6 Lesser known facts about 'The Family Man' actress Priyamani

The Family Man star Priyamani is a prominent face in the South Indian film industry, having played major roles alongside big names in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. The actress has left quite an impression with her character in the Amazon Prime Original series, essaying the role of Manoj Bajpayee’s on-screen wife, Suchitra Tiwari. The Family Man 2 released on June 3, a day before its originally scheduled release on June 4 and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

But there is more to Priyamani than her role in The Family Man. She is a recipient of the National Film Award for Best Actress and three Filmfare Awards and is also a former model. Apart from these, there are also quite a few lesser-known facts about Priyamani, like her relation to Bollywood star Vidya Balan, her past films with Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan and her upcoming Hindi films.

Check out six facts about Priyamani that you probably didn’t know:

Priyamani's Bollywood debut

Priyamani made her Bollywood debut with the Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan starrer Mani Tarnam film Raavan. She was also featured in Shah Rukh Khan’s hit movie Chennai Express in the popular dance number ‘One Two Three Four’. Priyamani also plays a major role in director Ram Gopal Varma's trilingual film Rakht Charitra.

Priyamani is a popular South Indian actress

Priyamani is a well known face in the South film industry having acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam movies. She has delivered several hit films such as Pellaina Kothalo, Paruthiveeran, Yamadonga, Golimaar and Raavanan. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Karthi starrer Paruthiveeran.

Priyamani's upcoming Hindi films

Priyamani is set to star in an upcoming biographical sports film titled Maidaan which is based on the golden era of Indian football and stars Ajay Devgn as football coach Syed Abdul Rahim.

Priya Mani is Vidya Balan’s cousin

Not many know this, but Priyamani is related to Bollywood star Vidya Balan. The actors are second cousins.

Priyamani about Vidya Balan

Ahead of the release of Raavan in 2010, Priyamani told BehindWoods, “We don’t meet as often as our parents do. I’m very proud that she’s family, and I wish her a great career.”

In a conversation with Deccan Chronicle in 2012, Priyamani had said that she does not want to gain success by using Vidya’s name, "I may get more mileage if I bounce Vidya’s name in the Mumbai media, but I am totally averse to that idea. Some people may boast about their links to climb up the ladder but I’m not like that. Nothing can replace talent."

Vidya Balan about about Priyamani

When asked about Priyamani in a recent interview with DNA, Vidya Balan said, “Yes, but can you believe we've met once in our lives. We are distant cousins. We met on a film award stage once because our families are not in touch.” And in response to a question about Priyamani's career trajectory, Vidya said, “I'm given to believe that she's a wonderful actor and she's doing really well for herself. More power to her."