Kani Kusruti
Kusruti in 2016
Born
Kani

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Alma mater• School Of Drama, Thrissur
• L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
PartnerAnand Gandhi

Kani Kusruti is an Indian actress and model. She first gained recognition in 2009 with the film Kerala Cafe, where her performance was critically acclaimed.[1][2] Kani won the Best Actress at Kerala State Film Awards in 2020 and the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance as Khadeeja in the film Biriyaani.[3]

Early life

Kani was born in Cheruvakkal, a small village in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to social activist and rationalist parents Jayasree A. K. and Maitreya Maitreyan. Her parents had dropped their last names to erase the social hierarchy marker that comes with last names in India. At 15, she invented her last name "Kusruti" (meaning "mischievous" in Malayalam) to fill in a requirement in her class 10th exam application. She grew up in Thiruvananthapuram, where she got introduced to the Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre,[4][5] "a common platform for theatre practitioners".

She later moved to Thrissur, where she enrolled in the theatre arts program at the Thrissur School of Drama, between 2005 and 2007. She completed her theatre education at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, where she studied physical theatre for two years.[6]

Career

At Abhinaya, Kusruti made her theatre debut in Baudhayana's classic farce Bhagavadajjukam. She played the lead role of Vasantsena in the production from 2000 to 2006. The play toured across theatre festivals, including the Bharat Rang Mahotsav and the International Theatre Festival of Kerala. She rendered the part of Kamala in M. G. Jyotish's stage adaptation of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. In 2007, the production was invited to the Villeneuve en Scene Festival d'Avignon.

In 2009, after returning from L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Kusruti appeared in the anthology film Kerala Cafe, in the segment "Island Express" directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan. In 2010, she played a Naxalite in the Mohanlal starrer Shikkar, but her nuanced rendition of a sex worker in the 2010 film Cocktail got her noticed by mainstream audiences.

In December 2010, Kani collaborated on creating 'Las Indias', a "mega performance event" directed by the thespian and theatre pedagogist Elias Cohen. The performance was staged in a bus, that was designed for the production. The Indo-Latin American theatre company, the Singing Sticks Theatre Ensemble evolved out of Las Indias. The bus that was originally created for Las Indias, was used once again for an interactive theatre roadshow 'Tsunami Express: Highway of Hopes', which Kusruti collaborated on making.[7]

In 2011, Kani joined the renowned touring theatre company Footsbarn to work on a new production of Shakespeare's Tempest. She played Miranda in the resulting performance "The Indian Tempest".[8] After touring Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal and India,[9] the production opened at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013.[10][11]

Kusruti researched, co-developed and acted in the Indo-Polish production 'Burning Flowers - 7 Dreams of a Woman', directed by Pawel Szkotak and produced by Teatr Biuro Podróży.[12]

In 2015, Kani became a household presence with the soap opera Eswaran Sakshiyayi, directed by K. K. Rajeev. She played the part of Advocate Tresa, a lawyer who joins in on the investigation for her brother's murder.[6]

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards
South Filmfare Awards
Moscow International Film Festival

Personal life

Kusruti's mother Dr. Jayasree AK, a community medicine specialist and social activist, lectures at Pariyaram Medical College, and is a regular guest on talk shows. Her father Maitreya Maitreyan has worked for, and led, several human rights movements in Kerala.

She lives in Mumbai with her partner, the filmmaker and science communicator Anand Gandhi. She identifies herself as an atheist and a rationalist.[16][17] On 19 February 2019, she revealed she quit acting due to sexual demands from filmmakers. The actress has now made serious claims against the Malayalam film industry. Shockingly, Kani has claimed that filmmakers even approached her mom to convince her to give in to their demands. Kani chose to go back to theatre, but she couldn't earn enough in that industry to make a living.[citation needed]

However, Kani is hopeful about the Malayalam film industry after the #MeToo Movement and initiations like Women in Cinema Collective.[18][19] In 2019, Kusruti along with 48 other notable artists in the country had written an open letter to Narendra Modi over incidents of lynching in the country.[20]

Filmography

Year Title Role Language Notes
2003 Anyar Bus Passenger Malayalam
Manushyaputhri Lakshmi Malayalam
2007 A Flowering Tree Amma Malayalam Short film
2009 Kerala Cafe Zeba Malayalam Segment: Island Express
2010 Shikkar Naxalite Malayalam
Cocktail Elsa Malayalam
2011 Urumi Singer Malayalam
Silent Dark Eyes Woman English Short film
2012 Karmayogi Penn Jyothiyamma Malayalam
2013 Oru Indian Pranayakadha Police Commissioner Malayalam
North 24 Kaatham Lajjo Malayalam
Hotel California Guest role Malayalam
Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla Flat resident Malayalam
2014 Masala Republic AGS Officer Malayalam
Pisaasu Angry husband's wife Tamil
Burma Clara Tamil
2015 Padakkam Prostitute Malayalam Short film[21][22]
Sivapuranam Tamil
Ishwaran Sakshiyayi Adv.Tresa Malayalam TV series
The Dolphins Varalakshmi Malayalam
2016 Kalam Housekeeper Tamil
Memories of a Machine[23][24][25] Lady Malayalam Short film[26]
2017 Gi Gi Malayalam Short film
Thadayam Jenny Tamil Short film
Touch Selvi Tamil Short film
Spyder Sudalai/Bhairavadu's Mother Tamil
Telugu
2018 Maa Mother; Sathya Tamil Short film
Theekuchiyum Panithulliyum Thanuja Malayalam
The Notion Padma Iyer English Short film
Counterfeit Kunkoo Smita Sunil Nikam Hindi, Marathi Short film[27]
2019 Oolu Manasi Malayalam
2020 The Discreet Charm of the Savarnas English Short film
Biriyaani Khadeeja Malayalam Won
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress|[28]
Best second actress award at the Imagine Film Festival in Madrid, Spain
Feature Film[29][30]
2021 Tryst with Destiny Ahalya Hindi/English
1956, Central Travancore Kela's wife Malayalam
OK Computer Monalisa Paul Hindi TV series
Vicks - Care Lives On Priyanka Bhosale Hindi Video
Maharani Kaveri Sridharan Hindi TV series
2022 Super Sharanya Malayalam Cameo appearance
Pada Sheeja P.K. Malayalam
Vichithram Martha Malayalam
Nishiddho Chaavi Malayalam
2023 Kirkkan Farsana Rasheed Malayalam [31]
2024 Killer Soup Kirtima Kadathanathan Hindi TV Series[32]
Poacher Malayalam TV series

References

  1. ^ Athira M. (7 January 2016). "Living in the moment". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Ten minutes to fame". The Hindu. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. ^ "An Independent Woman". 18 October 2020.
  4. ^ "കനിയുടെ ലോകം കലയാണ്..." Manoramaonline (in Malayalam). 5 June 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Kani Kusruti wants to establish herself". BharatStudent.com. 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Nagarajan, Saraswathy (23 January 2014). "Leading lady". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. ^ Santhosh, K. (13 April 2011). "A journey sans destination on 'Tsunami Express'". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  8. ^ Crawley, Peter (8 June 2012). "Indian Tempest". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. ^ Kumar, Kaavya Pradeep (24 January 2013). "Footsbarn is back in city with 'Indian Tempest'". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  10. ^ "All the world's a stage". The Hindu. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. ^ O'Mahony, Julia (8 June 2012). "The Indian Tempest Reviewed (Dublin Shakespeare Festival)". Totally Dublin. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. ^ Loxton, Howard. "Indian Tempest". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  13. ^ "സുരാജ് മികച്ച നടൻ, കനി കുസൃതി നടി, വാസന്തി മികച്ച സിനിമ; ഫഹദ് സഹനടൻ". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Winners of the Filmfare Awards South 2022". Filmfare. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  15. ^ "An Independent Woman". 18 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Kani Kusruti Detail, Bio, profile". Shorshe. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Kani Kusruti's Reply to Those who Criticized". Cinemadaddy. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Pisaasu actress Kani Kusruti reveals she quit acting due to sexual demands from filmmakers". India Today. Ist. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  19. ^ George, Anjana. "#MeToo: Adjustments were all that was needed for filmmakers when I decided to be a cinema actress : Kani Kusruti - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Konkona Sen Sharma, Anurag Kashyap, and 47 celebs write open letter to PM Modi on lynching incidents". The Economic Times. 24 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Padakkam Malayalam Short Film Ft. Kani Kusruti". Allreadable. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  22. ^ "Padakkam Malayalam Short Film". Lectoro. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  23. ^ Jayaram, Deepika (14 November 2016). "Kani Kusruti essays another unusual role". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  24. ^ Jose, Steffy (22 November 2016). "Kani Kusruthi's Memories of a Machine is trending". B4blaze. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  25. ^ Barua, Richa (29 November 2016). "Kani Kusruti 'Is child abuse a joke for you?' ask young girls in viral video". Asianet News. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  26. ^ Suresh, Sunayana (24 January 2017). "Women filmmakers choose bold subjects for short films". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Kani Kusruti Best Actress in Asia International Film Festival". reporterlive. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  28. ^ "Suraj Venjaramoodu, Kani Kusurthi and Lijo Jose Pellissery win big at 50th Kerala State Film Awards - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  29. ^ Nagarajan, Saraswathy (29 May 2019). "Sajin Baabu's Biriyani is told from a woman's perspective". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  30. ^ Ramnath, Nandini. "In Malayalam film 'Biriyaani', a missing brother helps a woman find her feet". Scroll.in. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  31. ^ "New poster of Kani Kusruthi starrer Kirkkan is out". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Killer Soup trailer: Manoj Bajpayee, Konkona Sensharma's Netflix series is a spicy blend of crime, chaos". The Indian Express. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

External links


Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress
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