Kani Kusruti is an Indian actress and model who first gained recognition in 2009 with the film Kerala Cafe, where her performance was critically acclaimed.Kani also won the Best Actress at Kerala State Film Awards in 2020 & the BRICS Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance of Khadeeja in the film Biriyaani.
Personal details
Date of Birth : 12th Sept 1985
Age as in 2021 : 36
Place of Birth : Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Father’s Name : Maitreya Maitreyan
Mother’s Name : Jayasree AK
Theatre education : L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Residence : Mumbai
Partner : Anand Gandhi
Her critically acclaimed performance in Kerala Cafe made her a prominent face in the industry. She also acted in an award-winning short film called Memories of a Machine, directed by Shailaja Padindala. The film showcased the story about the sexual awakening of a young woman played by Kani. The film received a good response at Bangalore Queer Film Festival in 2016.
Kani Kusruti was raised by social activist parents. At a very young age, she was introduced to the theatrical and studied physical theatre for two years. Talking about getting into the film industry and personal satisfaction, Kani had earlier said, “I am not a star, I am an actor. A star is bound to work in a way that brings him/her a steady stream of roles, whereas in my case I do roles that I find interesting. In some cases I accept roles because my friends are part of the project.”
“Of late, there has been a change in the outlook towards women working in the film industry.”
She further claimed that “The working atmosphere has changed a lot, we are treated in a better way now. As for the content, at least a few films are trying to have realistic portrayals of women.”
Last year, revealing the darker side of the film industry, Kani had reportedly quit acting for a while alleging sexual demands made by filmmakers. She went on to make the shocking claims that filmmakers even approached her mom to convince her for sexual favours. After that, Kani chose to go back to theatre.
