Preity Mukhundhan has been named the latest recipient of IMDb's "Breakout Star" STARmeter Award, following a two-month stretch in which two of her Tamil films landed in front of audiences and sent her soaring up the platform's popularity charts.

According to an exclusive report published by Deadline on 29 July 2026, IMDb awarded Mukhundhan based on her performances in the Tamil films Blast and Idhayam Murali, which released within two months of each other. The recognition is tied directly to IMDb's Popular Indian Celebrities list, a chart on the IMDb app that tracks individuals drawing interest from the site's more than 250 million monthly visitors worldwide.

The numbers tell the story of a fast climb. After those two performances, Mukhundhan ranked as the second-most popular Indian celebrity on IMDb one week, then sixth the following week. For an actress who only started working in the Indian film and television business in 2024, that is a steep trajectory in a short window.

Mukhundhan's work spans three of India's major film industries: Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. She is not slowing down. She has five more projects scheduled, including the Telugu film Emo Emo Idi and an untitled Tamil film alongside Ashok Selvan.

The STARmeter Award has a growing roster of past recipients. Previous Breakout Star honourees include international names like Maya Hawke, Regé-Jean Page, and Ayo Edebiri, alongside Indian talent such as Adarsh Gourav, Sharvari, Kani Kusruti, Nitanshi Goel, and Zahan Kapoor, among others listed on IMDb's official STARmeter Awards page. The award recognises a sudden surge of audience curiosity, not a lifetime achievement — it captures who people are searching for right now.

For Mukhundhan, that curiosity is backed by a slate that is filling up quickly. An actress two years into her career, working across three languages, with half a dozen projects queued, does not often sit this high on a global platform's attention chart. The award simply puts a frame around what the search bar already confirmed.