Saniya Iyappan

Saniya Iyappan first came to attention on television, finishing as second runner-up on the dance reality show D 4 Dance on Mazhavil Manorama. Born in Kochi on 20 April 2002, she now acts in Malayalam and Tamil films and on television. Her film debut was Balyakalasakhi (2014), in which she played the younger version of Isha Talwar's character. The same year she was Suresh Gopi's daughter in Apothecary. Several small parts later, she took her first lead in Queen (2018), and the role won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. In Lucifer (2019), Prithviraj Sukumaran's first film as director, she played Jhanvi, Priya's daughter. A brief appearance in the Mammootty film The Priest came next. After that she led the horror thriller Krishnankutty Pani Thudangi opposite Vishnu Unnikrishnan, and her work in it earned positive reviews. Besides the Filmfare award, she has received two SIIMA awards.