Akshaya Rao

Akshaya Rao began her career as a supporting artiste alongside Simran in Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi (2003), before going on to appear in leading roles in Tamil films. Her most high-profile Tamil film till date is Kalabhak Kadhalan (2006), where she portrayed a negative role as the sister-in-law of Arya's character, who wants to seduce him. She continued to feature in low-budget Tamil films throughout the late 2000s, notably starring in Uliyin Osai (2008) written by Karunanidhi and the Vijayakanth-starrer Engal Aasan.[1] By 2012, several of her other proposed films including Imbathukkum Aasai Varum, Manmadha Rajyam, Pattikattu Mappillai, Thasaiyinai Thee Sudinum and the Telugu film, Nakantu Okaru, were started but left incomplete.[2]

In 2014, she featured in Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar's experimental Hindi film Umformung: The Transformation (2014), portraying the leading role. The film opened to critical acclaim and was shown at various film festivals internationally.[3][4]