Posted on April 22, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 620 words
| Valentine Belue
Kani Kusruti Quick Info
Height
5 ft 7 in
Weight
55 kg
Date of Birth
September 12, 1985
Zodiac Sign
Virgo
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Kani Kusruti is an Indian actress and model who has worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, English, and Marathi projects. She rose to acclaim with her performance as Zeba in the 2009 Malayalam-language anthology film named Kerala Cafe. In addition to that, she has also been cast in a wide range of shows and movies which include Biriyaani, The Dolphins, Kalam, Maharani, North 24 Kaatham, Pisaasu, Counterfeit Kunkoo, Memories of a Machine, Oru Indian Pranayakadha, Masala Republic, Karmayogi, Hotel California, and Silent Dark Eyes.
Born Name
Kani
Full Name
Kani Kusruti
Kani Kusruti in 2016 (Ayyappancs / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sun Sign
Virgo
Born Place
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Residence
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality
Education
Kani Kusruti attended Thrissur Drama School and trained under its theatre arts program, between 2005 and 2007.
She then joined L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, a school of physical theatre located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. There, she finished her theatre education by studying physical theatre for 2 years.
Occupation
Actress, Model
Family
Father – Maitreya Maitreyan (Social Activist; Has worked for, and led, several human rights movements in Kerala)
Mother – Dr. Jayasree AK (Community Health Specialist, Social Activist, Has lectured at Pariyaram Medical College, Regular guest on talk shows)
Build
Slim
Kani Kusruti as seen while posing for the camera (Kani Kusruti / Instagram)
Height
5 ft 7 in or 170 cm
Weight
55 kg or 121 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Kani Kusruti has dated –
Anand Gandhi – She has been romantically involved with Anand Gandhi, a filmmaker, entrepreneur, media producer, innovator, and systems researcher who has founded the Mumbai-based new media studio and systems think tank, Memesys Culture Lab.
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Lean frame
Religion
Atheism
Kani Kusruti taking a selfie in March 2020 (Kani Kusruti / Instagram)
Kani Kusruti Facts
She was born to rationalist parents who dropped their last names in order to erase the social hierarchy marker that comes with last names in India.
When the last name was required to fill a class 10th exam application, she came up with her last name “Kusruti” (which means “mischievous” in Malayalam). She was 15 years old at that time.
Growing up, Kani Kusruti was introduced to the Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, “a common platform for theatre practitioners”.
She then shifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur.
Kani Kusruti revealed on February 19, 2019, that she quit acting due to s*xual demands from filmmakers as well as made claims that filmmakers even approached her mom to convince her to give in to their demands. She then went back to the theatre but was unable to earn enough.
After the #MeToo Movement and initiations like Women in Cinema Collective, she has been hopeful that things would change for the better in the Malayalam film industry.
Along with 48 other notable artists in the country, Kani Kusruti wrote an open letter to Narendra Modi over incidents of lynching in the country in 2019.
Kani co-starred as Khadeeja in the critically acclaimed 2020 Malayalam-language drama film, Biriyaani, which won the NETPAC award for “Best Film” in the 20th Asiatica Film Festival in Rome as well as Jury prize for “Best Film” at Banglore International Film Festival.
For her performance in Biriyaani, she won the Kerala State Film Award for “Best Actress”.
Co-starring alongside Huma Qureshi, Sohum Shah, Amit Sial, and Inaamulhaq, Kani Kusruti appeared as Kaveri Sridharan, Rani’s secretary, in the Hindi-language drama series titled Maharani in 2021.
She identifies as a rationalist.
Featured Image by Ayyappancs / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0
