Aishwarya Lekshmi

Aishwarya Lekshmi kinda just burst into the scene back in 2017, and honestly, she’s been hard to miss ever since. She’s got this crazy blend of brains and style—got her MBBS from SNIMS in Ernakulam, no less, while juggling modelling gigs for brands like Akshaya Jewels and Chemmanur Jewellers. And yeah, she’s been splashed across magazine covers like Flower World and Vanitha. Not exactly a low-key entry. Her acting debut? She basically aced it. She landed her first role in Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela after auditioning for a Nivin Pauly film, still smack in the middle of med school. The movie? Big hit. She walked away with four awards, including a Filmfare, which isn’t a shabby way to start. Then Mayaanadhi dropped in 2017, and people really started to pay attention. Critics raved, she snagged more awards, and suddenly she was the new go-to face for complex, layered roles. Varathan (2018) and Vijay Superum Pournamiyum (2019) just cemented her spot, with even more trophies (Best Actress and Best Entertaining Pair, thanks). By 2019, she’d jumped into Tamil cinema with Action, and after that, her filmography just exploded—Jagame Thandhiram, Archana 31 Not Out, Gargi, Ponniyin Selvan, you name it. She even made her Telugu debut with Godse in 2022. With Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan under her belt, she’s pretty much everywhere these days. Not bad for someone who once thought she’d just be a doctor.