Sanjjana

Archana Manohar Galrani, known by her stage name as sanjjana is an Indian model and actress who predominantly works in Kannada and Telugu films. She made her film debut in the 2005 Telugu film Soggadu. She is known for her role in the Kannada film Ganda Hendathi (2006). She played a supporting role in the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu starring Prabhas. In 2017, she played Chandri in the Kannada crime drama Dandupalya 2. In 2025 she participated as a contestant in Telugu reality show Bigg Boss 9 and finished as 4th runner-up of the show.

Early life

She was born as Archana Manohar Galrani in Bangalore and is the elder daughter of Manohar and Reshma Galrani who are of Sindhi ancestry. She has a younger sister, Nikki Galrani who is also an actress.

She appeared on a Fastrack advertisement with John Abraham.

Career

After appearing in advertisements and as child artist in roles in the films Soggadu and Panduranga Vittala, she got her first starring role in Ganda Hendathi.[citation needed]

Her first release, however, was the Tamil feature film, Oru Kadhal Seiveer. S R Ashok Kumar of The Hindu noted that Galrani, then credited under her birth name, was "very beautiful but has to work on her acting".

Ganda Hendathi, a Kannada remake of the Hindi film Murder (2004), itself an adaptation of the Hollywood film Unfaithful (2002). The film was released in Telugu as Mogudu Pellam O Boy Friend. While Sify wrote, "Sanjjanaa has made a decent debut and she is extremely daring and does justice to her role".

In 2008, she made her official Telugu film debut in Puri Jagannadh's Bujjigadu, alongside Prabhas and Trisha. Although this was a supporting role, it gained her considerable attention and popularity.[citation needed] In 2010, she was seen in the Telugu film Police Police, which was followed by a cameo role in Huduga Hudugi. Her final release of that year was Mylari with Shivrajkumar, in which she played a journalist and was featured in a special song opposite Shivrajkumar. The film's success gained her offers in Kannada cinema. She won the Bangalore Times Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role Female in 2012 for I Am Sorry Mathe Banni Preethsona.

In January 2012, she played one of the lead roles in Casanova, her maiden Malayalam venture. Reportedly the costliest Malayalam production of all time, and co-starring Mohanlal and Shriya Saran, the film saw Galrani portray a salsa dancer. Director Rosshan Andrrews signed her for the particular role, since she was trained in salsa. Her last release is her second Malayalam film, the Shaji Kailas directed The King & the Commissioner, co-starring Mammooty and Suresh Gopi. Later in 2012 she appeared in films including Narasimha, Ondu Kshanadalli, Sagar, all of which being Kannada projects, and Yamaho Yama.

In 2013 she appeared in Jagan Nirdoshi in Telugu which was made under Padmalaya Films and in Mahanadhi in Kannada, which was her first heroine-centric film. She was then seen in Nenem…Chinna Pillana?.

Controversy

Drug trafficking case

Galrani was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Karnataka Police on 8 September 2020 in connection with the investigation into the Sandalwood drug racket case involving the Kannada film industry. She is the second actor to be arrested by the CCB after Ragini Dwivedi. Her bail application was denied several times by the courts, with the CCB claiming that she has admitted to being part of the drug racket. She was later granted bail after spending 3 months in prison. The drug case against Galrani and others was quashed by the Karnataka High Court on 25 March 2024 due to procedural lapses by the police.

Personal life

Galrani converted to Islam and secretly married a Bangalore-based vascular surgeon Azeez Pasha in intimate function. Together, they have a baby boy. She performed her first Umrah at Mecca in 2023. But according to her social media posts she is not a practicing Muslim. She often follows and perform other religions' rituals and practices primarily Hinduism. In one of her Instagram post she expressed happiness in the Pranpratishtha ceremony of Ayodhya Ram Temple and added in her same post caption “I hope my dream of a beautiful construction of a temple in Mathura for Krishna bhagwan also comes true in my lifetime of existence”

Filmography

Film

Web series

• 2020 : Shit Happens (Telugu web series)
• 2019: Aivar (Tamil)

Television

• Sanjana was a contestant on Bigg Boss Kannada season 1,later eliminated on Day 14.
• Smart Show (Malayalam game show)
• Sixth Sense Kannada (Kannada game show)
• Sixth Sense (Telugu game show)
• Swarna Khadgam/Illayathalapathy as Queen Mahadatri. Produced by Arka Media Works and directed by Yata Satya Narayana.
• Galrani was a contestant of the Hindi reality TV show Mujhse Shaadi Karoge.
• Contestant in Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) season 9, 5th runner-up

Awards

• Best Actor in a Negative Role Female for I Am Sorry Mathe Banni Preethsona – The Bangalore Times Film Awards 2011
• In 2015, she entered into the Limca Book of World Records by cycling for 104 hours.
• She was given the Celebrity Social Media Icon 2016 award by GMASA.

External links

• at IMDb
• on Facebook