Alya Manasa is an Indian television actress who works in Tamil serials. She became a household name as Sembaruthi, known as Semba, the maid-turned-daughter-in-law of the Star Vijay serial Raja Rani (2017 to 2019), a role that won her Favourite Actor Female at the Vijay Television Awards in 2018 and Best Heroine in 2019.
She went on to lead the serial's second season, Raja Rani 2, from 2020 to 2022, and then moved to Sun TV for Iniya (2022 to 2024). Off screen she is married to her Raja Rani co-star Sanjeev Karthick.
As of November 2026, she plays Isai, a young woman who lost her hearing in childhood, in the Zee Tamil serial Paarijatham, which began in September 2025.
Quick facts
Name | Alya Manasa |
Occupation | Television actress |
Years active | 2017 to present |
First serial | Raja Rani (Star Vijay, 2017) |
Known for | Raja Rani, Raja Rani 2, Iniya, Paarijatham |
Current show | Paarijatham (Zee Tamil), as Isai |
Awards | Vijay Television Awards: Favourite Actor Female (2018), Best Heroine (2019), Best Jodi with Sanjeev Karthick (2019) |
Spouse | Sanjeev Karthick (married 2019) |
Career
Raja Rani (2017 to 2019)
Alya Manasa made her acting debut as the female lead of Raja Rani, which premiered on Star Vijay on 29 May 2017 and ran until 13 July 2019 for 582 episodes. Produced by Venkatesh Babu's Global Villagers, directed by Praveen Bennett and written by Priya Thambi, the serial cast her as Sembaruthi, or Semba, a maid in the household of the businessman Rajasekar, played by Auditor Sridhar, whose family treats her as a daughter. Sanjeev Karthick played Karthick, Rajasekar's youngest son, who returns from Singapore, stands up for Semba and ends up marrying her after a wedding in the family collapses. The cast also included VJ Shabnam, Pavithra Janani and later Anshu Reddy as Divya, Sridevi Ashok as Archana, and Rithika Tamil Selvi.
The serial brought her wide popularity. She won Favourite Actor Female at the 4th Vijay Television Awards in 2018, and at the 5th edition in 2019 she won Best Heroine and shared the Best Jodi award with Sanjeev Karthick.
Raja Rani 2 (2020 to 2022)
Star Vijay brought the title back as Raja Rani 2, a remake of the Hindi serial Diya Aur Baati Hum, which premiered on 12 October 2020 and ran until 21 March 2023 for 725 episodes. Alya played the female lead, Sandhya, from the start, opposite Sidhu Sid as Saravanan, with Praveena as his mother Sivagami and Archana Ravichandran in the cast. She left the serial in March 2022, after which Riya Vishwanathan and then Asha Venkatesh Gowda took over the role.
Iniya (2022 to 2024)
Later in 2022 she moved to Sun TV for Iniya, a Saregama production directed by Narayana Moorthy, which premiered on 5 December 2022 and ended on 3 November 2024 after 646 episodes. She played the title character, Iniya, the wife of the police officer Vikraman, played by Rishi, with Mansi Joshi as her elder sister Yazhini and L. Raja, Praveena and Santhana Bharathi in supporting roles.
Paarijatham (2025 to present)
Alya returned to television with Paarijatham on Zee Tamil, which premiered on 8 September 2025 in the 9.30 pm weekday slot and also streams on ZEE5. Directed by K. Manikandakumar, it casts her as Isai, a young woman with a gift for singing who lost her parents and her hearing in a childhood tragedy and is raised by a controlling aunt. Her character is pushed into a marriage with Vishal, played first by Rakshit Gopal and later by Akshay Kamal, who does not know about her hearing loss. Swathi, Shabeena and Livingston are also in the cast. As of November 2026 the serial is on air.
Television
Years | Show | Role | Channel |
2017–2019 | Raja Rani | Sembaruthi "Semba" (lead) | Star Vijay |
2020–2022 | Raja Rani 2 | Sandhya (lead) | Star Vijay |
2022–2024 | Iniya | Iniya (lead) | Sun TV |
2025–present | Paarijatham | Isai (lead) | Zee Tamil |
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
2018 | 4th Vijay Television Awards | Favourite Actor Female | Raja Rani | Won |
2019 | 5th Vijay Television Awards | Best Heroine | Raja Rani | Won |
2019 | 5th Vijay Television Awards | Best Jodi (with Sanjeev Karthick) | Raja Rani | Won |
Personal life
Alya Manasa married actor Sanjeev Karthick, her co-star in Raja Rani, in 2019.
FAQ
Who is Alya Manasa?
She is a Tamil television actress best known as Semba in Star Vijay's Raja Rani (2017 to 2019), and the lead of Raja Rani 2, Iniya and Paarijatham.
Which serial is Alya Manasa acting in now?
As of November 2026 she plays Isai in Paarijatham on Zee Tamil, which began on 8 September 2025.
Who is Alya Manasa's husband?
Actor Sanjeev Karthick, who played Karthick opposite her in Raja Rani. They married in 2019.
Which awards has Alya Manasa won?
At the Vijay Television Awards she won Favourite Actor Female in 2018 and both Best Heroine and Best Jodi, shared with Sanjeev Karthick, in 2019, all for Raja Rani.
Was Alya Manasa in Raja Rani 2?
Yes. She played the female lead, Sandhya, opposite Sidhu Sid from its premiere in October 2020 until March 2022, when Riya Vishwanathan took over the role.
Which Sun TV serial did Alya Manasa act in?
Iniya, in which she played the title role opposite Rishi from December 2022 to November 2024.
