As a child artist, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role in her father's
Hey Ram (2000), before making her adult acting debut in the 2009
Bollywoodaction drama,
Luck. She later went on to win critical acclaim for her role in the
Walt Disney fantasy film in
Telugu,
Anaganaga O Dheerudu (2011),
Oh My Friend (2011) and her
Tamil debut
7aum Arivu (2011). After several successful films like
Gabbar Singh (2012), Balupu (2013), Yevadu (2014), Race Gurram(2014) Srimanthudu (2015) and Vedalam (2015), she established herself as one of the leading contemporary actress in Tamil and Telugu cinema. In a recent poll conducted by Chennai Times Shruti topped the list of most desirable women.[4] Alongside appearing in Tamil and Telugu films, she has also appeared in several commercially successful Hindi films, including Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (2011), Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013), Gabbar Is Back (2015) and Welcome Back(2015).
Early life
Haasan focused on cinema and music, and eventually traveled to the USA to continue to learn music at the
Musicians Institute in California, before returning to Chennai.
[8]
Career
2009–11: Debut and early career
Haasan's first appearance in a feature film was a
cameo role as the daughter of
Vallabhbhai Patel in the Tamil-Hindi bilingual
Hey Ram, based on a murder attempt of
Mahatma Gandhi, directed by her father
Kamal Haasan. After rejecting prominent film offers, most notably the lead role in
Venkat Prabhu's
Saroja, reports suggested in late 2007 that Haasan was set to make her actual acting debut in 2008 with a film opposite
Madhavan directed by
Nishikanth Kamat.
[9] Despite Madhavan admitting that the news "was premature",
[10] she eventually did sign up to the film, which was titled
Endrendrum Punnagai,
[11] only to be stalled prior to production.
[12]
Haasan eventually signed up to feature in Soham Shah's Hindi film
Luck opposite
Imran Khan in July 2008, and shot for the film for nearly a year.
[13] Imran Khan, her childhood friend, had recommended her name to the director and Haasan signed on after listening to the entire script and accepted to play a dual role in the action film.
[14] Shruti took part in action scenes during filming, while she also worked out to get a toned body for a sequence in which she appears in a
bikini in the film.
[15] The film opened in July 2009 to unanimously poor reviews from critics and took a poor opening at the box office, with critics stating that she "deserved a better launch vehicle".
[16] Reviewers were critical of her performance with
Rajeev Masand of IBN stating that she delivers "dialogues with deadpan expressions", while another critic added that she is perhaps"synthetic and fails to impress".
[17][18] Haasan then went on to appear alongiside
Blaaze in the promotional videos for
Unnaipol Oruvan and
Eenadu, the bilingual films starring her father, which she had composed the music for. She made a further appearance in a promotional video for the horror film
Hisss starring
Mallika Sherawat, where she had also sung a song composed by
Dave Kushner.
[19]
She made her
Telugu debut in January 2011, acting opposite
Siddharth in the fantasy adventure film
Anaganaga O Dheerudu directed by
Prakash Kovelamudi son of director
K. Raghavendra Rao. The film, co-produced by
Walt Disney Pictures, saw Shruti play a gypsy woman whose life coincides with a task that a blind swordsman, played by Siddharth.
[20] The film opened to positive reviews, with her performance being praised with a critic noting "Shruti looks quite attractive and makes a wonderful screen presence," while a reviewer from
Rediff.com wrote that she "looks beautiful and has a mystical aura about her".
[21][22] The film however became a commercial failure at the box office, and the film failed to capitalize on a hefty promotional campaign that had been undertaken.
Her second Hindi feature film,
Madhur Bhandarkar's romantic comedy
Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, saw her appear in an extended guest appearance alongside an ensemble cast of
Emraan Hashmi,
Ajay Devgnand
Shazahn Padamsee. The film portrayed her as Nikki Narang, the step-daughter of an ex
Miss India model, with Hashmi's character falling for both mother and daughter.
[23] Shruti's performance gained poor responses from critics with a reviewer citing that her character has been "reduced to post-interval surfacing, last-ditch glamour" whilst another labelled hers as "so fake that she offers only disappointment";
[24] however the film went on to become a commercial success at the box office.
[25]
In mid-2010, Shruti was signed by
A. R. Murugadoss to star opposite
Suriya in his next film
7aum Arivu, and the film's shoot began in June later that year.
[26] The director signed after he felt she looked the part of the scientist, mentioning that she seemed "intelligent and beautiful".
[27] Shruti played Subha Srinivasan, a young scientist in the film, who hopes to re-activate the genes of 5th century Buddhist monk
Bodhidharma and her performance in the film won appreciation from critics. The film opened to mixed reviews, but became commercially successful.
[28][29] A critic from
The Hindu noted "rarely is a heroine given near-equal footing in Tamil films," describing her as "ravishing but that she ought to work harder on spontaneity, and fine-tune her Tamil accent", but concluded "the point is the actor shows promise".
[30] Her next
Telugu release was
Oh My Friend, a romantic comedy film alongside Siddharth again, which also co-starred
Hansika Motwani and
Navdeep. The film told the story of childhood friends and that of their platonic friendship that went on in their adulthood as well and for the role Shruti Haasan went on to learn the dance of
Kuchipudi.
[31] The film opened to average reviews with several critics claiming the film evoked a sense of "déjà vu", though a reviewer noted "Shruti, on her part displays the same conviction."
[32]
2012–2015: Success and recent work
Shruti Haasan was next seen in
Aishwarya Dhanush's directorial debut
3, a romantic drama film co-starring
Dhanush. Aishwarya revealed that she had written the script with Shruti Haasan in mind but date problems meant that the film began its shoot with
Amala Paul instead. However, in a turn of events, Shruti was re-signed to play the character of Janani, and the film gained much hype prior to release due to the collaboration of herself and Aishwarya, being the daughters of the two leading contemporary Tamil actors
Kamal Haasan and
Rajinikanth as did the success of the song
Why This Kolaveri Di?. The film opened in March 2012 to positive reviews with a critic noting "Shruti Hassan has come a long way,"
[33] though the film only garnered average returns at the box office. Her second release in 2012 was
Harish Shankar's
Telugu film
Gabbar Singh, a remake of the 2010 Hindi film
Dabangg, with the version featuring her alongside
Pawan Kalyan. Shruti had signed the film in November 2011 replacing
Ileana D'Cruz who had opted out, and played the role of Bhagyalakshmi, a village girl, which had been played by
Sonakshi Sinha in the original version. The film went on to become a major commercial success at the box office and brought in more film offers for Haasan.
[34]Critics also gave her performance a favourable verdict citing that she "justifies her role" and "though she didn't have much of a role, she has left her mark."
[35][36]
In 2013, she appeared in the Telugu action film
Balupu opposite
Ravi Teja, which eventually became a "super hit" at the Indian box office.
[37] Haasan mainly received positive reviews for her performance, with critics noting that she "provides the fun in the film with glamor and verve".
[38] Later that year, Haasan made a comeback to Hindi films, with
Prabhu Deva's
Ramaiya Vastavaiya and
Nikhil Advani's
D-Day.
[39] The films emerged as moderate successes and Haasan received generally positive reviews for her performances.
Her first release of 2014, the
Telugu film
Yevadu opposite
Ram Charan Teja, emerged as a major commercial success. Her second
Telugu release of the year,
Race Gurram, had Haasan star opposite
Allu Arjun for the first time in her career. The film was released on 11 April 2014, and eventually emerged as a "blockbuster" success. Along with the rest of the film, Haasan received positive reviews for her performance, with one critic noting that she "plays her part well and looks glamorous".
[40]Haasan also had a Tamil release
Poojai opposite
Vishal and performed her first
item number in her career in the
Telugu action comedy film Aagadu featuring
Mahesh Babu and
Tamannaah in te lead roles.
2015–present
In early September 2015 she signed bilingual film
S3 starring opposite Suriya for the second time.
[44] and in mid November 2015 she signed another Telugu film
Premam opposite
Naga Chaitanya.
[45]
Other work
Singing
Shruti Haasan sang her first song aged just six in her father's
Thevar Magan in the composition of
Ilaiyaraaja. While in school, Haasan made her singing debut in the
Hindi language film,
Chachi 420, singing a duet with her father who also directed the film.
[46] Shruti sang the bilingual versions of the title theme,
Rama Ramawith her father, in
Hindi and in
Tamil for the movie
Hey Ram. The album from
Ilayaraaja, which was critically praised, won Haasan accolades for her efforts with
Screen India saying that she "has the makings of a good singer, and with some training she should go great guns."
[47]
In September 2010, Haasan collaborated with Dave Kushner for the film, Hisss.[49][50] Whilst Kushner composed the track, Shruti wrote the lyrics, sang and appeared in a promotional video for the film.[51] She recently lent her voice for a Telugu film Aagadu which was confirmed by director Srinu Vytla via Twitter .[52]Shruti sang along with veteran singer
K. J. Yesudas for the film
En Mana Vaanil (2002) under Ilaiyaraaja's music. She has sung for
Gautham Menon's
Vaaranam Aayiram under the composition of
Harris Jayaraj. As of November 2008, Haasan is also midway through her untitled debut album, which she has composed, written and sung, and is set for release in mid-2009.
[48] A further song was recorded with her voice for her
Hindi film,
Luck.
Music composing
After much speculation, Shruti Haasan was finalized as the music composer of the Tamil film
Unnaipol Oruvan, which was released in 2009.
[53] The bilingual was a remake of the successful
Hindi film,
A Wednesday!. The soundtracks of both the projects are separate. Apart from this, Shruti is also the vocalist of an alternative rock band The Extramentals.
Brand endorsements
Shruti Haasan was signed as a
brand ambassador for electrical appliances company Lloyd.
[54] She also endorses Emami Navratna cool talc.
[55]
