Shruti
Shruti in 2016
Chairperson, Karnataka Women’s Development Corporation
In office 2008 – June 2009
Succeeded by	D. S. Aswath
Chairperson, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation
In office January 2020 – July 2021
Personal details
Born	Girija (1975-09-18)18 September 1975 (age 50) Hassan,Karnataka, India
Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (2008–13, 2014–present)
Other political affiliations	Karnataka Janata Paksha (2013–14)
Spouses	S. Mahendar ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2009)​ Chakravarthy Chandrachud ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2014)​
Relatives	Sharan (brother)
Occupation	Actress politician

Shruti (bornGirija; 18 September 1975), is an Indian actress, television personality and politician. She is known for her work predominantly inKannada language films and in a fewTelugu,Tamil,Malayalam,Hindi and Tulu films. She has appeared in more than 160 films, out of which she has been cast in leading role in over 130 films. More than half of the movies are female-oriented, thereby making her one of the very few actresses in Indian cinema to have been successfully cast in more number of heroine oriented movies. She has won threeKarnataka State Film Awards, oneTamil Nadu State Film Awards and fourFilmfare Awards South in her illustrious career spanning over 35 years. She is considered one of the most successful and legendary actresses of Kannada cinema and film critics often position her in line with the legendary Kalpana, Manjula and Aarathi. She is fondly called as Kannadada Manemagalu, Kannera Rani (Queen of Tears), Emotional Queen, Karpoorada Gombe and Punching Queen (in Television).

Shruti was among the leading actresses in Kannada cinema during the 1990s and early 2000s who featured in the lead roles in several commercially successful, female centric and critically acclaimed films such asShruthi (1990),Muddina Maava (1993),Aagatha (1995),Karpoorada Gombe,Kalki (both 1996),Gowdru (2004),Rama Shama Bhama (2005),Akka Thangi (2008) andPuttakkana Highway (2011). In the later years, she switched to character roles and won laurels for her performances inKalpana (2012),Gombegala Love (2013),Rathnan Prapancha,Bhajarangi 2 (both 2021),Kaatera (2023) andMaadeva (2025). She is the only actress in Kannada cinema to have been portrayed successfully in all sorts of roles such as the emotional roles, comedy roles and villain. She is the only actress inKannada cinema (perhaps in the entire Indian cinema) to have been recognised as "Manemagalu". People consider her more of a girl next door rather than as a superstar actress.

Shruti is the sister of actorSharan. In 2016, she won the third season of the reality television showBigg Boss Kannada.^[1] She has continued to appear in Television as a judge for reality shows such asMajaa Talkies andKwaatle Kitchen.

Shruti joined theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2008. She was made the chairperson of the Karnataka Women and Child Development Corporation before being removed in 2009. In 2013, she joined theKarnataka Janata Paksha which eventually merged in 2014 with BJP. She also served as chief secretary ofBharatiya Janata Party's women's wing in itsKarnataka cadre. In 2020, she was appointed as the Chairperson of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation.

Shruti was born as Girija on 18 September 1975 into a family of Kannada theatre artists inHassan, Karnataka, India. Her father J. V. Krishna owned a theatre company and married twin sisters Radha and Rukmini who had joined his troupe as artists. Shruti's elder brotherSharan is a leading actor in Kannada cinema, while her sister Usha is younger to her. Since they have two mothers, the subject about who is their biological mother has generated curiosity among the media and public over the years. However, both Sharan and Shruti have asserted that they consider both to be their biological mother.^[2] Shruti spent most of her early life inPuttur where she pursued her basic schooling.

At the age of 14, Shruti landed in her first film in a supporting role in S. Umesh's romantic comedy film,Nambidre Nambi Bitre Bidi, released in 1990. She was credited as Priyadarshini by the makers so as not to be confused with another actressGirija Lokesh. Her next role came through another comedy film,Aasegobba Meesegobba released in the same year where she played sister to actorShiva Rajkumar. However, her breakthrough came in the same year with the filmShruthi, which was directed byDwarakish who rechristened her name as Shruti.^[3] She played the titular role of a struggling singer who is aided by four men to achieve her dreams. The film, which was a remake of Tamil film,Pudhu Vasantham, had a successful theatrical run of over 25 weeks.

Following this, Shruti featured in a series of comedy films out of whichGauri Ganesha,Punda Prachanda (both 1991),Bombat Hendthi,Edurmaneli Ganda Pakkadmaneli Hendthi (both 1992) were successful projects. She expanded into Tamil and Telugu cinema in 1992 withDevar Veettu Ponnu andPellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha respectively. She followed this by playing second lead roles in films such asC. B. I. Shiva,Sindhoora Thilaka,Shambhavi,Ksheera Sagara andDakshayini. She later took up family drama films such asAlimayya,Sri Durga Pooje,Midida Hrudayagalu andMuddina Maava, all released in 1993.

In 1994, she appeared in two films oppositeV. Ravichandran,Rasika, directed by Dwarakish, andJaana. Her other notable performance came throughRashmi in the same year. She went on to win her firstFilmfare Award for her performance in the drama film,Hettha Karulu. In 1995, She won her firstKarnakata State Film Award and second Filmfare Award for her critically acclaimed role inAagatha, directed bySuresh Heblikar. During the same period, she shared screen with actorVishnuvardhan in films such asTime Bomb (1994),Thumbida Mane andMojugara Sogasugara (both 1995).

In 1996, Shruti worked withK. Balachander for the Tamil filmKalki, where she played the lead titular role alongsideRahman,Prakash Raj andGeetha.^[4] Her performance in the film was critically acclaimed, earning her theFilmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil and theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. In Kannada, she had seven releases out of whichKarpoorada Gombe andThavarina Thottilu made an impact with the audience. She was typecasted in tear-jerker films during this period earning her the "Tragedy queen" status in Kannada cinema. In 1997, she expanded intoMalayalam cinema with theSathyan Anthikkad filmOral Mathram oppositeMammootty and continued withRajasenan's romantic comedy filmKottaram Veettile Apputtan (1998) oppositeJayaram. Both these films were successful at the box-office and her roles were critically acclaimed.

She attracted a lot of women to theatres in 90s. With more than half of her movies being female oriented, they showcased the struggles of Indian women. She is regarded as "Kannadada manemagalu" for the same reason. She ruled the industry in 90s and earned the superstar status.

Shruti continued to work with Vishnuvardhan in films such asVeerappa Nayaka (1999) andSoorappa (2000) which were blockbusters. In 2001, she teamed up with her then husbandS. Mahendar by starring opposite him inGattimela. Her performance was well received and earned her a nomination at the Filmfare Awards. After few unsuccessful projects, she appeared inGowdru (2004) which turned out to be her 100th release in which she played the sister of the character played byAmbareesh.^[5] Her performance won laurels and earned her the second Karnataka State Film Award. In 2005, she starred oppositeKamal Hassan in the multi-starrerRama Shama Bhama, a remake of Tamil hit,Sathi Leelavathi (1995). Her performance was acclaimed; earning nominations at the various film awards including Filmfare. Her last pairing with Vishnuvardhan, before his demise, came through the filmSirivantha in 2006.

Navashakthi Vaibhava, filmed in 2003, had a delayed release in 2008.^[6][7] In 2011, Shruti's biggest critical acclaimed role came throughNagathihalli Chandrashekar's novel based filmPuttakkana Highway directed byB. Suresha. She played the lead role of Puttakka, a widowed farmer who fights against the system when her land is threatened by construction. A critic fromThe Times of India reviewed the film by commenting "Hats off to Shruthi for her brilliant portrayal of Puttakka, a rustic woman.^[8]The film won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada for the year 2010–2011^[9] and Shruti earned several award nominations for her portrayal of the character.

From 2012, Shruti switched over from lead to character roles in films such asRambo and the comedy-horrorKalpana. The latter won her several laurels and appreciations including a nomination atUdaya Film Awards andSuvarna Film Awards. In 2013, the filmsGombegala Love andBachchan were noted for her performances. Later she featured inDandupalya film series in itssecond andthird instalments. She took up lead actor's mother roles in films such asCollege Kumar (2017),Rathnan Prapancha (2021) and later inKrishnam Pranaya Sakhi (2024).

Her character role Alamelamma brought her laurels in theShiva Rajkumar starrerBhajarangi 2 in 2021. In 2023, she was noticed again for her character role inDarshan starrerKaatera which earned her a nomination at Filmfare Award for supporting actress. InVidhi (Article) 370, set in the backdrop of terror activities inJammu and Kashmir, her first release of 2023, Shruti played Preethi, the wife of an army officer who needs aheart transplant.^[10] InVeeram, she played Saraswathi, the protective sister of the protagonist played byPrajwal Devaraj. The reviewer forCinema Express wrote: "Shruti's role brings that emotional connection among siblings and all the sentiment is brought through her."^[11]

In 2025, she was part of an ensemble cast in the filmMaadeva where her performance as Kamalakshi stood out.^[12] She was also seen in commercially successful filmEkka and later inJust Married.

Shruti made her small screen debut in the Malayalam serialSthreethvam aired onSurya TV during 2005. Also, her Tamil daily serial,Karthigai Pengal aired onSun TV from July 2012. Shruti was a contestant in the reality television showBigg Boss Kannada 3, winning the season, in January 2016.^[13] In 2017, she appeared as a judge in the comedy television seriesMajaa Bharatha.^[14] In 2025, she appeared as a judge in the comedy cookery showKwaatle Kitchen aired inColors Kannada.

Shruti was married to film directorS. Mahendar for 11 years and they divorced in 2009.^{[citation needed]} Post her divorce she was linked withChakravarthy Chandrachud, a journalist-turned-director. They got married in June 2013 and divorced a year later.^[15]

• All shows are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toShruti.

• Shruti atIMDb
• Sruthi at MSI

• Living people
• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Actresses from Karnataka
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
• People from Hassan
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
• Karnataka State Film Award winners
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• 21st-century Indian actresses
• Indian television actresses
• Indian film actresses
• Actresses in Kannada television
• Actresses in Malayalam television
• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Actresses in Tamil television
• IIFA Utsavam winners
• Bigg Boss Kannada winners

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