# Ritika Singh

Ritika Mohan Singh is an Indian actress and mixed martial artist who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu films.
After competing for India at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games and then participating in the Super Fight League, she played a leading role in Sudha Kongara Prasad's Tamil film Irudhi Suttru (also simultaneously shot in Hindi as Saala Khadoos) alongside R. Madhavan.
She received Filmfare Awards three times for the same role in three languages: Tamil (Irudhi Suttru), Hindi (Saala Khadoos) and Telugu (Guru). She has won a National Award, one SIIMA award, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award special Prize and three Filmfare Awards.

## Mixed martial arts career

Singh trained as a kickboxer and as a mixed martial artist since childhood, under the guidance of her father. She appeared in the inaugural season of the Super Fight League and competed as a mixed martial artist.

### Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 4 matches | 1 win | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
| Loss | 1–3 | Daizy Singh | Decision (Unanimous) | SFL 22-23 | 17 August 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Mumbai, India |
| Loss | 1–2 | Irene Cabello Rivera | Submission (armbar) | SFL 18 | 24 May 2013 | 1 | 2:06 | Mumbai, India |
| Win | 1-1 | Aya Saber | Decision (Unanimous) | SFL 11 | 30 November 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Mumbai, India |
| Loss | 0–1 | Manjit Kolekar | TKO (punches) | SFL 5 | 19 October 2012 | 2 | 3:45 | Mumbai, India |

## Acting career

Ritika Singh began her acting career in 2013. She was spotted by director Sudha Kongara Prasad in an advertisement for the Super Fight League, and she later auditioned to play a leading role in her bilingual film, Irudhi Suttru (2016), titled Saala Khadoos in Hindi, after the makers managed to contact her through the competition's chairman, Raj Kundra. Portraying Madhi, a Marwari girl who grows up in the slums of Chennai, Singh was signed because the makers wanted a professional boxer to act, rather than an actress to act as a boxer. For the Tamil version, Irudhi Suttru, Singh phonetically learned her part in Tamil by writing down the dialogues in Hindi. Co-produced by the film's lead actors, R. Madhavan and Rajkumar Hirani, the film was released in late January 2016. Ritika received rave reviews for her portrayal, with Sify.com stating "she is a marvelous discovery" and "her lip sync, body language, and gait are major highlights for the film". For her performance in Irudhi Suttru, Ritika won the Special Mention at the 63rd National Film Awards and became the first actress who did not dub for her role to be recognised at the National Awards. Singh later appeared in Manikandan's Aandavan Kattalai, which was released in September 2016. Her next film is the Telugu movie Guru (2017), a remake of Irudhi Suttru. Later, she performed in the horror comedy P. Vasu's Shivalinga (2017) and the Telugu movie Neevevaro (2018). She played the female protagonist in the romantic fantasy film Oh My Kadavule (2020) with Ashok Selvan.
In 2023, she has starred in leading role in the Hindi survivalist-thriller titled InCar. Later, she acted in the streaming series Story of Things (2023) and Bench Life (2024). Ritika plays a key role in Vettaiyan (2024) who is part of a team of investigators with Rajinikanth's character at the helm.

## Filmography
### Films

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
List of films and roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | Ezhil Madhi | Tamil | Bilingual film |
| 2016 | Saala Khadoos | Ezhil Madhi | Hindi | Bilingual film |
| 2016 | Aandavan Kattalai | Karmegha Kuzhali | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Guru | Rameshwari "Ramulu" | Telugu | |
| 2017 | Shivalinga | Sathya | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Neevevaro | Anu | Telugu | |
| 2020 | Oh My Kadavule | Anu Paulraj | Tamil | |
| 2023 | InCar | Sakshi Gulati | Hindi | |
| 2023 | Kolai | Sandhya Mohanraj | Tamil | |
| 2023 | King of Kotha | Herself | Malayalam | Cameo appearance |
| 2024 | Valari | Divya Dharshini | Telugu | |
| 2024 | Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan | Herself | Tamil | Cameo appearance |
| 2024 | Vettaiyan | ASP Roopa Kiran | Tamil | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Network | Notes | Ref. |
| 2023 | Story of Things | Shruthi | Tamil | Sony LIV | Segment: Compressor | |
| 2024 | Bench Life | Meenakshi Sharma | Telugu | Sony LIV | | |

## Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations :
| Year | Title | Award |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | National Film Award – Special Jury Award |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Actress |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | IIFA Utsavam for Best Actress – Tamil |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil |
| 2016 | Irudhi Suttru | SIIMA Award for Best Debut Actress |
| 2016 | Saala Khadoos | Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut |
| 2016 | Saala Khadoos | Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut |
| 2018 | Guru | Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Telugu |