their parts, justifying each of their presence in the film."^[12]

In 2024, Nagalla played the protagonist in Tantra.^[13] Speaking about her performance in the film, a reviewer from Times Now wrote, “Ananya Nagalla shines in the lead role, effortlessly portraying [her character]'s journey with her captivating screen presence.”^[14]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Feature films

List of Ananya Nagalla films and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	Mallesham	Padma	Nominated—SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Telugu	[5][15]
2021	Play Back	Sujatha		[8]
	Vakeel Saab	Divya Nayak		[11]
	Maestro	Pavithra		[16]
2022	Urvasivo Rakshasivo	Divya	Special appearance	[citation needed]
2023	Shaakuntalam	Anasuya		[17]
	Malli Pelli	Young Parvati		[18]
	Anveshi	Dr. Anu		[19]
2024	Tantra	Rekha		[13]
	Darling	Dr. Nandini		[citation needed]
	Pottel	Bujjamma		[citation needed]
	Srikakulam Sherlock Holmes	Bhrama		[citation needed]

Televisions

Year	Title	Role	Network	Ref.
2024	Bahishkarana	Lakshmi	ZEE5	[20]

Short films

List of Ananya Nagalla short film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Shaadi	Shanti	Nominated—SIIMA Short Film Award for Best actress	[4]