Ananya made her acting debut in Malayalam with Positive (2008) and at the same year she rose to fame in her debut Tamil film Naadodigal, which was a high commercial success. She was well appreciated for her role in the film. The film Shikkar alongside Mohanlal, gave her a big break in Malayalam. She did some thrilling scenes in the climax of the movie Shikkar that impressed Mohanlal, which made him call her the "VijayaShanthi" of Malayalam. Malayalam movie Kandahar is the most famous in her list, where she will be acting alongside Mohanlal, Sunil Shetty and Amitabh Bachchan. It will be simultaneously released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.