Keerthi Pandian (born 18 February 1992) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

and theatre. She made her debut in 2019 in the adventure film ''

Thumbaa ''Thumbaa'' is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language adventure film written and directed by Harish Ram L. H. on his directorial debut. The film stars Darshan, newcomer Keerthi Pandian and Dheena. Produced by Surekha Nyapati, the film was distributed b ...

'' in the direction of Harish Ram. She then garnered critical acclaim for her performance in the survival thriller film '' Anbirkiniyal'' directed by

Gokul Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. According to Bhagavata Purana, Krishna spent his childhood in Gokul. Geography The town has an average elevation of . Demo ...

. She is also the daughter of actor and politician

Arun Pandian Arun Pandian is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician. He began his career as an actor as part of the critically acclaimed film ''Oomai Vizhigal'' (1986). After retiring from acting, he took the post of chief producer for the London-based A ...

and the cousin of actress Ramya Pandian. She is also known for acting in a variety of successful films such as ''

'' (2019) and '' Anbirkiniyal'' (2021). Keerthi Pandian won the ''Super daughter award'' by Femina after her appearance as the lead actress in ''Thumbaa''.

Early life

Keerthi Pandian was born on 18 February 1992 in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

to actor and politician

, and his wife Vijaya Pandian. She has two elder sisters named Kavitha Pandian and Kirana Pandian, and a cousin Ramya Pandian, who is also an actress. Keerthi did her schooling at Chettinad Vidyashram in Chennai where she also graduated from.

Career

2015–2018

After graduating, Pandian began her career as a dancer in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

, then shifted to theatre acting in 2015. She was also the head director of operations in A&P Groups, a film distribution company owned by her father, while simultaneously running her own distribution company in Singapore. Pandian initially did not receive many film offers by directors at the start of her appearance in the industry due to discrimination towards her skin color and her being underweight. She even declined others because she felt she did not have meaty roles in them; during auditions, she always introduced herself simply by her first name to avoid the appearance of nepotism as Arun Pandian's daughter.

2019–present

Pandian was approached by director Harish Ram offering her a lead role in the film ''

'' (2019); she accepted, making her debut film as an actress in

. Pandian later acted in '' Anbirkiniyal'' (2021), a remake of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film '' Helen'' (2019), as the main character alongside her father. ''Anbirkiniyal'' was featured as one of the best south Indian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

s out there by ''

Telangana Today ''Telangana Today'' is a registered English-language Indian daily newspaper headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The publication aims to focus mainly on politics and developments of the state of Telangana. The newspaper is published by T ...

'', calling Keerthi Pandian's acting skills in the film fabulous and unique giving it a positive critic overall. She also acted in the comedy series ''Postman'' alongside

Munishkanth Ramdoss, better known as Munishkanth, is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil language films. He had notable roles in films, including '' Mundasupatti'' (2014), '' Maanagaram'' (2017), ''Maragadha Naanayam'' (2017) and ''Raatchasan'' (2018). ...

which was released on

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Andro ...

. Pandian also won the ''Super daughter award'' by Femina which was awarded to her by her father in 2019 after her debut film appearance in ''Thumbaa''. Keerthi's upcoming films include '' Konjam Pesinaal Yenna'' and ''Kannagi''.

Personal life

Pandian's niece Driya portrayed the younger version of her character in ''Anbirkiniyal''. In early 2020 during the first COVID-19 lockdown in India period, Pandian developed an interest in farming and helping crops grow for better produce in the future in her gated property. She also knows

fire eating Fire eating is the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it. A fire eater can be an entertainer, a street performer, part of a sideshow or a circus act but has also been part of spiritual tradition in India. Physi ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandian, Keerthi 1992 births 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Indian film actresses Living people Salsa dancers Tamil actresses