Saranya who acted with Mammootty, makes Bollywood entry with Dulquer's 'Chup'

Mumbai: Actress Saranya Ponvannan, who started her film career with filmmaker Mani Ratnam's 1987 release 'Nayakan', recently made her Hindi film debut with director R Balki's psychological crime-thriller film 'Chup: Revenge of the Artist'.

Saranya, who earned recognition for playing motherly roles on screen, plays the mother of Shreya Dhanwanthary's character, Nila Menon who is an entertainment journalist.

The film follows a serial killer targeting film critics who give dishonest reviews for films. Inspector General of Crime Branch Mumbai, Arvind Mathur (played by Sunny Deol) is given the responsibility to catch the serial killer.

Interestingly, Saranya has made her language debut opposite both the father-son duo of Mammootty and Dulquer Salmaan. While she made her Malayalam debut in 1989 with the Mammootty-starrer 'Artham' where she played a journalist, who helps Mammootty's lead character get a parole after he takes the blame for a murder which he never committed.

Born in Alappuzha, Kerala, Saranya is the daughter of Malayalam film director A. B. Raj who has directed over 75 films.

The actress married actor-director Ponvannan in 1995 and the couple has two daughters. After her marriage, she took an eight-year sabbatical, and returned to films in 2003 as a character actor.