Divya Pillai

Divya Pillai grew up in Dubai, soaking in the city’s mix of cultures while her parents, Narayanan and Chandrika Pillai, kept their Malayali roots alive at home. She bounced between Indian High School and New Indian Model School before heading off to Chennai for her degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Anna University. Not the usual route to stardom, but she actually kicked off her career working at Flydubai and Emirates—yeah, airlines, not film sets. Guess you could say she took “flying high” a little literally before landing in the movie biz. Her big break came out of nowhere in 2015 with Ayal Njanalla, a rom-com where she starred opposite Fahadh Faasil. Not a bad start, right? Next, she dove headfirst into the thriller world with Oozham in 2016, directed by Jeethu Joseph—the guy who gave us Drishyam. That movie did some serious business and critics loved it too, so you know she wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. Since then, Divya’s name has popped up in all sorts of projects: Masterpiece, Edakkad Battalion 06, Jimmy Ee Veedinte Aishwaryam, and Kala, just to name a few. TV wasn’t off-limits either; she even showed up on the super-popular Malayalam serial Uppum Mulakum in 2019. And just when you thought she’d stick to Malayalam, she jumped to Telugu films with Thaggedele and kept the momentum going in other South Indian languages. People talk about her versatility and how she brings life to every role, pushing boundaries for women in the industry. She’s got this reputation for being crazy committed to her work—no slacking, just pure hustle.