# Suchitra Pillai

Suchitra Pillai (born 27 August 1970) is an Indian actress, model, anchor and VJ. A graduate in electronic engineering from the Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering, Bandra (West), Mumbai, she chose a career in arts over engineering. Apart from movie roles, including Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Page 3 (2005), Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), and Fashion (2008), Suchitra is a singer in the Indi pop and rock genre with an album Such is Life released in 2011. She is also a theater artist.

## Personal life

When Suchitra was 20 she married Pavan Malik and later divorced. In 2005, Suchitra married Lars Kjeldsen, an engineer from Denmark, whom she met at a mutual friend's house. They have one daughter.

## Film career

While in school in Mumbai, Pillai was very much interested in theatre but graduated with a B.E. in Electronics Engineering in 1991. She left for London soon after, where she became involved in a children's theatre. She started acting in movies in 1993 when she was offered her first role in a French film Le prix d'une femme as well as a role in the English film Guru in Seven. She has also appeared in the music videos of “Arranged Marriage” (1993) by Apache Indian and “Morning Glory (Oasis song)” (1995) by Oasis (band).
Pillai then returned to Mumbai and was offered a job as a veejay. She first appeared in a music video by Apache Indian and then in Bally Sagoo's "Dil cheez hai kya" video. She has also forayed into television with shows like Simply South, Red Alert, Hip Hip Hurray, Beintehaa, Rishta.com, and Cabaret Cabaret. Pillai appears in the 2016 Hollywood film The Other Side of the Door, and in the 2017 indie film The Valley, for which she won the Best Actress award at both The Long Island International Film Festival and The Milan International Filmmakers Festival in 2017.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1993 | Le prix d'une femme | | French film |
| 1998 | Guru in Seven | | English film |
| 2001 | Everybody Says I'm Fine | Jessica | Hindi film |
| 2001 | Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai | A Reporter | |
| 2001 | Dil Chahta Hai | Priya | |
| 2003 | Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II | Shalu | |
| 2003 | Satta | | |
| 2003 | 88 Antop Hill | Mrs. Antara Shelar | |
| 2005 | Page 3 | Fashion Designer Sonal Roy | |
| 2006 | Shiva | Manasi | |
| 2006 | Karkash | Manasi | |
| 2006 | Pyaar Ke Side Effects | Anjali/Dracula | |
| 2007 | Marigold: An Adventure in India | Rani | |
| 2007 | Laaga Chunari Mein Daag | Michelle | |
| 2008 | Fashion | Avantika Sarin | |
| 2008 | Dasvidaniya | Suchi | |
| 2010 | Dulha Mil Gaya | Jasmine | |
| 2016 | Fitoor | Reporter | |
| 2016 | The Other Side Of The Door | Piki | |
| 2016 | Oppam | School Principal | Malayalam film |
| 2017 | The Valley | Roopa | |
| 2021 | Cold Case | Zara Zacchai, a blind occult researcher | Malayalam movie released in Amazon Prime |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Channel | Other notes |
| 1997 | Ghar Jamai | Subbulakshmi | Zee TV | Special Appearance only in Episode no 32 |
| 1998 | Hip Hip Hurray | Alaknanda Ma'am | Zee TV | |
| 1998 | X Zone | Kavya | Zee TV | Episode-96 |
| 2001 | Pradhan Mantri (Zee) | Journalist | Zee TV | |
| 2003-2005 | Koi Dil Main Hai | | Sony TV | |
| 2013 | 24 | Mehek Ahuja | Colors TV | |
| 2013–2014 | Beintehaa | Surraiya Usman Abdullah | Colors TV | |
| 2014 | Bigg Boss 8 | Guest | Colors TV | Reality show |
| 2016-17 | Ek Shringaar-Swabhiman | Sandhya Singhania | Colors TV | |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
| 2017 | Romil & Jugal | Bhagyalaxmi Subramaniam | ALTBalaji | |
| 2018 | Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain | Sheena | ALTBalaji and ZEE5 | |
| 2019 | Made in Heaven (TV series) | Mani Pandey | Amazon Prime | |
| 2020 | Betaal | Commander Tyagi | Netflix | Horror |
| 2020 | Bebaakee | Dana Alqaazi | ALTBalaji | Hindi Web series |
| 2021 | Call My Agent: Bollywood | Suchitra | Netflix | Hindi Web series |
| 2021 | Hello Mini 3 | KD Maa | MX Player | |
| 2022 | Bestseller | Sukanya | Amazon Prime | Hindi Web series |
| 2022 | Eternally Confused and Eager for Love | Ray's mother | Netflix | Hindi Web series |
| 2023 | Rana Naidu | Tara | Netflix | Web series |
| 2024 | Big Girls Don't Cry | Khanna Ma'am | Prime Video | Hindi series |
| 2024 | Call Me Bae | Neel's Mother | Prime Video | Hindi series |

## Singing career

Pillai made her debut as a singer with her first song in the album Mere Liye in 2001. Later, she sang few other songs.

## Dubbing career

In 2007, she performed her first dub-over role in the Hindi version of the American movie, Live Free or Die Hard- Maggie Q's role of Mah Linh. Since then she has dubbed several other roles in Hindi; the parts of Angelina Jolie (Beowulf), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), as Hela for Cate Blanchett in the Hindi version of Thor: Ragnarok, and most recently in the 2020 Netflix original October Faction as Deloris Allen.

## Dubbing roles
### Live action television series

| Program title | Actor | Character | Dub Language | Original Language | Episodes | Original airdate | Dubbed airdate | Notes |
| The Sandman | Gwendoline Christie | Lucifer Morningstar | Hindi | English | | 2022–Present | | |

### Live action films

| Film title | Actress | Character | Dub Language | Original Language | Original Year Release | Dub Year Release | Notes |
| Live Free or Die Hard | Maggie Q | Mai Linh | Hindi | English | 2007 | 2007 | |
| The Dark Night | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Rachel Dawes | Hindi | English | 2008 | 2008 | Katie Holmes portrayed this character in Batman Begins and was voiced by Neshma Chemburkar in Hindi. |
| Thor: Ragnarok | Cate Blanchett | Hela | Hindi | English | 2017 | 2017 | |