# Shruti (actress)
**Shruti** (ಶ್ರುತಿ; born Girija, 1975) is an Indian actress, television personality and politician known for her work in [Kannada cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/kannada-cinema), where she rose to fame as a leading heroine in the 1990s and later moved into prominent supporting roles.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/celebs/shruti.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and date | Girija, born 1975[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/celebs/shruti.html) |
| Screen name | Given by actor-director Dwarakish, who renamed her after the title of his film *Shruti* (1990)[2](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/sandalwood-actress-shruti-talks-over-dwarakish-grg-sc2nxf) |
| Career scale | More than 150 films as a heroine; her 175th film, *Mother*, was launched in June 2026[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html) • [4](https://kannadascreens.com/2026/06/11/shruth-is-a-mother-who-fights-to-protect-her-family/) |
| State awards | Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress twice, for *Aagatha* and *Gowdru*; Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for *Kalki* (1996)[5](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/aarathi-tara-kalpana-actresses-with-the-most-karnataka-state-award-wins-094903.html) |
| Other languages | Three films each in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam[6](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/gallery/entertainment/shruthi-actress-other-language-movies-list-san-tixparl) |
| Television | Winner of *Bigg Boss Kannada* season 3[7](https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/kannada-actress-shruthi-celebrates-her-birthday-in-tirupati/articleshow/86321543.cms) |
## Name and early career
Shruti entered films as a teenager. She made her acting debut at the age of 14, playing a supporting role in *Nambidre Nambi Bitre Bidi* (1990), and was at first credited as Priyadarshini.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/kannada-actress-shruthi-krishna-kottaram-veettile-apputtan-ambili-twin-mothers-family-10761350/) • [6](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/gallery/entertainment/shruthi-actress-other-language-movies-list-san-tixparl) In her own account, she first faced a film camera while she was in the ninth grade, taking on a small job her father arranged for her; acting was her parents' aspiration rather than her own.[9](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/actress-shruti-interview-35-years-in-kannada-film-industry-gvd/articleshow-omypp8u)
The name Shruti came from the producer/actor/director [Dwarakish](https://www.edgepedia.org/dwarakish). He was casting for his film *Shruti* and, according to Shruti, she told him she had not acted in any film even though she had already appeared in *Aasegobba Meesegobba*, so that she would be introduced as a new actress. Dwarakish felt that Girija lacked the right sound, and told her that if the film's title and her name matched, it would work well; he therefore named her after the film.[2](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/sandalwood-actress-shruti-talks-over-dwarakish-grg-sc2nxf) Filmibeat's biography records the same sequence: a supporting role in Shivarajkumar's *Aasegobba Meesegobba*, followed by the lead in Dwarakish's *Shruti*.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/celebs/shruti.html) After the film became a success, she was known in the industry simply as Shruti.[6](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/gallery/entertainment/shruthi-actress-other-language-movies-list-san-tixparl)
## 1990s stardom and awards
Through the 1990s Shruti became one of Kannada cinema's leading heroines. She has said that by the time of K. V. Jayaram's *Ranjith*, her kind of roles had become a brand, and that when *Karpoorada Gombe* released, young women came to shooting locations to cook for her; a 100-foot cutout of her stood outside the Majestic theater in Bengaluru.[9](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/actress-shruti-interview-35-years-in-kannada-film-industry-gvd/articleshow-omypp8u)
**Awards.** She won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress twice, for *Aagatha* and for *Gowdru* (2004), and her performance in [K. Balachander](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-balachander)'s Tamil film *Kalki* (1996) earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress.[5](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/aarathi-tara-kalpana-actresses-with-the-most-karnataka-state-award-wins-094903.html) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/kannada-actress-shruthi-krishna-kottaram-veettile-apputtan-ambili-twin-mothers-family-10761350/) IMDb lists a 2002 Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress (Kannada) for *Gattimela* (2001) and a 1996 Tamil Nadu State award win for *Kalki*.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820314/awards/)
She also worked outside Kannada, in three Tamil, three Telugu and three Malayalam films; her Malayalam roles included Devika Menon in *Oru Mattram* (1997) with [Mammootty](https://www.edgepedia.org/mammootty) and Tilakan, and Ambili in *Kottaram Veettile Apputtan*, the role by which Malayalam audiences know her best.[6](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/gallery/entertainment/shruthi-actress-other-language-movies-list-san-tixparl) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/kannada-actress-shruthi-krishna-kottaram-veettile-apputtan-ambili-twin-mothers-family-10761350/)
## Transition to supporting roles
After more than 150 films as a heroine, Shruthi moved to important supporting and character parts, a shift she describes as natural with age and experience: "Embracing these pivotal roles is like embracing playing the heroine."[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html) Recent credits include *Rathnan Prapancha* (2021) as Yellavva, *Bhajarangi 2* (2021) as Alamelamma, and *Kaatera* (2023) as Kumari, the sister of Darshan's title character, for which she was nominated for the [Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-supporting-actress) (Kannada) and won the Chittara Star Awards and IIFA Utsavam Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kannada).[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html) In the upcoming *Maadeva* she plays the main antagonist, a role she says she loved.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html)
Her connection with Darshan goes back to *Ellara Mane Dosenu* (2001), in which he played her younger brother and a villain; she has praised his growth as a star since then.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html)
## Mother, her 175th film
In June 2026, *Mother*, her 175th film, was launched with a muhurtam at the Bande Mahakali temple in Bengaluru, with Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar sounding the clap and Vinod Prabhakar as chief guest.[4](https://kannadascreens.com/2026/06/11/shruth-is-a-mother-who-fights-to-protect-her-family/) • [11](https://publictv.in/mother-actress-shrutis-175th-film-launched/) Written and directed by Rakesh Somanna and produced by Aarathi and K Sathish Chandra, the film tells of an illiterate woman from Mandya who fights to protect her family from adverse circumstances; the team says Shruthi appears in a raw, rugged avatar audiences have not seen before.[4](https://kannadascreens.com/2026/06/11/shruth-is-a-mother-who-fights-to-protect-her-family/) • [12](https://www.kannadaprabha.com/cinema/news/2026/Jun/13/actor-shruti-begins-work-on-175th-film-mother-vinod-prabhakar-hails-her-as-unmatched-talent) Shruthi asked for a workshop before shooting, the first time in her career she had done so, and Vinod Prabhakar, who called her unmatched, recalled her long association with the industry.[12](https://www.kannadaprabha.com/cinema/news/2026/Jun/13/actor-shruti-begins-work-on-175th-film-mother-vinod-prabhakar-hails-her-as-unmatched-talent)
## Television and politics
Shruthi competed in *Bigg Boss Kannada* season 3 and emerged the winner.[7](https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/kannada-actress-shruthi-celebrates-her-birthday-in-tirupati/articleshow/86321543.cms) She has also entered politics, saying she did so out of a wish to give something back to the people who raised her to this stage, and that she now works as a party worker.[9](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/actress-shruti-interview-35-years-in-kannada-film-industry-gvd/articleshow-omypp8u) Her daughter Gauri is preparing to enter the film industry as an actress.[9](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/actress-shruti-interview-35-years-in-kannada-film-industry-gvd/articleshow-omypp8u)
## References
1. [ಶೃತಿ (Shruti): biography and filmography, Filmibeat Kannada](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/celebs/shruti.html)
2. [ನನಗೆ ಶ್ರುತಿ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರು, ಜನಪ್ರೀತಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ದ್ವಾರಕೀಶ್ ಅಣ್ಣ: ನಟಿ ಶ್ರುತಿ, Asianet Suvarna News](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/sandalwood-actress-shruti-talks-over-dwarakish-grg-sc2nxf)
3. [Shruthi: Darshan's evolution as a star is commendable, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/interviews/2023/Dec/20/shruthidarshans-evolution-as-a-star-is-commendable-50554.html)
4. [Shruth is a 'Mother' who fights to protect her family, KannadaScreens](https://kannadascreens.com/2026/06/11/shruth-is-a-mother-who-fights-to-protect-her-family/)
5. [Actresses with the most Karnataka state award wins, Filmibeat Kannada](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/aarathi-tara-kalpana-actresses-with-the-most-karnataka-state-award-wins-094903.html)
6. [Shruthi actress other-language movies list, Asianet Suvarna News](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/gallery/entertainment/shruthi-actress-other-language-movies-list-san-tixparl)
7. [Kannada actress Shruthi celebrates her birthday in Tirupati, Vijay Karnataka](https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/kannada-actress-shruthi-celebrates-her-birthday-in-tirupati/articleshow/86321543.cms)
8. [Two mothers, 150+ films, 3 State Awards: The journey of Kannada star Shruthi Krishna, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/kannada-actress-shruthi-krishna-kottaram-veettile-apputtan-ambili-twin-mothers-family-10761350/)
9. [Actress Shruti interview, 35 years in Kannada film industry, Asianet Suvarna News](https://kannada.asianetnews.com/sandalwood/actress-shruti-interview-35-years-in-kannada-film-industry-gvd/articleshow-omypp8u)
10. [Shruti – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820314/awards/)
11. [ಮದರ್: ನಟಿ ಶ್ರುತಿಯ 175ನೇ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಚಾಲನೆ, Public TV](https://publictv.in/mother-actress-shrutis-175th-film-launched/)
12. [175ನೇ ಚಿತ್ರ 'ಮದರ್'ನಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ಪಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಟಿ ಶ್ರುತಿ, Kannada Prabha](https://www.kannadaprabha.com/cinema/news/2026/Jun/13/actor-shruti-begins-work-on-175th-film-mother-vinod-prabhakar-hails-her-as-unmatched-talent)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Kannada film actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license