Vidya Pradeep

Vidya Pradeep
Born	Alleppey, Kerala, India
Other names	Vidya Gopakumar, Dhyana
Occupation	Actor, research scientist
Years active	2013-present

Vidya Pradeep is an Indian model and actress, who works in the South Indian film industry. Vidya is also a Research scientist pursuing her PhD in stem cell biology (Biotechnology) and continues to work in the profession, alongside her film commitments. Recently her research work was published in the "International Journal of Cell Therapy".

Vidya Pradeep completed a master's degree in biotechnology and then pursued a PhD at an undisclosed eye hospital in Chennai. As a research scientist, she studied stem cell biology and continues to balance her commitments alongside work in the entertainment industry.

Vidya worked as a model and appeared in several print and television advertisements. During that period, she also performed a cameo role in the Malayalam film Kammath & Kammath and appeared in the music video for A. R. Rahman's "Aabhi Jaa" from his studio album Raunaq alongside Yami Gautam and several other models. She was spotted by director A. L. Vijay, who cast her in his successful family drama film, Saivam (2014) to portray Sara Arjun's mother. For the film, she reverted to her original name and put on weight to portray a middle aged woman. The film and the ensemble cast won positive reviews for its portrayal of a family. She then featured in the action drama, Adhibar (2015) as the lead actress opposite Jeevan, which opened to negative reviews.

Vidya then worked on Pandiraj's Pasanga 2 (2015) portraying the mother of a small child. In the film, she worked alongside actors Ramdoss, Karthik Kumar and Bindu Madhavi, while the producer Suriya also made a guest appearance. The film opened to positive reviews in December 2015, with Vidya winning critical acclaim for her performance. Critics noted that Vidya added "solidity to the film by coming up with a credible performance"and that she has done "commendably well". She has worked on the psychological thriller Onnume Puriyala, which made the headlines for becoming the first Tamil film to be remade in Hollywood.

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