Ayilya Nair, better known by her stage name Ananya, is an Indian film actress, who appears in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films
Ananya made her acting debut in Malayalam with Positive (2008) and debuted the following year in Tamil with Naadodigal, which emerged a critical and commercial success. She received the Kerala State Television Award for Best Actress in 2012 for the telefilm Doore and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil for Engaeyum Eppothum in 2011.
Ananya was born as Ayilya to Malayali parents Gopalakrishnan Nair, a noted film producer, and Praseetha in Kothamangalam, Kerala. She has one younger brother Arjun. She appeared as a child artist in one of her father's productions (executive producer), Pai Brothers (1995). Ananya pursued a B.A. degree in Communicative English at St. Xavier's College, Aluva. During her childhood, she was an archer and won the State Championship. While representing her college in a television reality show "Star Wars", she was spotted by various directors and received acting offers. After declining five projects, she decided to give it a try, accepting to act in Positive.