Sonia Agarwal

Sonia Agarwal, honestly, has had one wild ride in the South Indian film scene. She grew up in Chandigarh, Punjabi roots and all, but ended up making waves in Kollywood. Back in her school days, she actually got a gig in a Zee TV serial—pretty random, but hey, some people just get lucky with early starts. Her film debut came with the Telugu romance Nee Premakai in 2002 and, not wasting any time, she jumped straight into a Kannada flick Chandu, where she starred with Sudeep. But it was her shift to Tamil cinema that really got people talking. Kaadhal Konden in 2003? That film made a splash, especially with Dhanush and Sudip in the mix. Then came 7/G Rainbow Colony and Pudhu Pettai, both of which cemented her as a familiar face in those super intense, emotional dramas Kollywood loves to churn out. She even snagged the ITFA Best New Actress award for Kaadhal Konden, so clearly she wasn’t just background noise. In 2006, she married director K. Selvaraghavan, took a break (as life sometimes demands), but after their divorce in 2010, she didn’t just fade out—she bounced back in Vaanam in 2011, which actually did pretty great at the box office. Over the years, she kept popping up in all sorts of movies—Malayalam, Tamil, you name it. Grihanathan, Ayogya, Thadam (which, by the way, was a massive hit in 2019). Plus, she’s done her fair share of TV soaps like Naanal and Fall. Seriously, Sonia’s never really fit the “one hit wonder” mold—she’s just kept showing up, switching things up, and not letting the industry box her in.