Got Into Acting to Win it for Mother

Keerthy Suresh has been declared the Best Actress at the 66th National Film Awards for her performance in Telugu film Mahanati. Suresh says she always wanted to win it for her mother.

“My mother was supposed to win the National Award for her first Malayalam movie. She was loved for her role. The movie got 10-11 national awards and she was expecting one. There were last minute changes and it didn’t happen. She always used to talk about it. I thought I should fulfill her dream and that is one of the reasons I got into acting,” says Suresh.

Suresh’s mother Menaka’s first Malayalam film was Oppol that released in 1980.

The actress, who’s currently celebrating this joyous moment with her family in Trivandrum, says she couldn’t be at a better place at this moment.

The daughter of an actress and a producer, Suresh’s role in the movie Mahanati was based on the life of legendary actress Savitri.

“Never expected something so huge when I took up this role. I was always sceptical about getting into her shoes because it was such a challenging role, I had to portray a legendary actor like her. I never thought I would be able to do this. On top of this, making it a commercial success was another task,” adds the 26-year-old actress.

Mahanati bagged two more National Awards for Best Telugu film (regional) and Best Costume.

“It’s a hat-trick. It’s the hard work of the entire team, especially costumes. A lot of effort has gone behind it,” says Suresh.

She has at least five projects lined up across languages. “It’s just the beginning,” Suresh signs off.