Aishwarya Rajesh

In the early stages of her career, Aishwarya also worked as an anchor on the sets of the TV show Asathapovathu Yaaru.[18] In 2010, she was cast in her first film Avargalum Ivargalum (2011) although Neethana Avan (2010) released first.[19][20] In 2014, she was seen alongside Vijay Sethupathi in two films, Rummy, and Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, released within two weeks. While the first film was a village drama set in the 1980s, the latter was based on a short film of the same name, and revolved around an old man and his vintage car Premier Padmini.[21][22] Critics praised her performances, especially in Rummy.[23][24] Hindustan Times wrote that she was "extremely promising"[25] while film critic Baradwaj Rangan noted that she was "expressive", calling her "a tonic for nerves frayed by the alabaster automatons we usually get as heroines".[26][27] Later that year, she appeared in a song sequence in R. Parthiepan's Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam and as the female lead in Thirudan Police.[28] In April 2014, she began filming for Seenu Ramasamy's Idam Porul Yaeval, but the film remains unreleased as of May 2020.[29]

Her first release in 2015 was Kaaka Muttai. Initially, she was very hesitant to play a mother role at such an early stage in her career, but, after seeking advice from her Pannaiyarum Padminiyum co-star Vijay Sethupathi and after gaining interest in the script herself, she decided to be part of the film. Her portrayal of a slum dweller and mother of two children was lauded unanimously by critics and is regarded as one of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion. Critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote, "it features stunning performances from everyone...especially Aishwarya Rajesh, who plays the kids' mother with a world-weariness that belies her years".[30] Other reviewers stated that she was "excellent",[31] played her role "with extraordinary ease"[32] and that she "leaves you awe-struck".[33][34] That year, she also made her stage debut, playing Cinderella from the same-titled fairytale that was adapted as a "musical dance drama".[35][36]

Aishwarya had the most releases for a Tamil actress in 2016 with 8 films out of which Aarathu Sinam, Hello Naan Pei Pesuren, Manithan and Dharma Durai were commercially successful. She was critically appreciated for her performance in the films Dharma Durai and Kuttrame Thandanai, where she collaborated with Kaaka Muttai director Manikandan. She became the number one choice for acting in performance oriented roles in the industry. In 2017, Aishwarya made her entry in Malayalam films acting in two commercially and critically successful films Jomonte Suvisheshangal and Sakhhavu. Based on her performance in Kaaka Muttai, Arjun Rampal selected Aishwarya in the role of Zubeida for the film Daddy. With this, Aishwarya made her debut in Hindi and was recognized for her performance in her first Hindi film.[37][38][39][40] In 2018, she completed shooting for Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kathai. The film remained unreleased as of April 2020.[41]

She starred in her solo film as a cricketer in Kanaa under Sivakarthikeyan's production.[42] She reprised her role in the Telugu remake Kousalya Krishnamurthy, which marked her lead Telugu debut.[43] She starred in sister roles in Namma Veettu Pillai and Vaanam Kottatum.[44][45] She played a village belle in World Famous Lover.[46] She played a woman who lost her husband in Dubai in Ka Pae Ranasingam. Regarding her performance, a critic noted that "Aishwarya Rajesh is a revelation. She displays hopelessness, powerlessness, vulnerability, grit and determination with ease and impressive conviction".[47]

Subsequently, she performed in leading roles such as Thittam Irandu (2021), Boomika (2021) and Driver Jamuna (2022). The action thriller, Run Baby Run (2023) with RJ Balaji has received positive response.[48] While, The Great Indian Kitchen (2023), Aishwarya Rajesh saves the Tamil remake of the brilliant family drama.[49]

• All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted

List of films and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1996	Rambantu	in a song scene	Telugu film; Child artist	[16]
2010	Neethana Avan	Nandhini	Credited as Aishwarya
2011	Avargalum Ivargalum	Swetha	Credited as Aishwarya
	Uyarthiru 420	Charu	Credited as Aishwarya
	Sattapadi Kutram	Sumathi	Credited as Aishwarya
2012	Vilayada Vaa	Anu	Credited as Aishwarya
	Attakathi	Amudha	Credited as Aishwarya
	Aachariyangal	Anu
2013	Puthagam	Thara
2014	Rummy	Sornam
	Pannaiyarum Padminiyum	Malarvizhi
	Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam	Herself	Cameo appearance
	Thirudan Police	Poornima
2015	Kaaka Muttai	The Protagonist Kids' Mother
2016	Aarathu Sinam	Mia Aravind
	Hello Naan Pei Pesuren	Kavitha
	Manithan	Jennifer
	Dharma Durai	Anbu Selvi
	Kuttrame Thandanai	Swetha
	Kadalai	Kalai
	Parandhu Sella Vaa	Madhavi
	Mo	Priya
2017	Jomonte Suvisheshangal	Vaidhegy Perumal	Malayalam Film
	Mupparimanam	Herself	Cameo appearance
	Kattappava Kaanom	Meena
	Sakhavu	Janaki	Malayalam film
	Gemini Ganeshanum Suruli Raajanum	Pooja
	Daddy	Zubeida Mujawar / Asha Gawli	Hindi film
2018	Lakshmi	Nandhini
	Saamy Square	Bhuvana
	Chekka Chivantha Vaanam	Renuka Thyagarajan
	Vada Chennai	Padma
	Kanaa	Kousalya Murugesan
2019	Vilambaram	Aishwarya
	Kousalya Krishnamurthy	Kousalya Krishnamurthy	Telugu film
	Mei	Uthra
	Namma Veettu Pillai	Thulasi Ayyanar
	Mismatch	Maha Lakshmi	Telugu film
2020	Vaanam Kottatum	Mangai
	World Famous Lover	Suvarna	Telugu film
	Ka Pae Ranasingam	Ariyanachi Rana Singam
2021	Thittam Irandu	Athira		[50]
	Boomika	Samyuktha Gowtham		[51]
	Tuck Jagadish	Chandra	Telugu film	[52]
	Republic	Myra Hanson	Telugu film	[53]
2022	Driver Jamuna	Jamuna		[54]
2023	The Great Indian Kitchen	Wife		[55]
	Run Baby Run	Tara		[56]
	Soppana Sundari	Agalya		[57]
	Farhana	Farhana		[58]
	Theera Kadhal	TBA	Releasing on 26th May 2023	[59]
	Dhruva Natchathiram	Ragini	Post-production
	Mohandas	TBA	Post Production	[60]
	Theeyavar Kulaigal Nadunga	TBA	Filming	[61]
	Ajayante Randam Moshanam	TBA	Malayalam film; Filming	[62]
	Pulimada	TBA	Malayalam film; Filming	[63]
	Her	TBA	Malayalam film; Filming	[64]
	Idam Porul Yaeval	TBA	Delayed	[65]