This week, as part of its Friday Special Article series, Mykollywood.com takes a look at some successful actresses who are daughters of cinema celebrities.
SHRUTI HAASAN
Shruti Haasan is an actress and singer who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi language films. She is the daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur. She is the recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards South, and has established herself as one of the leading actresses of South Indian cinema.
As a child artiste, Shruti sang in films and appeared in a guest role in her father’s directorial ‘Hey Ram’ (2000), before making her adult acting debut in the 2009 Bollywood film ‘Luck’. She achieved recognition with leading roles in the Telugu romantic comedy ‘Oh My Friend’ (2011), the Telugu fantasy film ‘Anaganaga O Dheerudu’ (2011), the Tamil science fiction thriller ‘7aum Arivu’ (2011). Her roles in the latter two earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South.
Shruti Haasan went on to establish herself in South Indian cinema with several commercially successful films, including ‘Gabbar Singh’ (2012), ‘Vedalam’ (2015), ‘Srimanthudu’ (2015), and ‘Si3’ (2017). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for the action comedy ‘Race Gurram’ (2014).
In addition to acting, Shruti is also an established playback singer. She has received nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for singing ‘Kannazhaga Kaalazhaga’ in ‘3’ (2012) and ‘Yendi Yendi’ in ‘Puli’ (2015). Shruti began her career as a music director with her father’s production ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’ (2009) and has since formed her own music band.
VARALAXMI SARATHKUMAR
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her debut with the Tamil film ‘Podaa Podi’ (2012), portraying a London-based dancer.
Varalaxmi was born to actor Sarathkumar and Chaya. Her stepmother is actress Raadhika. She is the eldest of four children, with a younger sister Pooja, a younger half-brother Rahul and step-sister Rayanne Hardy.
Varalaxmi is a graduate in Microbiology from Hindustan Arts and Science college, Chennai with a Master in Business Management from the University of Edinburgh. She honed her acting skills at Anupam Kher’s Acting School in Mumbai, before becoming a professional actress.
Varalaxmi signed on to star in Vignesh Shivan’s romantic drama film ‘Podaa Podi’ (2012) during June 2008, citing that the opportunity to portray a London-based dancer had excited her. The film went through a protracted development, taking four years to make, before being released in October 2012. Co-starring alongside Silambarasan, Varalaxmi won critical acclaim for her performance.
KEERTHY SURESH
Keerthy Suresh appears predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for portraying actress Savitri in the biopic ‘Mahanati’ (‘Nadigayar Thilakam’).
Keerthy is the daughter of producer G Suresh Kumar and actress Menaka. Keerthy began acting 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’. She went on to star in films such as ‘Ring Master’ (2014), ‘Idhu Enna Maayam’ (2015), ‘Rajini Murugan’ (2016), ‘Remo’ (2016), ‘Nenu Sailaja’ (2016), ‘Bairavaa’ (2017), ‘Nenu Local’ (2017), ‘Thaana Serndha Kootam’ (2018), ‘Mahanati’ (2018), ‘Sandakozhi 2’ (2018) and ‘Sarkar’ (2018).
Keerthy was born to Malayalam film producer and director G Suresh Kumar and Tamil actress Menaka. 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, Thiruvananthapuram before coming back to Chennai to join the Pearl Academy, where she completed her degree in fashion design.
She also spent time on an exchange program in Scotland for four months, before completing a two-month internship in London. Despite making a career in acting, she has stated that she was also “seriously considering a career in designing”. Keerthy also plays the violin
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. 11 years after Kuberan, she made her debut as a lead actress in Priyadarshan’s horror film ‘Geethaanjali’, in which she had a dual role.
AISHWARYA ARJUN
Aishwarya Arjun has acted in Tamil and Kannada movies. She made her film debut in the Tamil film ‘Pattathu Yaanai’ in 2013.
Aishwarya Arjun was born in Bangalore, Karnataka and is the daughter of popular film actor and director Arjun Sarja and former actress Asharani. She has a younger sister, Anjana.
Her grandfather Shakti Prasad and cousin Late Chiranjeevi Sarja was a popular actor in Kannada. Her cousin Dhruva Sarja is also a popular actor in Kannada.
Aishwarya Arjun was born in Bangalore, Karnataka. She belongs to a storied film family. Her father is the well-known actor-director Arjun Sarja and her mother is former actress Niveditha Arjun who goes by her stage name Asha Rani.
She has a younger sister, Anjana Arjun who works as a fashion designer in New York. Both her grandfathers are also popular Kannada actors. While her paternal grandfather Shakti Prasad was one of the most famous villains of his time, her maternal grandfather Rajesh is a highly respected actor who had given many successful films as a main lead during his time.
AKSHARA HAASAN
Akshara Haasan has appeared in Hindi- and Tamil-language films. The daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur, and the younger sister of Shruti Haasan, she made her film debut with the comedy drama ‘Shamitabh’ (2015), and later appeared in ‘Kadaram Kondan’ (2017).
Akshara Haasan was born in Madras (present-day Chennai), Tamil Nadu to actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur. Akshara did her schooling years in Abacus Montessori School, Montessori; Lady Andal in Chennai; Beacon High in Mumbai and completed her schooling in Indus International School, Bangalore.
Akshara Haasan lives in Mumbai with her mother. She has worked as an assistant director to Rahul Dholakia on the 2010 film ‘Society’, starring her mother Sarika, as well as Ram Moorthy, Uzer Khan, E. Niwas and Ruchi Narain on my many AD films in Mumbai.
She also worked for her father’s unreleased film, ‘Sabaash Naidu’, which had her sister Shruthi Haasan in a supporting role. Akshara made her debut as an actress in ‘Shamitabh’, opposite Dhanush, which also has Amitabh Bachchan in the lead and co-actor of Ajith Kumar in ‘Vivegam’ in Tamil.
