Soumya Bollapragada

Indian actress

  • Film actress
  • model
  • writer
Years active2005–presentRelativesGautami (aunt)
U. G. Krishnamurti (great-grandfather)

Soumya Bollapragada is an Indian actress, writer, director and a model.

Life and career

She is the niece of actress Gautami and great-granddaughter of the Indian thinker U. G. Krishnamurti and has acted in Telugu films primarily. She is also related to Nirmala Sitharaman through her mother. Soumya is also the rakhi sister (sworn sister) of Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil.[2][3]

Her father Divakar[4] was an engineer in the Merchant Navy, her mother a housewife.[1] She graduated from St. Joseph's College for Women.[5] She ran a monthly magazine Evoke for three and half years in Vizag. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature and Psychology from Andhra University[4][6] She was one of the six finalists in Miss South India where girls from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and AP had participated. Soumya secured the Ms Photogenic and Ms Perfect 10 rounds in the contest.[5] She had also won the Ms. Personality round for her height in the Miss Andhra contest held in Hyderabad in January 2005 and the Miss NIFD title organised by the National Institute of Fashion Design in Visakhapatnam in April 2005. She was trained by Koushik Ghosh for this pageant.[5][4]

She has appeared in commercials for brands including KPL Coconut Oil in Kerala, Sun Flower Shopping Mall, and Anarkali Boutique.[4]

She made her debut in the cross-over cult hit film The Angrez with her portrayal of the character Tanya garnering praise. She has a theatre background which helped her to get into the film industry.[4] She acted in a play in Andhra University and was spotted by Kuntaa Nikkil, director of The Angrez. This film is still considered a cult classic in Deccani cinema. She also acted in the English film Stalemate and played the role of an assistant surgeon.[7] She made her debut in Tamil in Thozha with the stars of Chennai 600028.[citation needed] She also played a role in Netru Indru Naalai (Ninna Nedu Repu in Telugu).[citation needed] She was part of Mugguru produced by Movie Mogul D Ramaniadu and directed by V N Aditya.[8] She acted in the horror thriller Poga and in Ramadandu and was praised for her performance as a journalist in the latter.[9][10]

She is the founder of the theatre group Applause – The Theatre People.[11] She has also hosted TV shows like Jollywood Express, a comedy show with actor AVS on Gemini TV and Zee Sound Party on Zee Telugu. She was the winner of the country-wide Lucky 13 contest held by author Ashwin Sanghi. In addition to this she has worked as a writer for Chhota Bheem, Mighty Raju, Arjun, Chimpoo & Simpoo.[4]

Filmography

Year Film Role Language Notes
2005 The Angrez Tanya Hyderabadi Urdu
2007 Stalemate English
Aa Roje Telugu
2008 Thozha Manisha Gupta Tamil
Netru Indru Naalai Tamil
Ninna Nedu Repu Telugu
Call Center Telugu
2010 Young India Keerthi Telugu
2011 Mugguru Mohini Telugu
2012 Poga Telugu
Ramadandu Telugu
2013 Neenandre Ishta Kano Anjali Kannada credited as Roopanjali[12]
2014 Chandamama Kathalu Telugu Special appearance

References

  1. ^ a b "'Telugu' Actress Soumya : Profile". Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Soumya all set for a comeback". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Chitchat with budding actress Soumya". Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Soumya; Our Own Telugu juliet". Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "Successful debutante on silver screen". The Hindu. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Soumya hots up the screen with Poga". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Film on life and hope". The Hindu. 6 March 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Soumya celebrates birthday". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Soumya to act in 4-D flick". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  10. ^ "I am happy with my career : Soumya". Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Contest for budding filmmakers". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Neenandre Ishta Kano Movie Review". The Times of India.
  • Soumya Bollapragada at IMDb