2006–2008: Early work and breakthrough In 2002, Anjali was signed on to appear in director
Kalanjiyam's
Sathamintri Muthamidu under the screen name of Sundhari, but the film later failed to materialise. The director also began two other films with Anjali,
Valiba Desam and
En Kanavu Thaanadi, though those also failed to materialise. During one of her modelling assignments, she was spotted by director
Siva Nageswara Rao, who offered her a starring role in his Telugu thriller film
Photo (2006). She played the female lead in another Telugu venture, the romance film
Premalekha Raasa (2007), directed by lyricist Kulasekhar, opposite a debutant
Mallidi Vassishta and performed poorly at the box office, failing to propel her career in Telugu cinema. She made her Tamil film début later that year in
Kattradhu Thamizh, directed by
Ram, which released to strong critical acclaim. Anjali won critical praise for her portrayal of Anandhi, the childhood friend and love interest of a young teacher-turned-psychopath (enacted by
Jeeva). A
Behindwoods critic wrote that she was "a delight to watch and spellbinds the viewer with her beautiful fresh look and her performance", while Pavithra Srinivasan of
Rediff.com described her as "a breath of fresh air" and "the perfect foil to Jeeva's plethora of emotions". Her performance earned her the
Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress for that year, and she grew in popularity, leading her to several more offers, albeit the film proved commercially unsuccessful. She appeared in two films in 2008;
Honganasu, her first Kannada project and
Aayudham Seivom in Tamil. The latter, which featured her as the female lead opposite
Sundar C, was panned by critics and she was criticised for accepting that role, with reviewers noting that she had nothing to do in the film, "except roll her eyes".
2010–2012: Critical acclaim and established actress She next played Kani, a fiery, independent sales girl in a textile showroom in
Angadi Theru (2010) which was released two years after her last venture. The
Vasanthabalan-directed tragedy drama focused on the lives of young employees who work in retail
department stores. The film was shot in real location at the
Ranganathan Street in
T Nagar, Chennai with hidden cameras, with Anjali disclosing that they wore the uniform of a particular textile company, passing off as real sales-people and selling goods. including the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. She subsequently appeared in two family drama films;
S Pictures'
Rettaisuzhi, in which she shared screen with veteran directors
Bharathiraja and
K Balachandar, and
Magizhchi, co-starring and directed by Gowthaman. The latter released to favourable reviews, and "almost perfect as the young, a bit mischievous, village girl"; however both films failed to succeed at the box office. In 2011, she first appeared in
Payyans alongside
Jayasurya, which marked her début in
Malayalam cinema, followed by a lead female role in the
Cloud Nine Movies-production
Thoonga Nagaram, in which she starred as an anchor on local television, and a
cameo appearance in a song in
Ko that also featured other lead actors from Tamil cinema. She was then seen in the small-budget drama film
Karungali, directed by
Kalanjiyam. Following her rise to fame post
Angadi Theru, Kalanjiyam revived one of the projects, namely
Karungali, with Anjali agreeing to be part of it, owing to her prior commitments. The film featured her as a childless housewife living in a bad relationship with her husband, and was a critical and commercial failure. While starring in
Thoonga Nagaram, she was offered a minor supporting role in another project of the production studio,
Mankatha. Anjali essayed the role of a bold and dominating nurse, with critics again heaping praise on her performance.
The Hindu wrote that she "has given her best [and] steals the show in the climax", while
Rediffs Pavithra Srinivasan cited it was she "who clearly walks away with the honours", adding that "the extent of her feelings emerges only at the end, and carries you away" and calling it a "noteworthy performance". She had her only starring role in 2012 in
Sundar C's
Kalakalappu. A critic from
Deccan Chronicle wrote that "Anjali scores well with her natural performance".
2013–2014: Continued success In 2013, she starred in the Telugu multi-starrer
Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu along with
Venkatesh,
Mahesh Babu and
Samantha. The film went on to be a critical and commercial success, with many applauses for Anjali from the critics. Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran of DNA India commented that Anjali "as the innocent Seetha...gives an easy breezy but endearing performance". She later starred in
AR Murugadoss' next production venture
Vathikuchi opposite Dhileban. The film received mixed reviews as did her performance. IndiaGlitz commented "Anjali's character though is sugary; it's a reminiscent of so many of her characters in the past and leaves you with a sense of wanting variation". Her next release was
Settai, the Tamil remake of
Delhi Belly, in which she starred opposite
Arya. The film received mixed reviews, along with her performance. After an
item number in
Suriya's
Singam II, a first in her career, she starred in two Telugu films,
Gopichand Malineni's
Balupu opposite
Ravi Teja and
Masala, the Telugu remake of
Bol Bachchan, opposite Venkatesh. She starred alongside Venkatesh for the second time. Her 2014 release was the horror-comedy
Geethanjali for which she received
Nandi Award for Best Actress, SICA Award for Best Telugu Actress.
2015–present: Brief setback and comeback In early 2015, Anjali returned to
Sandalwood and starred opposite
Puneeth Rajkumar in
Rana Vikrama. Her début film in Kannada was
Honganasu seven years ago. She broke the seven-year hiatus with that film. In Tamil, she appeared opposite
Jayam Ravi alongside
Trisha,
Soori in
Sakalakala Vallavan. In Telugu, she played a special cameo role of a lady don in
Sankarabharanam, a Telugu film which has
Nikhil Siddhartha in lead. In 2016, her first release was in Telugu opposite Balayya Balakrishna titled
Dictator which was declared a super-hit. Her role was well received by the audience. In Tamil, she starred in Karthik Subbaraj's
Iraivi where her performance as the happy go lucky girl turned long suffering wife of
Vijay Sethupathi gave her critical acclaim and audience appreciation. Though the film had an average return at the box office, she garned a nomination for Best Performance in a Leading Role- Female (Tamil) at the
2nd IIFA Utsavam. Later, she signed a psycho action thriller Telugu film
Chitrangada (2017). In December 2017, her film with
Jai &
Janani Iyer titled
Balloon directed by newcomer
Sinish had a moderate-average performance at the box office. She signed a Tamil film
Peranbu (2019) opposite
Mammootty directed by Ram, where her performance was overshadowed by
Mammooty and Baby Sandhana. She acted in the horror flick,
Lisaa (2019) as a lead character, which got below average reviews. Anjali acted as lesbian in the web series
Paava Kadhaigal (2020) directed by
Vignesh Shivan. The next year she played the role Zarina in the film
Vakeel Saab (2021), directed by
Venu Sriram. The film was successful at the box-office, grossing over 137.65 crore worldwide, despite the
COVID-19 pandemic in India. Following the success, she signed up for a role in the film
F3 (2022), produced by
Sri Venkateswara Creations. However, she was replaced by
Sonal Chauhan. In 2023, Anjali was seen in the Malayam film
Iratta. The Tamil film
Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai (2024) had its premiere at the
Rotterdam Film Festival. She later appeared in Telegu movies such as
Geethanjali Malli Vachindi (2024),
Gangs of Godavari (2024) and
Game Changer (2025). Twelve years after it was originally made,
Madha Gaja Raja (2025), starring
Vishal and directed by
Sundar C. Featuring
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Anjali as the female leads, the film delivers a mix of nostalgia, comedy, and light-hearted entertainment reminiscent of Sundar C's heyday. == Media image ==