After participating as a contestant in regional dance shows, and appeared in uncredited roles in films, She had her first lead role in the top-grossing Malayalam film Premam (2015). Her portrayal of a teacher in it earned her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. In 2017, she ventured into Telugu cinema with Fidaa, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu.
Her performances in Gargi and Love Story earned the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Tamil and Telugu, respectively, while her work in Shyam Singha Roy and Virata Parvam gained her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Telugu.
Pallavi was raised and educated in Coimbatore, doing her schooling at Avila Convent School.[11][12] Despite completing her medical studies in 2016 from the Tbilisi State Medical University,[13][14] which is recognised by the Medical Council of India, she has not yet registered as a medical practitioner in India.[15] She took her Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) on 31 August 2020 in Trichy.[16]
Besides Badaga, Pallavi is fluent in Tamil, English, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Georgian.[17]
Pallavi said in an interview that though she was not a trained dancer, she always wanted to do something that involved dancing.[18] She participated in several cultural events at school, gaining popularity as a dancer. Due to her passion for dance, which was supported by her mother, she participated in the dance reality show Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva on Vijay TV in 2008, and was a finalist in Dhee Ultimate Dance Show (D4) on ETV in 2009.[19][20] Pallavi appeared in uncredited roles as a junior artist in Kasthuri Maan (2005) and Dhaam Dhoom (2008)[21] and appeared in few advertisements.[22][23][24]
Acting career
Breakthrough (2015–2016)
In 2014, while she was studying in Tbilisi, Georgia, film-director Alphonse Puthren had approached her with Premam. Six years before, after watching her in a reality show showcased in Facebook, Alphonse initially offered her a role which she refused. When called for Premam again, he was misunderstood by her as a stalker but he quickly confirmed his identity.[25] Then, She accepted the role of Malar in his film Premam.[26] She shot the film over the holidays and, after the shooting finished, returned to her studies.[27] She went on to win several "Best Female Debut" awards that year, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.[28][29]
Studio Green signed up Pa. Ranjith to direct a film titled Madras with Karthi in the lead role.[30] While filming for Alphonse Puthren's "Premam," director Pa. Ranjith offered her the lead role in the film. This marked her first opportunity as a leading actress in Tamil cinema. However, prioritizing her medical studies in Georgia, she reluctantly declined the offer. The role eventually went to Catherine Tresa, and "Premam" turned out to be Pallavi's breakout film.
Then she took a month break from her studies to act in her second Malayalam film, Kali, which released in March 2016 and directed by Sameer Thahir.[31][32] The film was a critical and commercial success, and was later remade in Kannada and Marathi. She portrayed Anjali, a young wife who must deal with her husband's extreme anger issues, earning a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.[33]
Her next project with director A. L. Vijay announced that he would be working on a film with her for Lyca Productions and that he would direct a script he had written "three and a half years ago".[39] He had chosen to cast Sai Pallavi.[40] For Pallavi, it became her first Tamil language film following a series of projects which she dropped out of, she was replaced in or was shelved. She had previously been cast and then replaced in Mani Ratnam's Kaatru Veliyidai (2017). She was initially considered for the lead role opposite Karthi, and even auditioned successfully. However, due to creative reasons reportedly the director wanting a slightly older actress for the part, she was not cast in the final film and eventually went to Aditi Rao Hydari.[41] Then she opted out from Vijay Chander's Sketch (2017) before filming began.[42] Finally, it was Diya,[43] which is a Tamil–Telugu bilingual film and had an average run at the box office.[44]
In May 2018, it was reported that Vijay Deverakonda[45][46] would collaborate with her and chosen for the film's female lead. However, she rejected the script due to the lip-lock scenes between the lead actors. So she opted out and replaced by Rashmika Mandanna.[47] Later, she starred in the Tamil movie Maari 2, a sequel to Maari (2015), opposite Dhanush, directed by Balaji Mohan.[48] A song from the movie, "Rowdy Baby", features the lead pair, Dhanush and Sai Pallavi dancing to the tune in a set at the AVM studios in Chennai. Prabhu Deva was assigned to choreograph the song [49][50] along with Jani Master.[51] Sai Pallavi, who had participated in a dance reality TV show called Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva (transl. Who of you is going to be the next Prabhudeva?) 10 years before and was eliminated in the semi-finals, failing to meet him,[52] later recalled that through this song, she was eventually able to meet and work with Prabhu Deva, sharing a picture taken on the sets, which coincidentally was the same sets where the show had been shot before.[53] The video was uploaded on 12 January 2019 on YouTube, and had achieved lot of views due to its choreography and picturisation and set a record by becoming the first south Indian (and Tamil) song to clock over 1.5 Billion views on YouTube.[54][55][56]
Pallavi started shooting in February 2018 for the film Padi Padi Leche Manasu with Sharwanand,[57][58] which was a huge commercial failure.[59] In December, several news outlets reported that she refused to accept her full remuneration, expressing solidarity with the producers for the failure of the film.[60] In late 2018, she was approached for an important role in Asuran directed by Vetrimaaran opposite Dhanush, but she denied and later went to Ammu Abhirami.[61][62]
In 2019, she played Nithya Lakshmi, a non-verbal autistic character, in the 2019 psychological Malayalam thriller Athiran opposite Fahadh Faasil. Despite limited dialogue, she delivered a nuanced performance using her expressions and body language to portray Nithya's struggles and emotions.[63] Her next film in Tamil with actor Suriya, directed by Selvaraghavan titled NGK, released on 31 May 2019.[64] She portrayed Geetha Kumari, a multifaceted character, not simply defined by anger also likely experiences a range of emotions throughout the film in response to her husband's political career. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it ended up being a commercial success.[65]
Established actress (2020–present)
In 2020, she was recognised by Forbes magazine as one of India's 30 under 30. She was the only person from film industry in that list.[66] She also acted in a Netflix anthology film series Paava Kadhaigal segment Oor Iravu directed by Vetrimaaran.[67] She portrayed Sumathi, a character caught in a complex situation. The narrative explores the clash between love, societal pressures, and notions of honor, with Sumathi's character at the center of this conflict, earning a nomination for SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Tamil.
In 2021, she starred in the romantic drama Love Story directed by Sekhar Kammula[68] alongside Naga Chaitanya for the first time and in her second collaboration with Sekhar Kammula after Fidaa (2017)[69] A song from the film Love Story "Saranga Dariya" is popular among the Telangana folk songs. The theatrical version of the song became popular due to which it is spotted in top positions in the national music charts.[70][71] Singer Mangli got wider appreciation for her vocals. The lyrical song received praise for Sai Pallavi's dance, choreography and the vocals by Mangli adding a "perfect Telangana nativity to the folk number".[72]
Her next Periodic-based film Shyam Singa Roy opposite Nani in their second collaboration after MCA where she portrayed Maithreyi, a captivating devadasi in 1970s Kolkata.[73] A song from the movie "Pranavalaya" received praise and showcases her dance skills.[74] Her performances in both Love Story and Shyam Singha Roy earned her the Critics Award and the Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards South.[75]
In 2022 she appeared in Telugu film Virata Parvam opposite Rana Daggubati. Set against the backdrop of the Naxalite movement in 1990s Telangana where she portrayed Vennela.[76][77]
Director Gautham Ramachandran announced his new female-oriented film, who earlier directed Richie (2017). Pallavi was chosen to play a lead after Jyothika denied.[78] The film was announced on 9 May 2022 with the makers releasing a special glimpse of the film.[79] For her Tamil film Gargi,[80][81] she dubbed her own lines in both Telugu and Kannada.[82][83][84] Her performance received widespread acclaim and portrayed the character with depth and conviction, earning praise for her emotive acting and natural screen presence.[85][86][87][88] Her portrayal added a significant dimension to the film's narrative, making her a standout in the cast.[89][90][91]
Her only film in the year 2024 which was in Tamil titled Amaran along with Sivakarthikeyan produced by Kamal Hassan under Raaj Kamal Films International directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy. she played Indhu Rebecca Varghese, wife of Major Mukund Varadarajan.[92][93] Her acting in the film has been widely praised for its authenticity and ability to convey a range of complex emotions. But some critics have pointed out that Pallavi's Malayalam accent in the film was not entirely authentic, and that her character, while emotionally impactful, felt somewhat underutilized in the film. The film became a sleeper hit at the box office, emerged as the second highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024, garnering widespread critical acclaim for its engaging screenplay, based on the real life incidents revolving around veteran Indian army officer.
In 2025, she played the female lead opposite Naga Chaitanya titled Thandel, making it their second film collaboration after Love Story.[94][95]
Since establishing herself as the leading actress in South India, Pallavi will make her first official Hindi film, reportedly a love story set against the scenic beauty of Sapporo, starring alongside Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan, and directed by Sunil Pandey. The film is currently being shot in Japan, with some scenes filmed at the Sapporo Snow Festival.[96]
Film journalist Subha J Rao noted that she brings "freshness" on screen and added, "Sai Pallavi comes across as someone unafraid to flaunt her unconventional looks, offbeat film choices and lack of pretence."[100]Rediff.com placed her second in its "Top 5 Malayalam Actresses" list of 2016, with Vijay George stating that she "stole everyone’s hearts" in Premam.[101] In 2020, Pallavi became the only actress to feature in Forbes India's 30 under 30 list.[102] She stood at the 20th place in its most influential stars on Instagram in South cinema for the year 2021 list.[103]
Pallavi has once rejected a whopping ₹2 crore endorsement deal for a fairness cream brand. She cited her disapproval of the message fairness creams promote and her own preference for natural beauty as reasons for declining the offer.[104][105]
Controversy
In June 2022 in an interview with GreatAndhra, she commented that the film The Kashmir Files portrayed the killings of Kashmiri Pandits, during the 1990 exodus, and further asked if that is a religious conflict then what should be the difference between itself and cow vigilantism, referring to a recent incident where a Muslim was driving cows was beaten up and later forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram". The interview soon went viral and attracted criticism online.[106] She later issued a clarification statement on her Instagram handle that her statements in the interview were misunderstood, and that she would neither trivialize a tragedy nor be comfortable with mob lynchings.[107][108][109][110]
In another instance, an excerpt of an interview resurfaced where Pallavi expressed her opposition to violence, stating, "People in Pakistan think our army is a terrorist group. But for us, it is them. So, the perspective changes. I don't understand violence." This statement also drew significant criticism, with many calling for a boycott of her work.[111][112][113]
^Jayaram, Deepika (24 January 2017). "It's Dr Sai Pallavi now!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
