Hyderabad: The announcement of 66th National Award on August 9 sent Kerala's 'filmy family' in a mood of celebration as producer Suresh Kumar and yesteryear actress Maneka's daughter Keerthy Suresh has won her first National Film Award for her performance in 'Mahanati'.
Keerthy's father Suresh Kumar is one of Malayalam film industry's top notch producers while her mother, Maneka, was a hugely popular actress in the 1980s and acted in over 100 films before ending her career after marrying Kumar.
In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, an elated Keerthy dedicated the prestigious win to her mother.
"She (Maneka) missed the national award by a whisker for her performance in the Malayalam film 'Oppol'. Mom used to talk about it when I was a kid. Ever since then, I was determined to win it for her and I am glad I have been able to do it," said Keerthy.
Starting off as a child artiste, Keerthy made it big with her debut lead role in director Priyadarshana's film 'Geethanjali' in 2013. She has not looked back since then, acting not just in Malayali cinemas, but also in other South Indian films as well.
READ | 66th National Film Awards announced
As soon as her name got announced, Keerthy's residence in Thiruvananthapuram started bustling with relatives, friends and media. Amid the celebrations, Keerthy also thanked her 'Mahanati' team for keeping faith in her for such a plum role.
“Never expected the award. It is overwhelming. I am on cloud nine,” said the 26-year-old actress.
'Mahanati', the blockbuster directed by Nag Ashwin, traced the ups and downs in the personal and professional life of the late iconic southern cinema actress Savitri. The film was a critical and commercial success which opened the doors for a lot of newer genre films and directors.
Keerthy was hailed for holding her own while getting into the shoes of yesteryear stalwart. Though she replicated the original's physicality and sensitivities, Keerthy did not allowed her performance to get excessively imitative, which won her applauds from the critics and audience alike.
On a related note, Keerthy will be making her Hindi film debut opposite Ajay Devgn in Amit Sharma's directorial.
