Sreeleela (alternatively spelt as Sree Leela; born June 14, 2001) is an American actress of Indian origin who predominantly appears in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

films. She debuted in 2019 with ''

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

'', winning Best Female Debut – Kannada at the

SIIMA Awards South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

, and entered Telugu cinema with '' Pelli SandaD'' in 2021. She has since starred in the 2022 action comedy '' Dhamaka''.

Personal life

Sree Leela was born on June 14, 2001 into a

-speaking family in the United States and was brought up in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India. Her mother, Swarnalatha, is a gynecologist based in Bangalore. Swarnalatha was married to industrialist Surapaneni Subhakara Rao, and Leela was born to Swarnalatha after the couple's separation. Leela began her training in

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dance as a child. She aspires to become a doctor and as of 2021, was in the final year of her

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

. In February 2022, Leela adopted two disabled children.

Career

2017–2020: Debut and early career

Director

A. P. Arjun A. P. Arjun (born 8 August 1984) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and lyricist. He works in Kannada cinema. He made his debut as a lyricist in the film ''Thangigagi'' (2006), he debuted as a director with the 2009 film '' Ambari''. His ...

came across Leela's pictures, taken by cinematographer

Bhuvan Gowda Bhuvan Gowda is an Indian cinematographer who works in Kannada films. He is known for his work in ''Ugramm'' (2014), ''Pushpaka Vimana'' (2017) and '' K.G.F film series''. Career Gowda began his career as a cinematographer for Prashanth Neel ...

, on social media and cast her in his 2019 film, ''

''. The actress has stated that she chose to start her career in Kannada-language films as she grew up in Bangalore, despite having contacts in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. Filming for ''Kiss'' began in 2017, while Leela was in the first year of her pre-university course. The film was released in 2019 and proved successful at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

. A. Sharadhaa of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'' stated that Leela made a confident debut, writing, "Sreeleela looks stylish and garners equal attention." ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

'' critic Vinay Lokesh echoed the sentiment by stating that Leela shined in her role. A month later, her second film, '' Bharaate'', opposite

Sriimurali Sriimurali (born 17 December 1981), also known simply as Murali, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. After making his debut in 2003 in ''Chandra Chakori'', he appeared in '' Kanti'' as the eponymous lead, a performance ...

, was released. Reviewing her performance for ''

The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Dhanya Rajendran, Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh Vellore in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, And ...

'', Aravind Shwetha wrote: "Leela is good and holds her own along with Sri Murali when it comes to acting and screen presence." Sharadhaa of ''The New Indian Express'' wrote that, "This is Sreeleela's second film, and she seems to be getting comfortable with being in front of the camera, and delivers what the role demands."

2021–present: ''Dhamaka'' and success

In 2021, Leela was cast in the romantic musical film '' Pelli SandaD'', marking her debut in

. The actress described her character as a "role to die for". While the film received negative reviews, Leela's role garnered appreciation from critics. Sangeetha Devi of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' called the film a "costly showreel" of the lead pair, Roshan and Leela, opining that they looked fresh and effervescent but lacked chemistry. In 2022, Leela starred in the Kannada romantic comedy '' By Two Love''. Appreciating her performance, Sunayana Suresh of ''The Times of India'' stated: "Sreeleela steals the show with a role that offers her to be more than just eye candy in a film. She shines especially in the emotional scenes." Sharadhaa of ''The New Indian Express'' felt it was "a delight to watch" her in the film. A review from ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' opined that while she was impressive, Leela's Kannada pronunciation had room for improvement. She later made a special appearance in the song "Trademark" from the 2022 film ''

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

''. Following the success of ''Pelli SandaD'', Leela received multiple offers in Telugu films. Next, she starred in '' Dhamaka'', beside

Ravi Teja Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju (born 26 January 1968), known professionally as Ravi Teja, is an Indian film actor and producer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is known for his roles in action comedy films. He is one of the highest- ...

. The film was a box office success. Leela has various projects lined up in the future. She is set to appear in the film ''Aadikeshava'', opposite Panja Vaisshnav Tej, by first-time director Srikanth N Reddy. She will also star in ''Boypati Rapo'', with

Ram Pothineni Ram Pothineni (born 15 May 1988) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu films. He made his acting debut with the box office success ''Devadasu'' (2006), for which he won Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. He has two Filmfar ...

. Other upcoming productions include a film by Vakkantham Vamsi; ''Bhagavanth Kesari'', directed by Anil Ravipudi; '' Junior'', opposite

G. Janardhana Reddy Gali Janardhana Reddy (born 11 January 1967) is an Indian industrialist and politician affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Born Reddy was born on 11 January 1967. He has two brothers, G. Karunakara Reddy and G. Somashekara Reddy, ...

's son Kireeti Reddy; '' Guntur Kaaram'', directed by

Trivikram Srinivas Trivikram Srinivas (born Akella Naga Srinivasa Sarma; 7 November 1971), often credited as Trivikram, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. In 2021, he became one of the highest-paid directors in Cinema of South ...

; and '' Ustaad Bhagat Singh'', opposite Pawan Kalyan.

Filmography

* ''All films are in Telugu, unless otherwise mentioned.''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb name, 10033951 Living people 2001 births American film actresses American actresses of Indian descent American people of Telugu descent Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Telugu actresses American expatriate actresses in India South Indian International Movie Awards winners 21st-century American actresses