There’s space now for bold, disruptive, and honest storytelling: Sruthi Hariharan

For actress Sruthi Hariharan, the most visible and welcome shift in cinema today is how women are represented on screen. “There was a time, especially during my early years, when female characters were either black or white — anything but real. They were written as perfect, almost symbolic figures: the guiding light to a wayward man, expected to be cute, bubbly, or impossibly ideal. That’s all changing now. Cinema everywhere, including Kannada, is finally writing women as they are,” she says, adding that she gets to play one such character in NH 66, an upcoming road trip film with Pramod Shetty.

She also notes a long-overdue shift in how women across age groups are portrayed. “I’m happy that women in their mid-30s and beyond — a group once largely underrepresented — are finally finding space in storytelling. We’re seeing more honest, layered portrayals. There’s greater acceptance of what is natural. OTT platforms have really expanded how women are represented, and the variety is mind-blowing. This shift has also influenced cinema and reflects a broader change in how beauty is perceived. There’s less judgment now — about body types, skin colour, or fitting into a certain mould. There’s a growing comfort in simply being who you are," she says. On a personal note, Sruthi says she no longer feels pressured to conform. “It’s easier now to embrace yourself and just step out as you are. Of course, if a role demands a certain look, you commit to it. But off-screen, I’m happy being who I am,” she adds.

'Films are a form of art, but they are also a business'

Even as storytelling evolves, Sruthi is clear-eyed about the realities of the film business. “At the end of the day, it’s a business — films need to make money. As long as an honest team tells an honest story, there’s nothing wrong with expecting it to do well commercially. As artistes, we also earn from it. I’m slowly learning that balance. Most artistes are freelancers — unlike a corporate job with a steady paycheck, here you’re constantly navigating choices. I’m now an entrepreneur as well, which has exposed me to a different facet of life. But I’m learning on the job, just like I did in cinema,” she says. Sruthi also sees Kannada cinema embracing experimentation. “There’s space now for bold, disruptive, and honest storytelling. We’re seeing more real, relatable narratives — not just formula-driven films. I have five films ready, and announcements will be made soon. What excites me is that all these roles reflect where I am in life right now; they span genres, from satire to thrillers, with layered and complex characters. It’s an exciting phase. At the heart of it, I’m happy to see a more inclusive and less judgmental space — on and off screen. We’ve come a long way as an industry since I began,” she points out.





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