Laila (born 24 October 1980[1]) is an Indian actress. Making her acting debut in the mid-1990s and later becoming one of the leading actresses throughout the 2000s. She has acted predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, as well as in a few Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films.[1][2]
Laila | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Laila in 2006 | |
| Born | 24 October 1980 Goa, India |
| Other names | Laila Mehdi |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active |
|
| Spouse |
Mehdi (m. 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
Career
Laila made her debut in Dushman Duniya Ka (1996) and her lead debut in the Telugu film Egire Paavurama (1997), directed by S. V. Krishna Reddy.[3]
Laila began to receive offers from prominent directors to feature in Tamil films and turned down films such as Dharma Chakkaram and Kadhal Palli by K. S. Ravikumar and Pavithran respectively.[4] She subsequently signed on to appear in the lead role in VIP after Pooja Kumar had walked out of the project. However, Laila was left unimpressed when the producer asked her to consider changing her stage name to Pooja, as the invitations for the film had already been printed, and furthermore, she revealed that she was unaware of Rambha also being a heroine in the film. Laila subsequently dropped out of the project, wanting to make her Tamil debut in a film where she played the sole heroine.[5]
She ventured into Tamil films in Kallazhagar (1999) with Vijayakanth. Laila then worked with Prashanth in Parthen Rasithen (2000) and Ajith in Dheena 2001).[6][7] Then came Dhill (2001) with Vikram as well as four films with Suriya in Nandhaa (2001), Unnai Ninaithu (2002), Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Pithamagan (2003). In between, Laila took a break and went back to Mumbai. However, she returned to Kollywood with a big bang. Her role in the movie Ullam Ketkumae (2005) won her accolades.[8]
Laila has made a comeback to the Tamil entertainment industry. She first appeared in a ready-made flavored milk commercial (Aachi Badam Milk) post her sabbatical in 2018. She appeared as the judge for the dance show DJD Juniors on Zee Tamil alongside actresses Sudha Chandran and Sneha.[9] She made her post-sabbatical film comeback with Sardar (2022).[10]
Personal life
Laila was born on 24 October 1980. She married Mehdi, an Iranian businessman on 6 January 2006. She dated him for eight years before marriage.[1] According to Laila, they were engaged for four years before marriage. The couple has two sons.[11]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Dushman Duniya Ka | Lata | Hindi | ||
| 1997 | Itha Oru Snehagatha | Hema | Malayalam | ||
| Egire Paavurama | Jyoti | Telugu | |||
| Pellichesukundam | Laila | ||||
| Ugadi | |||||
| 1998 | Khaidi Garu | Rajyam | [12] | ||
| Pavitra Prema | Dr. Shakunthala Devi | ||||
| Love Story 1999 | Meena | ||||
| Subhalekhalu | Manasa | ||||
| 1999 | Kallazhagar | Aandaal | Tamil | ||
| Naa Hrudayamlo Nidurinche Cheli | Mini | Telugu | [13] | ||
| Rojavanam | Roja | Tamil | |||
| Mudhalvan | Kalakkal Shuba | ||||
| 2000 | Devara Maga | Sowmya | Kannada | ||
| Parthen Rasithen | Sarika | Tamil | |||
| Nuvve Kavali | Herself | Telugu | Special appearance in "Ole Ole Ole" | ||
| 2001 | Dheena | Chithra | Tamil | ||
| Dhill | Aasha | ||||
| Alli Thandha Vaanam | Divya | ||||
| Nandhaa | Kalyani | Won–Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil | |||
| 2002 | Kamarasu | Vasanthi | |||
| Unnai Ninaithu | Nirmala | ||||
| Mounam Pesiyadhe | Gautham's lover | Cameo | |||
| 2003 | Three Roses | Nandhu | |||
| Pithamagan | Manju | Won–Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress ITFA Best Actress Award |
|||
| War and Love | Serina | Malayalam | |||
| Swapnakoodu | Guest appearance | ||||
| 2004 | Gambeeram | Vijayalakshmi | Tamil | ||
| Jaisurya | Baby | ||||
| Rama Krishna | Lakshmi Vishwanath | Kannada | |||
| Mr & Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy | Sailaja | Telugu | |||
| 2005 | Ullam Ketkumae | Pooja | Tamil | ||
| Kanda Naal Mudhal | Ramya | ||||
| Insan | Indu | Hindi | |||
| 2006 | Paramasivan | Malar | Tamil | ||
| Thandege Thakka Maga | Pancharangi | Kannada | |||
| Thirupathi | Stage Drama artist | Tamil | Special appearance | ||
| Mahha Samudram | Devi | Malayalam | |||
| 2022 | Sardar | Sameera Thomas | Tamil | [10] | |
| 2024 | The Greatest of All Time | Dr. Radhika Sunil | [14] | ||
| TBA | Sabdham † | TBA | Post-production | [15] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Program | Role | Language | Channel | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dance Jodi Dance Juniors | Judge | Tamil | Zee Tamil | ||
| 2020 | Gokulathil Seethai | Herself | Tamil | Special appearance | [16] |
Web series
| Year | Program | Role | Language | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie | Ruby | Tamil | Amazon original series |
References
- ^ a b c "Laila Mehdi birthday: Lesser-known facts about the Indian actress you should know". Times Now. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018.
- ^ "Actress Laila to make a comeback with 'Alice'". The Times of India. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ Raman, Sruthi Ganapathy (19 January 2019). "Laila on why she isn't doing mother roles: 'My fans tell me that I haven't aged a day'". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "With Karthi's Sardar, Actor Laila to Make Comeback in Kollywood After 16 Years". News18. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ தாணு தயாரித்த 'வி.ஐ.பி' சிம்ரன் அறிமுகம் [Simran was introduced in V. I. P. produced by Thanu]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ Rajitha (26 August 2000). "Vijay meets his son on the Net!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ ரம்பா போனார் லைலா வந்தார்! [Ramba went and Laila came!] (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 20 August 2000. pp. 24–26. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Revisiting Ullam Ketkumae: A nostalgic look back at the college romance that sparked off a reunion pop-culture; lesser-known facts". Cinema Express. 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Actress Radhika Sarathkumar to appear as special guest in Dance Jodi Dance Juniors Grand Finale". The Times of India. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Laila returns to Tamil films after 16 years with Karthi's Sardar". The Times of India. 28 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Tamil Actress Laila's Adorable Photos With Sons Has Internet's Attention". 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Reviews". Archived from the original on 13 February 1998.
- ^ "Review: Naa Hryudyamlo Nidurinche Chel". Sify. Archived from the original on 8 January 2005.
- ^ "Thalapathy 68:Vijay welcomes Meenakshi Chaudhary, Prabhu Deva and Other Cast Members". timesnownews.com. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "Aadhi's Sabdham completely wrapped up". The Times of India. 27 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Rajkumar (16 November 2020). பட வாய்ப்புகள் இல்லாததால் சீரியலில் களமிறங்க உள்ள லைலா. எந்த சேனல் ? என்ன சீரியல் தெரியுமா ? [Laila is going to debut in a serial due to lack of film opportunities. Which channel? Do you know what serial?]. Tamil.behindtalkies. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.