Sruthi Hariharan

In this Indian name, the name Hariharan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sruthi.

Sruthi Hariharan (born 2 February 1989^[1]) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily appears in Kannada language films. Sruthi is a recipient of a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards South and one Karnataka State Film Awards.^[2]

Sruthi Hariharan
Sruthi Hariharan in 2020
Born	(1989-02-02) 2 February 1989 (age 35) Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Occupations	Actor producer
Years active	2012 - present
Spouse	Raam Kumar ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1

Sruthi made her acting debut in the Malayalam film, Cinema Company (2012). She had her breakthrough with her Kannada debut Lucia (2013). Sruthi won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada for her performance in Beautiful Manasugalu (2017). The 2018 film Nathicharami, won her the National Film Award – Special Mention. Sruthi established herself as a leading actress in Kannada cinema with Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016), Urvi (2016), Upendra Matte Baa (2017) and Head Bush (2022).

Early life and family

Sruthi Hariharan was born into a Tamil Brahmin family in Trivandrum, Kerala,^[3][4] and was raised in Bengaluru, Karnataka. She attended school at Sishu Griha Montessori and High School. After her primary and secondary education, she attended Christ University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Management (BBM). She is trained in Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance. Apart from her mother tongue, she is also fluent in Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi and can understand Telugu.^[5]

She became interested in cultural activities when she attended Christ College and became a part of their cultural team. This interest led her into acting in theatre productions.^[6] She joined choreographer Imraan Sardariya's dance troupe, and worked in the Kannada film industry as an assistant choreographer and background dancer.^[6] She was a background dancer for three years and featured in a number of songs.^[7]

Acting career

Sruthi's film career began with Malayalam film, Cinema Company. She acted in two films: Thekku Thekkoru Desathu and Call Me @.^[8] In Francis's Call Me @, she played the role of an IT girl, while in Nandu's, Thekku Thekkoru Desathu she played a journalist.^[9] She landed the lead role in the Kannada film Lucia by Pawan Kumar. She played two characters in the film—one of a lower middle-class girl and the other of a film actress—^[10] and dubbed herself for the first time.^[11] Lucia was critically acclaimed and was later remade in several Indian languages.^[12] Sruthi's performance was well-received and she was featured on Rediff's Most Impressive Kannada Movie Debuts, 2013 list.^[13] Later that year she appeared in another Kannada film Dyavre. The film received rave reviews from critics.^{[citation needed]} She was offered a role in director Harsha's Bhajarangi, featuring Shivraj Kumar in the lead, but she could not commit herself to the film.^[14]

In 2014, she was seen as the love interest of Srinagara Kitty's character in Jacob Varghese's road movie Savaari 2. Her next role was in her first Tamil film Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan.^[15][16] Next she acted in A. P. Arjun's Rhaate, which she signed to appear in even before the release of Lucia.^[11] Her character in the film was that of a traditional village girl.^[8]

In her next feature, she was simultaneously shooting the Kannada film Sipaayi directed by Rajath Mayee,^[17] and the Tamil independent art film Nila.^[18] She has also signed to appear in another Kannada film, Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu by Hemanth Rao,^[19] and Balaji Sakthivel's next directorial Ra Ra Rajasekhar.^[20]

Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu went on to do very well both critically and at the box office. Her portrayal of Dr. Sahana was well received. She appeared next in Maadha Mathu Manasi, produced by Mano Murthy. She achieved further success in the Kannada film industry through her performance in director B.S. Pradeep Varma's Urvi, followed by Beautiful Manasugalu. She struck a balance between commercial and performance-oriented roles by featuring in films of diverse genres.

She next appeared in the Kannada multi-starrer Happy New Year, in which she played the role of a bedridden patient, ailing from psoriasis. After featuring in the bilingual film Vismaya(Kannada) which was titled Nibunan in Tamil, she followed it up with the box office success Tarak, opposite Kannada actor Darshan. The Telugu version of Vismaya, titled Kurukshetra is yet to be released. Continuing her foray into the Tamil and Malayalam film industries, she was part of Bejoy Nambiar's film Solo, opposite actor Dulquer Salmaan. Later she acted in a Kannada film Upendra Mathe Baa with veterans Upendra and Prema. As part of the new wave in Kannada films, she acted in Humble Politician Nograj with Danish Sait and Sumukhi Suresh in which she played a supporting role, and was unanimously praised for playing such a character when her career was at a peak. She later acted in National award-winning director Mansore's Nathicharami opposite Sanchari Vijay for which she gained great critical acclaim. The film publication Karthik Kermanu wrote "There isn’t a better actor than Sruthi to bring grace and seriousness to a character that throws light on the sexual needs of single women in urban middle-class societies. Whenever her face swims in the drudgery of everydayness, you feel her!”^[21] Keyur Seta of Cinestaan said "Hers is a simple subtle and a FLAWLESS Performance!"^[22] She starred in the film Aadyaa in 2020 along with Chiranjeevi Sarja.

Controversy

In October 2018, Sruthi accused Arjun Sarja of sexual misconduct on the set of the 2016 bilingual film Nibunan and filed a sexual harassment case with the police against him.^[23]

Arjun Sarja filed a defamation case of Rs 5 crore against her for accusing him of sexual misconduct. To her allegations, Arjun responded, "I am saddened by the allegations and I don't know how I can correct this. I will definitely file a case. I will speak about improving the shots and dialogues but I don't have the cheap mentality of using this profession to touch women inappropriately."^[24]

A few months after the MeToo fallout, Sruthi told The News Minute that while she used to get plenty of offers before, she hardly gets any now.^[25]

Media image

Hariharan at an event

Sruthi appeared in Rediff.com's "Top 5 Kannada Actress" and "Best Kannada Debuts" list of 2013. She was placed fourth and second respectively.^[26][27] In the Bangalore Times' Most Desirable Women list, she was placed 18th in 2016 and 20th in 2019.^[28][29] Her performance in Nathicharami, is regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion.^[30]

Personal life

In 2017, Shruthi married Raam Kumar, who is a martial artist and trainer and they have a daughter.^[31]

Filmography

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

List of films and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2012	Cinema Company	Parvathi	Malayalam
2013	Lucia	Shwetha	Kannada
	Dyavre	Sruthi
2014	Savaari 2	Radhika
	Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe	Maga	Tamil
2015	Rhaatee	Rani	Kannada
	Plus	Herself		Special Appearance
	ABC	Sruthi	Hindi	Short film
2016	Jai Maruthi 800	Geetha	Kannada
	Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu	Dr. Sahana
	Sipaayi	Divya
	Madha Mathu Manasi	Manasi
2017	Beautiful Manasugalu	Nandini
	Nila	Nila	Tamil	Netflix Film
	Urvi	Asha	Kannada
	Happy New Year	Charvi
	Nibunan	Shilpa	Tamil	Bilingual film
	Vismaya		Kannada
	Solo	Rukku	Malayalam	Bilingual film
			Tamil
	Tarak	Sneha	Kannada
	Upendra Matte Baa	Seetha
2018	Humble Politician Nograj	Ramaa
	Bhootayyana Mommaga Ayyu	Sruthi
	Raambo 2	Herself		Special Appearance
	Ambi Ning Vayassaytho	Young Nandini
	Nathicharami	Gowri
2019	Mane Maratakkide	Sowmya
2020	Aadyaa	Sruthi
2022	Head Bush	Ratnaprabha Urs		[32][33][34]
2024	Saramsha	Maya
	Strawberry †	Amrutha		Completed[35]
TBA	The Verdict †	TBA	Tamil	Completed[36]

Television

List of television series and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Network
2018	America Mappillai	Shabana	Tamil	ZEE5
2021	Vadham	Sakthi Pandiyan		MX Player

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations

Year	Film	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2017	Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu	64th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated	[37]
			Critics Best Actress – Kannada	Won
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated	[38]
	Beautiful Manasugalu	Karnataka State Film Awards	Best Actress	Won	[39]
2018		65th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Kannada	Won	[40]
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated	[41]
			Best Actress Critics – Kannada	Won
2019	Nathicharami	66th National Film Awards	Special Mention	Won	[42]
		66th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated	[43]
			Critics Best Actress – Kannada	Won
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Kannada	Nominated	[44]

References

1. "Happy Birthday, Sruthi Hariharan! Here are the best saree looks of the 'Lucia' actor". The Times of India. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
2. "66th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
3. "'I Don't Want To Be a Glam Doll'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014.
4. "Being an actress has been a fulfilling rebellion for me: Sruthi Hariharan". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
5. "Dancing with the cine stars; Deccan Chronicle". Deccan Chronicle. 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
6. "I had to lose weight and look glamorous for Lucia". Rediff.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
7. "Shruthi Hariharan was a background dancer". The Times of India. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
8. "My passion for acting grew with time". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
9. "Sruthi gets busy". The Times of India. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
10. "I had to lose weight and look glamorous for Lucia". Rediff.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
11. A Sharadhaa. "Shruti Hariharan finds place in Arjun's film Raate". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
12. "Fox Star India to make Kannada film Lucia in Hindi — Indian Express". The Indian Express. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
13. "The Most Impressive Kannada Movie Debuts, 2013". Rediff.com. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
14. "Shruti Hariharan joins Raate". The Times of India. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
15. "Lucia girl makes Kollywood debut". The Times of India. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
16. "Lakshmi Ramakrishnan starts her second film!". Sify. 20 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
17. A Sharadhaa. "Savari 2 has Good Humour". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
18. "Tamil films shine at intn'l film festivals". The Times of India. 16 January 2017.
19. "Missing Man Subject of Sruthi's Film". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014.
20. "I would like to do more meaningful cinema". Rediff.com.
21. Keramalu, Karthik (28 December 2018). "Nathicharami Movie Review: What Single Women Want". Film Companion. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
22. Seta, Keyur. "Nathicharami review: Explores a young widow's sexuality in a simple yet bold manner". Cinestaan.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
23. "Kannada film actress Sruthi Hariharan files sexual harassment case with the police against actor Arjun Sarja". Timesnownews.com. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
24. "Arjun Sarja files Rs 5 cr defamation suit against Sruthi Hariharan". Hindustan Times. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
25. "'I used to get 3 offers a week, barely any now': Actor Sruthi Hariharan on MeToo fallout". 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018.
26. "The Top Performances by Kannada Actresses in 2013". Rediff.com. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
27. "The Most Impressive Kannada Debuts, 2013". Rediff.com. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
28. "Meet the Bangalore Times Top 25 Most Desirable Women 2016". Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
29. "Bangalore Times' 30 Most Desirable Women of 2019". Times of India. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
30. "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
31. "Photo: Sruthi Hariharan finally goes public with her daughter". The Times of India. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
32. "Balu Nagendra and Sruthi Hariharan roped in for Head Bush". Cinema Express. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
33. ""My character in 'Head Bush' is strong, bold, and defies conventions of the time," says Sruthi Hariharan about her exciting new acting gig". The Times of India. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
34. "There is more pressure to do justice while playing a real-life character onscreen: Sruthi". The Times of India. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
35. "Sruthi Hariharan completes third film since her onscreen comeback". The Times of India. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
36. "Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Suhasini Maniratnam and Sruthi Hariharan team up for 'The Verdict'". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
37. "Winners: 64th Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 (South)". Times of India. 19 June 2017.
38. "6th SIIMA 2017 Day 1: Jr NTR bags Best Actor, Kirik Party wins Best Film". India Today. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
39. "Achyuth And Shruthi Hariharan Bag State Awards". Chitraloka. 11 April 2017.
40. "Winners of the 65th Jio Filmfare Awards (South) 2018". Filmfare. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
41. "SIIMA 2018: 7th SIIMA awards - Complete Kannada nominations list". Times of India. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
42. "66th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
43. "Winners of the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
44. "SIIMA 2019 Full Winner List: Yash, Keerthy Suresh and Vijay Deverakonda take home major awards". Pinkvilla. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.

External links

• Sruthi Hariharan at IMDb
• Sruthi Hariharan on Facebook