Kani Kusruti

Kani Kusruti is an Indian actress. She first gained recognition in 2009 with the film Kerala Cafe, where her performance was critically acclaimed.

Kani Kusruti

Image 5 of 6

Kani won the Best Actress at Kerala State Film Awards and the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance in the film Biriyaani (2020). She has since starred in the independent films All We Imagine as Light and Girls Will Be Girls (both 2024). Kani was born in Cheruvakkal, a small village in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to social activist and rationalist parents Jayasree A. K. and Maitreya Maitreyan. Her parents had dropped their last names to erase the social hierarchy marker that comes with last names in India. At 15, she invented her last name “Kusruti” (meaning “mischievous” in Malayalam) to fill in a requirement in her class 10th exam application. She grew up in Thiruvananthapuram.

Disclaimer: Image sourced from Instagram. Copyright remains with the original creator.

Leave a Comment