Sai Pallavi

Sai Pallavi
File:Actress Sai Pallavi.jpg Pallavi in 2023
Born	Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma mater	Tbilisi State Medical University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–2009 2015–present
Relatives	Pooja Kannan (sister)

Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (pronounced [saɪ paˈləvi]; born 9 May 1992) is an Indian actress and dancer who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Filmfare Awards South and two South Indian International Movie Awards. She was featured by Forbes magazine as one of India's 30 Under 30 in 2020.

After appearing in uncredited roles as a junior artist, she made her major acting debut in the 2015 Malayalam film Premam. The film ranked as the second highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time and her portrayal of a teacher earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Actress – Malayalam. In 2017, she ventured into Telugu cinema with Fidaa, a commercial success. Pallavi won her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance in the film.

Pallavi has since established herself as a leading South Indian actress. She has received praises for her portrayals in the films — Kali (2016), Middle Class Abbayi (2017), Maari 2 (2018), Athiran (2019), the Netflix anthology film Paava Kadhaigal (2020), Love Story (2021), Shyam Singha Roy (2021), and Gargi (2022). Her performances in Love Story and Shyam Singha Roy earned her the Critics Award and the Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards South.

Early life and work

Sai Pallavi was born on 9 May 1992 in a Badaga Hindu family in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Her hometown is Kotagiri in the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu. Born to Senthamarai Kannan and Radha, she has a younger sister, Pooja Kannan, who has also worked as an actress. She was raised and educated in Coimbatore, doing her schooling at Avila Convent School.

Despite completing her medical studies in 2016 from the Tbilisi State Medical University, which is recognised by the Medical Council of India, she has not yet registered as a medical practitioner in India. She took her Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) on 31 August 2020 in Trichy. Besides Badaga, Pallavi can speak fluently in Tamil, English, Hindi and Georgian. She later learnt Telugu following a career in her respective cinema industry.

Pallavi said in an interview that though she was not a trained dancer, but she always wanted to do something that involved dancing. She participated in several cultural events at school, gaining popularity as a dancer. Due to her passion for dance, which was supported by her mother, she participated in the dance reality show Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva on Vijay TV in 2008, and was a finalist in Dhee Ultimate Dance Show (D4) on ETV in 2009. Pallavi appeared in uncredited roles as a child actress in Kasthuri Maan (2005) and Dhaam Dhoom (2008) and appeared in few advertisements.

Acting career

Breakthrough (2015–2016)

In 2014, while she was studying in Tbilisi, Georgia, film-director Alphonse Puthren had approached her six years before, through clippings from a reality show which she had participated, showcased in Facebook. Alphonse initially gave her an offer to act in his film which she refused, and after six years, he phoned to Pallavi, in which she thought him as a stalker and wanted to lodge a police complaint on him. But later misunderstood after Alphonse forcibly introduced himself. Then, She accepted the role of Malar in his film Premam. She shot the film over the holidays and, after the shooting finished, returned to her studies. She went on to win several "Best Female Debut" awards that year, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Years later, in an interview, Alphonse revealed that Asin was initially considered for the character Malar, played by Pallavi, following a fan's request.

Studio Green signed up Pa. Ranjith to direct a film for their production house after they had bought and distributed the director's successful previous venture, Attakathi (2012). He confirmed that he would shortly begin work on a project titled Madras with Karthi in the lead role. While filming for Alphonse Puthren's "Premam," director Pa. Ranjith offered her the lead role in the film. This marked her first opportunity as a leading actress in Tamil cinema. However, prioritizing her medical studies in Georgia, she reluctantly declined the offer. The role eventually went to Catherine Tresa, and "Premam" turned out to be Pallavi's breakout film, launching her into South Indian stardom.

Then she took a month break from her studies to act in her second Malayalam film, Kali, which released in March 2016 and directed by Sameer Thahir. The film was a critical and commercial success, and was later remade in Kannada and Marathi. She portrayed Anjali, a young wife who must deal with her husband's extreme anger issues, earning a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.

Established actress (2017–2023)

Sai Pallavi at MCA Pre-Release event

The year 2017 marked her debut in Telugu with Sekhar Kammula's Fidaa, in the role of Bhanumathi, a feisty village girl from Telangana. Her performance in the film is regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion. She went onto win her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Then she starred in the 2017 Telugu action comedy film Middle Class Abbayi alongside Nani, the film was a critical and commercial success.

Her next project with director A. L. Vijay announced that he would be working on a film with her for Lyca Productions and that he would direct a script he had written "three and a half years ago". He had chosen to cast Sai Pallavi, after another project for Pramod Films, which would have been a Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Charlie (2015) with Madhavan, was suddenly shelved. After securing the actress's dates to shoot the film, Vijay finalised the technical crew to include his regular collaborators such as cinematographer Nirav Shah and editor Anthony. For Sai Pallavi, it became her first Tamil language film following a series of projects which she dropped out of, she was replaced in or was shelved. She had previously been cast and then replaced in Mani Ratnam's Kaatru Veliyidai (2017). She was initially considered for the lead role opposite Karthi, a doctor character, and even auditioned successfully. However, due to creative reasons reportedly the director wanting a slightly older actress for the part, she was not cast in the final film and eventually went to Aditi Rao Hydari. Then she opted out from Vijay Chander's Sketch (2017) before filming began. Likewise, earlier, her films Charlie and Rajiv Menon's Saravam Thaala Maayam were indefinitely postponed. Finally, it was Diya, which is a Tamil–Telugu bilingual film and had an average run at the box office.

In May 2018, it was reported that Vijay Deverakonda will join with debutant director Bharat Kamma for a new film. The first look poster of the film was unveiled on Devarakonda's birthday, 9 May 2018, and for that she was earlier chosen for the film's female lead. However, she rejected the script due to the lip-lock scenes between the lead actors. Later, she starred in the Tamil movie Maari 2, a sequel to Maari (2015), opposite Dhanush, directed by Balaji Mohan. A song from the movie, "Rowdy Baby", set a record by becoming the first south Indian (and Tamil) song to clock over 1.5 Billion views on YouTube.

Pallavi started shooting in February 2018 for the film Padi Padi Leche Manasu with Sharwanand, which was a huge commercial failure. In December, several news outlets reported that she refused to accept her full remuneration, expressing solidarity with the producers for the failure of the film. In late 2018, she was approached for an important role in Asuran directed by Vetrimaaran opposite Dhanush, but she denied and later went to Ammu Abhirami.

In 2019, She played Nithya Lakshmi, a non-verbal autistic character, in the 2019 psychological Malayalam thriller Athiran opposite Fahadh Faasil. Despite limited dialogue, she delivered a nuanced performance using her expressions and body language to portray Nithya's struggles and emotions. Her next film in Tamil with actor Suriya, directed by Selvaraghavan titled NGK, released on 31 May 2019. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it ended up being a commercial success. She portrayed Geetha Kumari, a multifaceted character, not simply defined by anger also likely experiences a range of emotions throughout the film in response to her husband's political career.

In 2020, she was recognised by Forbes magazine as one of India's 30 under 30. She was the only person from film industry in that list. She also acted in a Netflix anthology film series Paava Kadhaigal segment Oor Iravu directed by Vetrimaaran. She portrayed Sumathi, a character caught in a complex situation. The narrative explores the clash between love, societal pressures, and notions of honor, with Sumathi's character at the center of this conflict, earning a nomination for SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Tamil.

In 2021, she starred in the romantic drama Love Story directed by Sekhar Kammula alongside Naga Chaitanya in her second collaboration with Sekhar Kammula after Fidaa (2017) and Shyam Singa Roy opposite Nani in their second collaboration after MCA where she portrayed Maithreyi, a captivating devadasi in 1970s Kolkata. Her performances in both Love Story and Shyam Singha Roy earned her the Critics Award and the Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards South.

In 2022 she appeared in Telugu film Virata Parvam opposite Rana Daggubati. Set against the backdrop of the Naxalite movement in 1990s Telangana where she portrayed Vennela. Director Gautham Ramachandran announced his new female-oriented film, who earlier directed Richie (2017). Pallavi was chosen to play a lead after Jyothika denied. The film was announced on 9 May 2022 with the makers releasing a special glimpse of the film. For her Tamil film Gargi, she dubbed her own lines in both Telugu and Kannada. Her performance received widespread acclaim and portrayed the character with depth and conviction, earning praise for her emotive acting and natural screen presence. Her portrayal added a significant dimension to the film's narrative, making her a standout in the cast.

Career expansion (2024–present)

Her next film will be in Tamil along with Sivakarthikeyan produced by Kamal Hassan under Raaj Kamal Films International directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy. In September 2023, makers of Naga Chaitanya's 23rd film have confirmed that Sai Pallavi will be playing the female lead in his film, making it their second film collaboration after Love Story.

Since establishing herself as the leading actress in South India, Pallavi will make her first official Hindi film, reportedly a love story set against the scenic beauty of Sapporo, starring alongside Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan, and directed by Sunil Pandey. The film is currently being shot in Japan, with some scenes filmed at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

Currently, she is gearing up for her most ambitious project yet. She takes on the role of Goddess Sita alongside Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama in Nitesh Tiwari's big-screen adaptation of the Ramayana. This mythological drama promises a fresh take on the timeless tale, and marks Pallavi's first collaboration with both Kapoor and director Tiwari.

In the media

File:Sai Pallavi at Gargi Success meet 2022 (1).jpg

Pallavi at an event for Gargi, in 2022

Film journalist Subha J Rao noted that she brings "freshness" on screen and added, "Sai Pallavi comes across as someone unafraid to flaunt her unconventional looks, offbeat film choices and lack of pretence." Rediff.com placed her second in its "Top 5 Malayalam Actresses" list of 2016, with Vijay George stating that she "stole everyone’s hearts" in Premam. In 2020, Pallavi became the only actress to feature in Forbes India's 30 under 30 list. She stood at the 20th place in its most influential stars on Instagram in South cinema for the year 2021 list.

Pallavi has once rejected a whopping ₹2 crore endorsement deal for a fairness cream brand. She cited her disapproval of the message fairness creams promote and her own preference for natural beauty as reasons for declining the offer. This incident garnered her praise for standing up against colorism and promoting self-acceptance.

Controversy

In June 2022 in an interview with GreatAndhra, she commented that the film The Kashmir Files portrayed the killings of Kashmiri Pandits, during the 1990 exodus, and further asked if that is a religious conflict then what should be the difference between itself and cow vigilantism, referring to a recent incident where a Muslim was driving cows was beaten up and later forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram". The interview soon went viral and attracted criticism online. She later issued a clarification statement on her Instagram handle that her statements in the interview were misunderstood, and that she would neither trivialize a tragedy nor be comfortable with mob lynchings.

Filmography

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

List of films and roles

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language(s)	Notes	Ref.
2005	Kasthuri Maan	Unnamed	Tamil	Uncredited roles
2008	Dhaam Dhoom
2015	Premam	Malar	Malayalam	Also choreographer
2016	Kali	Anjali	Malayalam
2017	Fidaa	Bhanumathi	Telugu
	Middle Class Abbayi	Pallavi / Chinni	Telugu
2018	Diya	Thulasi	Tamil	Bilingual film
	Kanam		Telugu
	Padi Padi Leche Manasu	Vaishali Cherukuri	Telugu
	Maari 2	"Araathu" Aanandhi Mariyappan	Tamil
2019	Athiran	Nithya Lakshmi	Malayalam
	NGK	Geetha Kumari	Tamil
2020	Paava Kadhaigal	Sumathi	Tamil	Segment: "Oor Iravu"
2021	Love Story	Mounika Rani	Telugu
	Shyam Singha Roy	Rosie / Maithreyi	Telugu
2022	Virata Parvam	Vennela	Telugu
	Gargi	Gargi	Tamil
2024	Amaran †	Indhu Rebecca Varghese	Tamil	Completed
	Thandel †	Satya	Telugu	Filming
2025	Untitled film †	TBA	Hindi	Filming
	Ramayana †	Sita	Hindi	Filming

Television

List of television roles

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language(s)	Channel	Notes	Ref.
2008	Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva?	Contestant	Tamil	Star Vijay	Eliminated
2009	Dhee 4		Telugu	ETV	Finalist

Accolades

Sai Pallavi awards and nominations

Pallavi in 2017
Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations Filmfare Awards South 4 7 South Indian International Movie Awards 2 7 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 1 2
Totals
Wins	13
Nominations	22
Note

List of awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
2015	Asiavision Awards	New Sensation in Acting – Female	Premam	Won
	Asianet Film Awards	Special Jury Award		Won
	Filmfare Awards South	Best Female Debut – Malayalam		Won
	SIIMA Awards	Best Female Debut – Malayalam		Won
	Vanitha Film Awards	Best Newcomer – Actress		Won
2017	Asianet Film Awards	Most Popular Actress	Kali	Won
	Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Malayalam		Nominated
	SIIMA Awards	Best Actress – Malayalam		Nominated
	CPC Cine Awards	Best Actress		Won
2018	Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Telugu	Fidaa	Won
	SIIMA Awards	Best Actress – Telugu		Nominated
2019	Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Tamil	Maari 2	Nominated
	Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards	Best Actress – Tamil		Nominated
2020	SIIMA Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Tamil	Paava Kadhaigal	Nominated
2022	Filmfare Awards South	Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu	Love Story	Won
			Shyam Singha Roy	Nominated
		Critics Award for Best Actress – Telugu		Won
	SIIMA Awards	Best Actress – Telugu	Love Story	Nominated
		Entertainer of the Year (Female) – Telugu	Love Story & Shyam Singha Roy	Won
2023	Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards	Best Actress – Tamil	Gargi	Won
	Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards			Won
	Indian Film Festival of Melbourne			Nominated

External links

• Sai Pallavi at IMDb 
• Sai Pallavi on X
• Sai Pallavi on Instagram