Kajal Aggarwal

Biography

Kajal A Kitchlu (née Aggarwal; born 19 June 1985), known professionally as Kajal Aggarwal, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Aggarwal is considered one of the highest paid actresses of South Indian cinema. She is a recipient of three SIIMA Awards and a Filmfare Award. Aggarwal made her acting debut with a minor role in the 2004 Hindi film Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... and had her first Telugu film release in Lakshmi Kalyanam (2007). In the same year, she gained wider recognition for her role in Chandamama. The 2009 fantasy film Magadheera, one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time, marked a turning point in her career and earned her critical acclaim. Her other notable Telugu films include Darling (2010), Brindavanam (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011), Businessman (2012), Naayak (2013), Baadshah (2013), Govindudu Andarivadele (2014), Temper (2015), Khaidi No. 150 (2017), Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017), Awe (2018) and Bhagavanth Kesari (2023). She has also played the female lead in high-profile Tamil projects such as Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), Maattrraan (2012), Thuppakki (2012), Jilla (2014), Vivegam (2017), Mersal (2017) and Comali (2019). Her most successful Hindi films include the action film Singham (2011) and the thriller Special 26 (2013). In 2020, a wax figure of Aggarwal was put on display at Madame Tussauds Singapore, a first for an actress from South Indian cinema.

== Early life and education ==

Kajal Aggarwal was born on 19 June 1985 and raised in a Punjabi family with roots in Amritsar, settled in Bombay (present-day Mumbai). Her father Vinay Aggarwal, is an entrepreneur in the textile business and her mother Suman is a confectioner, and also Kajal's business manager. Kajal has a younger sister Nisha Agarwal, an actress in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Aggarwal studied at St. Anne's High School, Fort, Mumbai, and completed her pre-university education at Jai Hind College. She pursued her graduation in mass media, with specialisation in marketing and advertising, from Kishinchand Chellaram College. Having harboured MBA dreams all through her growing years, in 2012, she said she "intended to achieve a post-graduation degree soon".

== Career ==

=== Debut and early struggle (2004–2008) === Aggarwal made her acting debut in the 2004 Hindi film Kyun! Ho Gaya Na..., in which she played Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's sister. Aggarwal made her debut in Telugu films in 2007, with Teja's Lakshmi Kalyanam, alongside Kalyan Ram; it had an average return at the box office. Later that year, she appeared in the Krishna Vamsi-directed 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, opposite Bharath. She had one more Tamil release that year with Venkat Prabhu's comedy-thriller Saroja, in which she did a guest appearance. Although the film went on to become a commercial as well as a critical success, the film failed to boost her career as her role was too insignificant. Her Telugu releases Pourudu and Aatadista opposite Sumanth and Nitin, respectively, did not receive positive reviews, but both were successful at the box office.

=== Critical acclaim and recognition (2009–2012) ===

Aggarwal had four releases in 2009. She first starred opposite Vinay Rai in the Tamil film Modhi Vilayadu, which garnered mixed reviews and was a financial failure. She then appeared in S. S. Rajamouli's high budget Telugu historical drama Magadheera, opposite Ram Charan Teja. She played dual roles of Mithra, a princess and Indu, a modern woman. Aggarwal's performance earned her server nominations including Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu. The film became successful commercially and broke several records, emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time. Radhika Rajamani of Rediff.com noted, "Kajal was quite a surprise package. She was sweet and charming and looked like an 'ethereal' princess. She carries off both the roles fairly well." It was released again in Tamil as Maaveeran in 2011, and was also successful at the box office. Her subsequent releases Ganesh, opposite Ram Pothineni and Arya 2 opposite Allu Arjun received mixed reviews from critics, while her performance garnered positive feedback. Aggarwal's first 2010 release was A. Karunakaran's romantic comedy Darling, which featured her as Prabhas's childhood lover Bandini. The film went onto become a commercial success at the box office. Her performance earned her second Filmfare Best Actress – Telugu nomination and a Sify critic stated that she "mesmerized" the audience. 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 positive reviews. A commercial success, it was later dubbed in Telugu as Naa Peru Siva in Andhra Pradesh and was a success. Her final release that year was the romantic comedy Brindavanam opposite Jr. NTR and Samantha, which received critical acclaim and went on to become a commercial success. She won the CineMAA Award for Best Actress for the film. In 2011, Aggarwal first reunited with Prabhas in the romantic comedy Mr. Perfect, where she played Priya, a doctor. The film became a critical and commercial success. A The Times of India critic stated, "Kajal looks great, expresses well and fits into the role perfectly. Her chemistry with Prabhas is commendable." She earned her third Filmfare Best Actress – Telugu nomination, for her performance. She then appeared in Veera, replacing Anushka Shetty and starred opposite Ravi Teja. The film received moderate reviews and emerged a moderate success. Later that year, Aggarwal made her comeback to Hindi films with Singham, a remake of the same-titled 2010 Tamil film, opposite Ajay Devgn. She played a Goan girl Kavya Bhosle and received Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut nomination for the same. Komal Nahta noted, "Kaajal may not be very beautiful but she acts with effortless ease. Her performance is good." Sukanya Venkatraghavan stated, "Kajal looks pretty and has done what she has been told to, but probably deserved a meatier debut." Nevertheless, the film was a hit at the box office. Her last release of the year came with the Telugu film Dhada, opposite Naga Chaitanya, which failed at the box office. Aggarwal's first release of 2012 was in the Telugu gangster film Businessman opposite Mahesh Babu, directed by Puri Jagannadh. A Sankranthi release, it opened to positive reviews and was a commercial success. Her performance, though limited, was praised by critics. Aggarwal then made her comeback to Tamil films with Maattrraan opposite Suriya. The film became a commercial success. Her performance as a language translator Anjali was well received; with Malini Mannath stating: "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". A. R. Murugadoss's Thuppakki opposite Vijay was her next release. She played Nisha, a boxer. The film emerged a major commercial success, becoming the second Tamil film ever to collect over ₹1 billion (US$10 million). L Romal M Singh of Daily News and Analysis stated, "Kajal acts as a pretty face mostly, but is pleasing and cute in many sequences." The film won her the SIIMA Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil. Her final release of the year was the Telugu romance film Sarocharu, opposite Ravi Teja, which failed at the box office.

=== Commercial success and career progression (2013–2017) ===