Debut as teen actor in Mohanlal’s actioner, rise to fame with iconic Tamil horror film; a drug case destroyed her flailing career

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Prayaga Martin with actor Sumeet Ashok Naval in Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded.

Prayaga began learning dance at 5

In a 2014 interview with Times of India, Prayaga revealed that her bond with the performing arts began at the age of five when she started learning dance. Apart from being trained in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam, she also had an interest in freestyle dancing. Although she had been receiving modelling offers since Class I, and her mother was interested in sending her, Prayaga didn’t care at all.

However, she was involved in extracurricular activities in school and even won the best actress award at a state-level competition, which prompted her to consider acting as her path forward. While she began taking modelling assignments after that, she was careful to ensure that her face did not become too familiar to the audience.

Prayaga Martin’s life changed when Tamil director Mysskin came across one of her ads, leading to her casting in Pisaasu. (Credit: Instagram/@prayagamartin)

Breakthrough with Pisaasu

Meanwhile, Prayaga’s life took a dramatic turn when renowned Tamil director Mysskin came across one of her ads, leading to her casting in Pisaasu (2014), a pathbreaking Tamil horror film that earned widespread acclaim. She quickly became a sensation, playing the role of Bhavani, the ghost, in the movie. She soon landed her first lead actress role in Malayalam with Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya (2016), where she once again played a ghost.

Nonetheless, a slew of other offers began coming her way soon enough, and she appeared in notable roles in movies such as Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan (2016), Ore Mukham (2016), Fukri (2017), Ramaleela (2017), and Oru Pazhaya Bomb Kadha (2018), among others. She also played the role of Prithviraj Sukumaran’s sister in Brother’s Day (2019). The same year, she essayed a key role in the Kannada film Geetha (2019).

Prayaga Martin with Suriya in Navarasa. (Credit: Instagram/@prayagamartin)

However, her career did not soar as initially expected, and the number of roles gradually diminished. Although she appeared in Malayalam movies such as Bhoomiyile Manohara Swakaryam (2020), Enthada Saji (2023), Dance Party (2023), and Bullet Diaries (2023), none of these became worthy additions to her filmography. Amid underwhelming offers in Malayalam, she played the female lead opposite Suriya in director Gautham Vasudev Menon’s segment, Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru, in the Tamil anthology streaming series Navarasa (2021). However, much like the segment, Prayaga’s performance was also soon forgotten by the audience.

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Drug case and subsequent clean chit

Meanwhile, Prayaga Martin’s name made headlines in 2024, but this time for unfortunate reasons. In a drug case that surfaced in October 2024 involving notorious gangster Omprakash, both Prayaga and fellow actor Sreenath Bhasi’s names also cropped up. In their remand report, the police alleged that the actors were among those who visited Omprakash’s hotel room, where he purportedly hosted a drug party.

She soon denied the allegations, claiming that she doesn’t even know him. However, Bhasi was reportedly questioned for over 10 hours, while Prayaga was quizzed for about two hours. Nonetheless, according to The News Minute, the police subsequently gave both actors a clean chit on October 12.