Keerthy Suresh.
She has been and is one of my most favourite actors till date. I fell in love with her personality long before her National Award winning potrayal of Savitri-Amma in the magnificent Mahanati or Nadigaiyar Thilagam, after which I was floored to say the least.
One look at her filmography and you could easily tell that she had to work hard to make her mark, without using any of the resources she had to her advantage (not that anyone would have complained even if she had - they would have just labelled her a star kid - making her unassuming personality even more of a positive shock to those who fret that star kids have it easy...spoiler- they do NOT).
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| The iconic Mayabazaar scene |
There is something about her, be it her charismatic smile, childlike demeanour, fun loving spirit or magnetic personality. She seems to be one of the most down to earth persons I have ever seen, yet I have never interacted with her in real life (hope to, some day!) What do I mean to say with all this rambling? Well, consider her background. Producer father, established actress mother, well connected links in the film industry- I'm sure you can get what I'm hinting at.
Yet one look at her and you could have never guessed her parentage or lineage. She does not bank on her parents for her success, she is no diva, she has no pomp and show about her, she lets her work speak for itself and she has clearly had her struggle in the beginning to make a mark in the film industry.
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| Girl Next Door |
One look at her filmography and you could easily tell that she had to work hard to make her mark, without using any of the resources she had to her advantage (not that anyone would have complained even if she had - they would have just labelled her a star kid - making her unassuming personality even more of a positive shock to those who fret that star kids have it easy...spoiler- they do NOT).
It is a moment of pride when you realise that she is well known by her own name and not as the-daughter-of-so-and-so.
One look at her body transformations is enough to prove that she is just like us, a sensitive soul who is not completely oblivious to trolls or critics and who works hard to deliver the expectations of her role in a film, which makes her even more relatable.
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| Nailed it in this frame and in every frame |
She has dreams just like us, to travel the world, to have a pet, to enjoy family time, to make and keep friends, to enjoy life to the fullest etc. She has access to the many finer things in life. She is a sight for the sore eyes of paparazzi and fans alike. She is adored by many and doesn't really have haters, just trolls (who at best, can only maximise on her expressions by meme-ing them, nothing else).
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| This is actually an awesome one! |
All of this could have easily turned her head, yet it didn't. She remains grounded, she keeps it real, she looks like just another ordinary human being whose career happens to be in films and she even takes the time to genuinely interact with her fans! (Check out her FanArt Friday stories on Instagram; they are very personalised words of appreciation and not just any random thank you). She is a very relatable persona who wears her heart on her sleeves and who loves to express her happiness through social media (like most of us).
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| Cute Attack! |
Whatever role she plays, be it the naive looking, ever philanthrophic and proud Savitri-garu, the heavily pregnant, smart, depressed yet ever hopeful Rhythm, the fun spirited Kambathu Ponnu Sembaruthi, the stereotypical Karthika or the highly relatable, emotionally vulnerable, innocent, hot headed and anxious doctor Kavya, she consistently improves her performances and gives her everything to each role she plays, giving even the most one dimensional roles some amount of depth and turning the most impactful, chunky roles into masterpieces. She can bear the weight of a film with elan, her acting skills are constantly improving and she puts her trademark smirk and infectious, endearing energy in each role she plays.
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| Her eyes are enough to convey emotions |
Of course, this is what I perceive through news articles, her interviews, her Instagram page and meme pages. I have no idea of her real life persona and I don't need to know. I am content and happy in knowing that the perception I have of my idol is an enough inspiration for me to be just as calm, composed, dignified, grounded, childish, curious and charismatic as she seems to be.
I don't know if this is her true nature (though it definitely looks like it), I don't know of her preferences, tastes or even the causes she supports and again, I don't need to, what would I do with it anyway!
I am just another of her millions of admirers and it is her persona that gives me the assurance that no matter how high I fly, being grounded and rooted is still a possibility and the best choice I can have.
To Keerthy, if you ever happen to read this, I am a huge fan & admirer! I wish you all the love and abundance you deserve and I wish to meet you in real life one day. Till that happens (if it ever will), I'll keep admiring you from afar :)
(Disclaimer: This is my perspective of my thalaivi Keerthy and it may or not resonate with yours, if you have one. Feel free to comment your views but please don't stoop to the stupidity of hating or the immaturity of trolling. Keep your comments polite. Thank you for reading)
//all images have been linked to their sources//