# Keerthy Suresh

Keerthy Suresh (born 17 October 1992) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. Her accolades include one National Film Award, five SIIMA Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and one Zee Cine Awards Telugu . Keerthy was placed in Forbes India's 30 Under 30 list of 2021.
Keerthy is the daughter of film producer G. Suresh Kumar and actress Menaka. She began her career as a child actress in the early 2000s and returned to films after studying fashion design. She had her first lead role in the 2013 Malayalam film Geethaanjali, for which she won the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Malayalam. After winning the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Tamil for Idhu Enna Maayam (2015), Keerthy went on to star in successful films such as Ring Master (2014), Nenu Sailaja (2016), Rajinimurugan (2016), Remo (2016), Bairavaa (2017), Nenu Local (2017), Sarkar (2018), Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018), Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022).
Her portrayal of Savitri in the biopic Mahanati (2018) earned her the Filmfare Award and National Film Award for Best Actress. She won another Filmfare Best Actress award for the action film Dasara (2023).

## Early life and background

Keerthy Suresh was born on 17 October 1992 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Her father, G. Suresh Kumar, is a filmmaker of Malayali Nair origin while her mother Menaka is an actress of Tamil Iyengar origin. She has an elder sister Revathy Suresh.
Until class four, Keerthy did her schooling in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She then studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, Kerala before coming back to Chennai to join the Pearl Academy, where she completed her degree in fashion design. Despite making a career in acting, she has stated that she was also "seriously considering a career in designing". Keerthy also plays the violin.

## Career
### Child actress (2000–2005)

In the early 2000s, Keerthy worked as a child actress in a few of her father's productions, such as Pilots (2000), Achaneyanenikkishtam (2001) and Kuberan (2002) and some television serials. In 2004, she produced the Malayalam comedy film Vettam, alongside her mother Menaka and sister Revathy Sureshkumar.

### Lead roles and career expansion (2013–2017)

Eleven years after Kuberan, she made her debut as a lead actress in Priyadarshan's horror film Geethaanjali, in which she had a dual role. She was still studying during that time and shot for Geethanjali during her semester break. Reviews on the film and her performance were mixed, with Sify writing that she "does put in some effort but makes only a limited impression in a double role", while Rediff wrote that she "has got a plum role but whether she impresses with her acting prowess is another matter". In 2014, Keerthy had her next release Ring Master, directed by Rafi of Rafi Mecartin duo, in which she shared screen space with Dileep. She played a blind girl, which she said was much more challenging than her double role in Geethanjali. The film was a commercial success, being termed a "super hit" by Sify.
In 2015, Keerthy accepted her first projects outside of Malayalam and signed on to appear in several Tamil film projects simultaneously. Her first film release was A. L. Vijay's romantic comedy Idhu Enna Maayam (2015), opposite Vikram Prabhu, though the film did not perform well at the box office. Her busy schedule throughout 2015 meant that she had to opt out of films which she had already started working on, including Krishna's Maane Thaene Paeye and Deekay's Kavalai Vendam, in order to accommodate bigger projects. She consequently worked on two films with Sivakarthikeyan in quick succession, Rajinimurugan and Remo, while also playing the lead role in Prabhu Solomon's Thodari, alongside Dhanush.
Her Telugu debut was planned to be Ainaa Ishtam Nuvvu. However, the film is delayed since 2015, with reports of release after September 2020 under a new title Janakitho Nenu. Subsequently, the debut was the 2016 film Nenu Sailaja with actor Ram Pothineni. In January 2017, Keerthy appeared in Bairavaa, opposite actor Vijay and directed by Bharathan. She also appeared in Tamil film Paambhu Sattai and Telugu film Nenu Local in 2017.

### Mahanati and established actor (2018–present)

Her first release in 2018, was Agnyaathavaasi in Telugu. Her first Tamil film in 2018 was Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, in which she played opposite Suriya for the first time. The film opened to positive reviews and became a hit. She also acted in the Nag Ashwin-directed biographical drama Mahanati where she portrayed the late southern actress Savitri and for which her performance has received critical acclaim and the National Film Award for Best Actress. Her performance in the film featured in the list of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion.
In late 2018, she appeared in three consecutive commercial films, Saamy Square opposite Vikram directed by Hari, Sandakozhi 2 opposite Vishal directed by N. Lingusamy and Sarkar opposite Vijay, directed by AR Murugadoss. In mid-2019, she made a cameo appearance in the Nagarjuna starrer Manmadhudu 2, which was directed by Rahul Ravindran. In 2020, she appeared in the thriller film Penguin, which released on Amazon Prime due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the drama film Miss India which released on Netflix.
In 2021, Keerthy starred in the Telugu language film Rang De opposite Nithiin. Keerthy's next film Annaatthe starring Rajinikanth directed by Siva opened to negative reviews. Her next release was the Malayalam film Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham starring Mohanlal directed by Priyadarshan, which opened to mixed reviews became box office bomb.
Her first release of 2022 was the Telugu film Good Luck Sakhi which again opened to negative reviews and ended up as a commercial failure. Keerthy went on to appear alongside director Selvaraghavan in Saani Kaayidham, which marks the latter's acting debut. Her role went on to be critically acclaimed and is one of her best roles done by her. The film had a direct OTT release in Amazon Prime Video. Her next film was the Parasuram directorial Sarkaru Vaari Paata, alongside Mahesh Babu. She was next seen in the Malayalam courtroom drama Vaashi opposite Tovino Thomas. Keerthy had three releases in 2023. First was Nani-starrer Dasara where she played the main lead opposite Nani. Keerthy received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance. Next came the Mari Selvaraj directorial Maamannan opposite Udhayanidhi Stalin in his final acting role. However, her third release, the Chiranjeevi-starrer Bhola Shankar, remake of the Tamil movie, Vedalam (2015), opened to negative reviews and became a box office disaster.
Her first release of 2024 was Siren a Tamil action thriller by debut director Antony Bhagyaraj opposite Jayam Ravi where Keerthy portrayed as Inspector. The film was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics. In next film, Keerthy gave voice role for BU-JZ-1 aka Bujji a AI droid / vehicle in Kalki 2898 AD a Telugu language Sci-fi action directed by Nag Ashwin which was also dubbed in other languages. Keerthy's performance as Bujji was praised by audiences. She also dubbed for Bujji and Bhairava an animated series of Amazon prime video release in multiple languages, giving each language 5–6 modulations to find the best fit. Her next film was the Tamil political comedy Raghu Thatha by Hombale Films, released on 15 August. Keerthy portrayed the lead role, a career woman who learns Hindi to receive a job to escape from marriage. The film was considered a success by the makers. In her next film, she appeared in her Hindi debut, Baby John opposite Varun Dhawan released on 25 December a remake of the Tamil film Theri. She is also roped into a new woman centric film Revolver Rita. She is also set to appear in the solo film, Kanni Vedi in Tamil.

## Media image

Keerthy is among the highest paid South Indian actresses, according to media reports. She was placed in Forbes India's "30 Under 30" list of 2021. Keerthy became the most tweeted about South Indian actress in 2020 and 2021. Forbes India noted, "Keerthy has earned her stripes in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, impressing with her spontaneity." Praising Keerthy, film director Nag Ashwin said, "She's a director's actor and an instinctive performer, quite natural. If fit in the right story and character, she is quite something." Keerthy has frequently featured in Hyderabad Times' 30 Most Desirable Woman list. She was placed 21st in 2018, 20th in 2019 and 26th in 2020. She is a celebrity endorser for brands including Jos Alukkas.

## Personal life

After a 15-year relationship, Keerthy married her long-time boyfriend, Antony Thattil, on 12 December 2024, in Goa in a traditional Tamil and Malayali Christian wedding ceremony. He is an engineer and a businessman, and his family hails from Kochi, Kerala.

## Filmography
### Films

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
List of Keerthy Suresh film credits :
| Year | Title | Role | Language(s) | Notes |
| 2000 | Pilots | Church kid | Malayalam | Child actress |
| 2001 | Achaneyanenikkishtam | Kunjunni's classmate | Malayalam | Child actress |
| 2002 | Kuberan | Siddharth's adopted child | Malayalam | Child actress |
| 2013 | Geethaanjali | Geetha, Anjali | Malayalam | |
| 2014 | Ring Master | Karthika | Malayalam | |
| 2015 | Idhu Enna Maayam | Maya | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Nenu Sailaja | Sailaja | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Rajinimurugan | N. Karthika Devi | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Thodari | Saroja | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Remo | Dr. Kavya | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Bairavaa | Malarvizhi | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Paambhu Sattai | Veni | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Nenu Local | Keerthy | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Agnyaathavaasi | Sukumari | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Mahanati | Savitri | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Thaanaa Serndha Koottam | Madhu | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Seemaraja | Bhoomi | Tamil | Cameo appearance |
| 2018 | Saamy Square | Diya | Tamil | Also singer for "Pudhu Metro Rail" |
| 2018 | Sandakozhi 2 | Sembaruthi | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Sarkar | Nila | Tamil | |
| 2019 | Manmadhudu 2 | Suma | Telugu | Cameo appearance |
| 2020 | Penguin | Rhythm | Tamil | |
| 2020 | Miss India | Manasa Samyuktha | Telugu | |
| 2021 | Jathi Ratnalu | Vanajakshi | Telugu | Cameo appearance |
| 2021 | Rang De | Anupama | Telugu | |
| 2021 | Annaatthe | Thanga Meenatchi | Tamil | |
| 2021 | Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham | Aarcha | Malayalam | |
| 2022 | Vaashi | Adv. Madhavi Mohan | Malayalam | |
| 2022 | Saani Kaayidham | Ponni | Tamil | |
| 2022 | Good Luck Sakhi | Sakhi | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Sarkaru Vaari Paata | Kalaavathi | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Dasara | Vennela | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Bhola Shankar | Mahalakshmi | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Maamannan | Leela | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Siren | Inspector K. Nandhini | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Raghu Thatha | Kayalvizhi Pandian "Kayal" / Ka. Pandian | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Kalki 2898 AD | Bujji | Telugu | Voice role |
| 2024 | Baby John | Dr. Meera Verma | Hindi | |
| 2025 | Revolver Rita † | Rita | Tamil | Filming |
| 2025 | Kannivedi † | TBA | Tamil | Filming |

### Television

List of Keerthy Suresh television credits :
| Year | Title | Network | Language | Notes |
| 2003 | Grihanadhan | DD Malayalam | Malayalam | Child actress; telefilm |
| 2004 | Santhana Gopalam | Surya TV | Malayalam | Child actress; serial |
| 2005 | Krishna Kripa Sagaram | Amrita TV | Malayalam | Child actress; serial |
| 2024 | Bujji and Bhairava | Amazon Prime Video | Telugu | Voice role as Bujji |

### Music video

Keerthy Suresh music video credits :
| Year | Title | Singer | Composer | Language | Ref. |
| 2022 | "Gandhari" | Ananya Bhat | Pawan Ch | Telugu | |

## Accolades

List of Keerthy Suresh awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2014 | 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Female Debut - Malayalam | Geethaanjali | Won |
| 2014 | 16th Asianet Film Awards | Best New Face of the Year | Geethaanjali | Won |
| 2015 | Edison Awards Tamil | Best Female Rising Star | Idhu Enna Maayam | Won |
| 2016 | 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Female Debut - Tamil | Idhu Enna Maayam | Won |
| 2017 | 64th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Nenu Sailaja | Nominated |
| 2017 | 6th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Female Debut – Telugu | Nenu Sailaja | Nominated |
| 2018 | Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | Best Actress | Mahanati | Nominated |
| 2019 | Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards | Best Actress | Nadigaiyar Thilagam | Nominated |
| 2019 | Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards | Special Jury Award | Nadigaiyar Thilagam | Won |
| 2019 | Edison Awards Tamil | Best Actress | Nadigaiyar Thilagam | Nominated |
| 2019 | National Film Awards | Best Actress | Mahanati | Won |
| 2019 | Zee Cine Awards Telugu | Best Actress | Mahanati | Won |
| 2019 | 8th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress – Telugu | Mahanati | Won |
| 2019 | 66th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Mahanati | Won |
| 2021 | 10th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress – Tamil | Penguin | Nominated |
| 2023 | 11th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress – Tamil | Saani Kaayidham | Nominated |
| 2023 | 11th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress Critics – Tamil | Saani Kaayidham | Won |
| 2023 | 11th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress – Malayalam | Vaashi | Nominated |
| 2024 | 68th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Tamil | Saani Kaayidham | Nominated |
| 2024 | 69th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Dasara | Won |
| 2024 | 12th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress – Telugu | Dasara | Won |
| 2024 | 12th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actress - Tamil | Maamannan | Nominated |
| 2024 | 3rd IIFA Utsavam | Best Actress – Telugu | Dasara | Nominated |
| 2024 | 3rd IIFA Utsavam | Best Actress – Tamil | Maamannan | Nominated |