Anu Sithara

Between her 2013 debut in Pottas Bomb and her first major lead in 2017, Anu Sithara worked through a small role in Oru Indian Pranayakadha, a cameo as Athira in Anarkali (2015), and Happy Wedding, Campus Diary and Marupadi. Born on 21 August 1995, she went to SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta and took a B.Com from WMO Arts and Science College. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer who learned classical dance at Kerala Kalamandalam, she also performs in stage shows. Her films are mostly Malayalam, with some Tamil work. That 2017 lead was Ranjith Shankar's Ramante Edanthottam, opposite Kunchacko Boban, and it was well received. Achayans, Sarvopari Palakkaran, Aana Alaralodalaral and Captain came next, and Oru Kuprasidha Payyan, with Tovino Thomas, won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam in 2019. In Tamil she debuted as the female lead opposite Karunakaran in Podhu Nalan Karudhi (2018). Later films include Subharathri with Dileep, Mamangam, a cameo in Maniyarayile Ashokan and the Jeethu Joseph thriller 12th Man, where she played Merin. She also featured in Locked Inn, a graphic-novel-style newspaper film published by Malayala Manorama in 2020.