Kajal Aggarwal

Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian actress and model who mainly appears in Telugu and Tamil language films, in addition to a few Hindi films.  Aggarwal has worked in more than 50 films and received two South Indian International Movie Awards.

Aggarwal made her acting debut with the 2004 Hindi film Kyun! Ho Gaya Na… and had her first Telugu film release in 2007, Lakshmi Kalyanam. In the same year, she starred in the box office hit Chandamama, which earned her recognition. The 2009 historical fiction Telugu film Magadheera marked a turning point in her career, earning her critical acclaim. It ranks among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time and fetched her Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies including South Filmfare Awards.

She subsequently starred in Telugu films such as Darling (2010), Brindavanam (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011), Businessman (2012), Naayak (2013), Baadshah (2013), Govindudu Andarivadele (2014), Temper (2015) and Khaidi No. 150 (2017).  Kajal also played the female lead in the high-profile Tamil projects Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), Maattrraan (2012), Thuppakki (2012), Jilla (2014), Vivegam (2017) and Mersal (2017). She made a comeback to Hindi cinema with Singham (2011), which was a hit, while another film Special 26 (2013) was also a box office success.

In 2020, a wax figure of Aggarwal was put on display at Madame Tussauds Singapore, making it the first of an actress from South Indian cinema.

Early life

Aggarwal was born and brought up in a Punjabi family settled in Bombay (present-day Mumbai).  Her father Suman Aggarwal, is an entrepreneur in the textile business and her mother Vinay Aggarwal is a confectioner,  and also Kajal’s business manager. Kajal has a younger sister Nisha Aggarwal, an actress in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema, who is now married to Karan Valecha (Managing director Golds gyms, Asia).

She studied at St. Anne’s High School, fort and completed her pre-university education at Jai Hind College.  She pursued her graduation in mass media, with specialisation in marketing and advertising, from Kishinchand Chellaram College.  Having harboured MBA dreams all through her growing years, she intends to achieve a post-graduation degree soon.

Personal life

On 6 October 2020, Aggarwal announced her upcoming marriage to Gautam Kitchlu.  On 30 October 2020, the couple got married in a small, private ceremony in her hometown of Mumbai, India, with only the couple’s immediate families in attendance. 

Kajal made her pregnancy official with an Instagram post and was also confirmed by her husband shortly. She gave birth to a boy on 19 April 2022, named Neil.

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards South

The Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry.

Nominated

• 2009 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Magadheera
• 2010 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Darling
• 2011 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Mr. Perfect
• 2014 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Govindudu Andarivadele

Filmfare Awards

Nominated

• 2012 – Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut- Hindi for Singham

South Indian International Movie Awards

Winner

• 2013 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Critics) – Tamil for Thuppakki
• 2013 – Youth Icon of South Indian Cinema
• 2018 – Best Actress – Telugu for Nene Raju Nene Mantri

Nominated

• 2012 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) for Mr. Perfect
• 2013 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) for Businessman
• 2014 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) for Baadshah
• 2013 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Tamil for Thuppakki.
• 2015 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) for Govindudu Andarivadele

CineMAA Awards

The CineMAA Awards are presented annually by the Movie Artists Association Group to honour artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Telugu Cinema.
Winner

• 2011 – CineMAA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Brindaavanam (2010)
• 2013 – CineMAA Award for Best Actress -Tamil for Thuppakki (2012)

Nominations

• 2010 – CineMAA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Magadheera (2009)
• 2012 – CineMAA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Mr. Perfect (2011)

Vijay Awards

Vijay Awards are given by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay. Winner

• Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine-For Thuppakki (2012)

Nominated

• Vijay Award for Best Actress – For Thuppakki (2012)

Cosmopolitan Awards

Awards given by Cosmopolitan magazine.

• Winner – Cosmopolitan People Choice Award for Best Actress – Thuppakki

Edison Awards

• Nominated The Gorgeous Belle – For Maari (2015)
• Winner The Gorgeous Belle of the year (2016)

Zee Telugu Apsara Awards 2016

• Winner Fashion Icon of the year & Most Popular Female celebrity on Social Media
• Winner – Femina Penn Shakti Awards 2013
• Winner – Femina Power List South 2016
• Winner – Zee Telugu Golden Awards 2017 Best Actress
• “Hyderabad Times Most Desirable Women 2016 ” -Telugu
• WinnerHyderabad Times Most Desirable Women 2016

Zee Telugu Apsara Awards 2018

• Winner Actress of the Decade
• Winner Best Actress in 2017