Poornima Bhagyaraj

Between 1980 and 1985 Poornima Bhagyaraj played the lead roles she is chiefly remembered for. Manjil Virinja Pookkal won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 1980, and in 1982 she received two Filmfare Awards: Best Actress – Tamil for Payanangal Mudivathillai and Best Actress – Malayalam for Olangal. Born Poornima Jayaram on 18 July 1962, she grew up in Mumbai and trained in Bharatanatyam at Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir; her grandfather was a founding member of the city's Shanmukhananda Sabha. She works mostly in Malayalam and Tamil cinema and has appeared in some Hindi and Telugu films. She married actor and director K. Bhagyaraj, who died on 27 June 2026. She has a lead role in the 2026 Tamil film Enna Vilai.