Happy Birthday Keerthy Suresh: A look at life after Mahanati for the actor

Actor Keerthy Suresh reinvented herself when she played late yesteryear southern star Savitri in Mahanati, and her performance fetched her National Award. Despite being initially judged for being cast to play the legendary Savitri in the biopic, Keerthy stunned everyone with her award-winning performance. As she turned 27 on Thursday, here’s a look at her upcoming films and what sets them apart.

Penguin

The first look poster of Penguin, which is being produced by Karthik Subbaraj, was unveiled on the occasion of Keerthy’s birthday. The poster features Keerthy as a pregnant woman and it can be sensed from her profile that she’s sad. Tipped to be a horror-thriller, the film will see Keerthy take revenge but not via human form. Apparently, she gave her nod to the project after hearing two lines of the story as she was quite moved by the core plot. Tipped to be a female-centric project, the film will see Keerthy in a very dark but emotional role. She’s currently on the verge of wrapping up shoot for this project which is being predominantly shot in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.

Miss India

Miss India will be Keerthy’s next release in Telugu. It is rumoured that it’s for this project Keerthy shed over 15 kilos and it was quite evident in the teaser which featured her in a slim avatar. The makers haven’t revealed anything yet about Keerthy’s character in the film. However, there are reports that indicate that the she might be seen playing a model. Directed by Narendra Nath, the film also stars Jagapathi Babu, Naveen Chandra, Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Bhanushree Mehra, Sumanth S, Poojitha Ponnada, Kamal Kamaraju and Nadiya in crucial roles. Shot predominantly across Europe, Miss India will be another female centric project that’ll be headlined by Keerthy.

Nagesh Kukunoor’s sports romedy

This yet-untitled film will mark ace filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s Telugu debut. Apparently, Keerthy had signed this project while she was working on Mahanati, and she will soon begin the second schedule. Tipped to be a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of football, the film also stars Aadi Pinisetty. Here’s another film that will see Keerthy leading from the front and has a lot of scope for performance. On taking up the project, Nagesh had said: “I’m terrified doing a Telugu film. It’s my mother tongue but I never learned to read and write in Telugu. It’s one of my biggest regret. So every time I was either offered a Telugu film or thought about it, I was always terrified. It’s like delving into a new language. I knew whenever I do direct; I would have to do a lot of homework.”

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Maidaan

Keerthy is all set for her Bollywood debut opposite Ajay Devgn in a film titled Maidaan, which traces the life and time of Indian football player and coach, Syed Abdul Rahim. To be directed by Amit Sharma of Badhaai Ho fame and produced by Boney Kapoor, the biopic will also chronicle our national football team’s glory from 1950 to 1963. While Ajay will essay Syed’s role, Keerthy will play his wife in the film. On bagging the role and finally making inroads into Bollywood, Keerthy said: “I am elated and honoured to be a part of such a great story. This is a film that will make every Indian proud. I believe this is a story that doesn’t belong to any specific region or language of India but is a great Indian story that the world should know.” Keerthy is fluent in Hindi and confident that she will have no issues picking up dialogues.

Ponniyin Selvan

All eyes are on the official announcement of Mani Ratnam’s film adaptation of Tamil epic novel Ponniyin Selvan. Keerthy Suresh is believed to have bagged an important role in the project which also stars Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Shetty, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Amala Paul among others. The pre-production work on Ponniyin Selvan has already commenced on the project. The makers are in the process of erecting huge sets to shoot crucial portions of the film. Ponniyin Selvan tells the story of Arulmozhivarman, one of the kings of the Chola dynasty during the 10th and 11th centuries. It’s worth mentioning that filmmaker Mani Ratnam has been planning to adapt Ponniyin Selvan as a film for many years.

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