Premam (2015)
Sai Pallavi was facing acne issues while shooting for Premam. She truly defied the odds of what an actor could be when she carried the role of Malar, a young teacher. George (Nivin pauly), her student admires her from the very first day and falls in love with her. She had one of the most significant parts, despite not being the one the hero marries. Malar with a heavy heart attends George’s marriage and reminisces her memories with him. This scene left all of us teary eyed. There wasn’t a scene where we could point out she was acting, she was so natural despite Premam being her first movie.
Kali (2016)
Kali was Sai Pallavi’s second movie as lead actress, she took a one month break from her studies to work on this movie. Kali sees her play the role of Anjali, a happy girl who is married to Siddharth (Dulquer Salmaan), who has extreme anger issues. Her character was not just damsel in distress, she had to face a misogynistic society. An innocent and naïve Anjali had to confront her fears and drive on a road which was not much taken, knowing someone is following her while her husband’s life is in danger. Anjali’s fear, and later, rage was palpable on the big screen. Once again Sai Pallavi proved she is a fine actor.
Paava kadhaigal (2020)
Paava Kadhaigal is an anthology series which was released on Netflix. Sai Pallavi played the character of Sumathi in the segment Oor Iravu. Mom-to-be Sumathi is happily reunited with her estranged family in her village as the series begins, after she eloped and married Hari (Hari Krishnan), a boy from a lower caste. Sumathi and Hari has been away for years leaving their families behind. The struggle Sumathi undergoes inside a dark, confined room made us all cry, cry and only cry!. Her character carries guilt, curiosity, yearning and acceptance which makes it unique and complex. Sai Pallavi nailed her character as Sumathi.
Shyam Singha Roy (2021)
Sai Pallavi plays the role of Maithreyi, a devadasi whom Shyam (Nani) falls in love with. The girl next door all of a sudden took a historical character and stunned us with her performance. The dialogues she spoke or the way she carried herself while confronting Mahadev is impeccable. With her acting she effortlessly brought the much needed intensity to the character. Her dance moves and her fiery look gave us goosebumps.
Gargi (2022)
The struggle of Gargi (Sai Pallavi), a teacher, to establish her father’s innocence with the help of a lawyer who has never attended a real case for once in a courtroom. Sai Pallavi, who is willing to fight back despite having the entire world against her, is the star of the movie. Without making any false notes in her performance, she successfully conveys the wide range of emotions that Gargi experiences throughout the movie. She allows us to glimpse Gargi’s untold and unheard emotions under her thin exterior and compels us to support the character during every stage of her struggle. It’s not Gargi’s win; it’s Sai Pallavi’s win!
