Meet South superstar who was born in Haridwar, studied in Delhi, worked with Rajinikanth, Hema Malini, Ajay Devgn, she is now…

It’s true that many South Indian actors come from different regions of India, and some, specifically women folk from North India, have been cast in South Indian films brought on by certain beauty standards prevalent within the industry. One such actor who has successfully made her mark in South Indian cinema is this actor who's on the origin from North India, she aspired to be a dancer before transitioning to acting. She made her debut with the Telugu film Ishtam in 2001, and her first major commercial success came with Santosham in 2002. Fluent in both Telugu and Tamil, she quickly became a well-liked figure within the South Indian film industry. Despite being from North India, she adapted well to the regional cinema landscape and established herself as a versatile and talented actor, capable of handling quite some roles across different languages.

In 2007, she was paired opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar’s Sivaji: The Boss. It was essentially the costliest film in Indian cinema and went on to turn out to be the appropriate-grossing Tamil film to that point. Do you can still take into consideration she didn’t stop there? Within the same year, she made a comeback in Bollywood with Mohit Suri’s Awarapan, where she played a Muslim woman. Following that, she made her American cinema debut with James Dodson’s The Other End of the Line (2008), wherein she played an Indian woman who works in a call centre.

For those that aren’t aware, this actress was just 19 on the time of her debut. Yes, you guessed it right – she is none in preference to Shriya Saran.

Shriya Saran

Shriya Saran’s College in Delhi helped her to face camera

Born in a Bhatnagar family in Haridwar, Shriya Saran studied at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi. She later studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature. It was in LSR where Shriya got her first opportunity to go looking in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher’s recommendation, she was invited to go looking within the music video of Renoo Nathan’s “Thirakti Kyun Hawa“. The video, shot in Banaras got attention from Ramoji Films who later offered her a job in Ishtam.

Shriya Saran’s path-breaking moment

Shriya Saran’s career took a serious turn with the discharge of Sivaji: The Boss in 2007, where she starred alongside big name Rajinikanth lower than the direction of S. Shankar. The role, to start with offered to Aishwarya Rai, became a pivotal moment in Shriya’s life when she was chosen to play the lead female character. The film, one of many many costly Indian productions on the time, now not best became an outsized hit but additionally established her as a top actress in South Indian cinema.

Following the success of Sivaji, Shriya continued to shine with notable performances in films like Pavitra (2013) and Chandra (2013). In 2014, she earned widespread acclaim for her role within the Telugu film Manam, which was both a really important and commercial success. Her versatility and powerful screen presence helped her land significant roles in films like Drishyam (2015), where she starred opposite Ajay Devgn, and Gautamiputra Satakarni (2017), where she shared the screen with Hema Malini.

Despite her success within the South industry, she has faced stereotypes and bias, often related to her North Indian background and appears. Shriya has emphasised the importance of talent over appearance and how she overcame such challenges to ascertain her place within the industry.