'' movie screening
2009–2011: Early work in Tamil and Telugu cinema Priya was initially supposed to make her acting debut in the Tamil film
Pugaippadam, which she signed up first, but since its release was delayed until 2010, her first release became the action-thriller
Vaamanan, directed by newcomer Ahmed. She was signed for the project in late 2008 to portray Divya, a simple girl next-door, whom the male lead character, played by
Jai, would fall in love with. The film created some anticipation before its release, mainly due to its hit music by
Yuvan Shankar Raja, which enabled a big opening, with the song "Aedho Seigirai" picturised on her considered as her "claim-to-fame" that made her popular among Tamil audience, and dubbed as a "Priya song". However the film got a lukewarm reception and did mediocrely at the Chennai
box office. In 2010, three of her films released within a short span of time, the first on New Year 2010, which was the
college-life based drama
Pugaippadam, a film revolving around the friendship between seven students. Priya enacted the character of one of the student roles, a
Malayali Christian named Shiney George. The film opened to mixed reviews and proved to be commercially unsuccessful. She next starred in her first Telugu film,
AVM Productions'
Sekhar Kammula directed
political drama Leader, alongside newcomers
Rana Daggubati and
Richa Gangopadhyay. She recalls that an assistant director of Kammula had found her on
Facebook and invited her and how she had to audition thrice for the film to prove herself and eventually got the offer. while the film itself earned positive reviews and became a critical success.
2012–2015: Debut in Hindi and breakthrough in Tamil cinema She has made her debut
Hindi film English Vinglish (2012), produced by
R Balki, in which she had shared screen with
Sridevi, who Priya admires and considers her idol. Priya said: "I signed this film just to be up and close to an artist who has influenced me and to be part of something that was so important to her. I'm doing this movie as her fan and I'm fortunate enough to play a very important part in her journey in the film". She acted in Telugu romance movie,
Ko Antey Koti (2012). Her Hindi films in 2013 were
Rangrezz and
Fukrey. In Tamil, she played the lead role in
Ethir Neechal (2013) alongside
Sivakarthikeyan and
Nandita Swetha. The film is a box-office winner. She was also seen in the comedy
Vanakkam Chennai (2013). She acted simultaneously for four Tamil films;
Arima Nambi (2014) features
Vikram Prabhu,
Irumbu Kuthirai (2014) stars
Atharvaa, with
Vimal in
Oru Oorla Rendu Raja (2014) and
Vai Raja Vai (2015) features her opposite
Gautham Karthik. Priya Anand has shot for a special cameo in
G. V. Prakash Kumar’s
Trisha Illana Nayanthara (2015) which is being directed by newcomer
Adhik Ravichandran.
2017–present Priya Anand debuted in
Malayalam with the
Prithviraj starrer horror thriller
Ezra (2017). The next was a Tamil movie,
Muthuramalingam (2017). However this movie was a failure. Priya Anand made her
Kannada debut with the much-hyped
Raajakumara (2017) and added a new dimension to her career. Her next projects were followed by comedies in Tamil with
Kootathil Oruthan (2017) and Hindi with
Fukrey Returns (2017). Priya Anand's long time desire to work in a period film highly anticipated Malayalam release
Kayamkulam Kochunni (2018), which stars
Nivin Pauly. Priya's character played a pivotal role in the life of Kochunni. Priya, who won over the Kannada cinema audience right in her first film, has worked with
Ganesh in
Orange (2018). She appeared in the Malayalam
Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel (2019) starring
Dileep. She then played in the political satire Tamil film
LKG (2019). She was seen in
Dhruv Vikram’s debut,
Adithya Varma (2019), in a supporting role. Priya Anand to reunite opposite
Puneeth Rajkumar again in
James (2022). After being postponed multiple times, director
R. Kannan’s
Kasethan Kadavulada (2023) was released, with the remake of the 1972 film of the
same name. She also joined the cast of
Leo (2023) directed by
Lokesh Kanagaraj. Her next movie in the Kannada was
Yogaraj Bhat’s
Karataka Damanaka (2024). She has worked with stars like
Prashanth and
Simran in
Andhagan (2024). ==Social work==