Suchitra Pillai (born 27 August 1970)[1][non-primary source needed] is an Indian actress, model, anchor and VJ. A graduate in electronic engineering from the Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering, Bandra (West), Mumbai,[2] she chose a career in arts over engineering.[3] Apart from movie roles, including Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Page 3 (2005), Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), and Fashion (2008), Suchitra is a singer in the Indi pop and rock genre with an album Such is Life released in 2011. [4] She is also an accomplished theater artist.
Suchitra Pillai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 August 1970 |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse |
Lars Kjeldsen (m. 2005) |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | Sony Music |
Personal life
editWhen Suchitra was 20 she married Pavan Malik and later divorced. In 2005, Suchitra married Lars Kjeldsen, an engineer from Denmark, whom she met at a mutual friend's house. They have one daughter.[5]
Film career
editWhile in school in Mumbai, Pillai was very much interested in theatre but graduated with a B.E. in Electronics Engineering in 1991.[6] She left for London soon after, where she became involved in a children's theatre.[4] She started acting in movies in 1993 when she was offered her first role in a French film Le prix d'une femme as well as a role in the English film Guru in Seven. She has also appeared in the music videos of “Arranged Marriage” (1993) by Apache Indian and “Morning Glory (Oasis song)” (1995) by Oasis (band).
Pillai then returned to Mumbai and was offered a job as a veejay. She first appeared in a music video by Apache Indian and then in Bally Sagoo's "Dil cheez hai kya" video.[7] She has also forayed into television with shows like Simply South, Red Alert, Hip Hip Hurray, Beintehaa, Rishta.com, and Cabaret Cabaret. Pillai appears in the 2016 Hollywood film The Other Side of the Door,[8] and in the 2017 indie film The Valley, for which she won the Best Actress award at both The Long Island International Film Festival[9] and The Milan International Filmmakers Festival in 2017.[10]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Le prix d'une femme | French film | |
| 1998 | Guru in Seven | English film | |
| 2001 | Everybody Says I'm Fine | Jessica | Hindi film |
| Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai | A Reporter | ||
| Dil Chahta Hai | Priya | ||
| 2003 | Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II | Shalu | |
| Satta | |||
| 88 Antop Hill | Mrs. Antara Shelar | ||
| 2005 | Page 3 | Fashion Designer Sonal Roy | |
| 2006 | Shiva | Manasi | |
| Karkash | Manasi | ||
| Pyaar Ke Side Effects | Anjali/Dracula | ||
| 2007 | Marigold: An Adventure in India | Rani | |
| Laaga Chunari Mein Daag | Michelle | ||
| 2008 | Fashion | Avantika Sarin | |
| Dasvidaniya | Suchi | ||
| 2010 | Dulha Mil Gaya | Jasmine | |
| 2016 | Fitoor | Reporter | |
| 2016 | The Other Side Of The Door | Piki | |
| 2016 | Oppam | School Principal | Malayalam film |
| 2017 | The Valley | Roopa | |
| 2021 | Cold Case | Zara Zacchai, a blind occult researcher | Malayalam movie released in Amazon Prime |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Channel | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Ghar Jamai | Subbulakshmi | Zee TV | Special Appearance only in Episode no 32 |
| 1998 | Hip Hip Hurray | Alaknanda Ma'am | ||
| 1998 | X Zone | Kavya | Episode-96 | |
| 2001 | Pradhan Mantri (Zee) | Journalist | ||
| 2003-2005 | Koi Dil Main Hai | Sony TV | ||
| 2013 | 24 | Mehek Ahuja | Colors TV | |
| 2013–2014 | Beintehaa | Surraiya Usman Abdullah | ||
| 2014 | Bigg Boss 8 | Guest | Reality show | |
| 2016-17 | Ek Shringaar-Swabhiman | Sandhya Singhania |
Web series
edit| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Romil & Jugal | Bhagyalaxmi Subramaniam | ALTBalaji | |
| 2018 | Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain | Sheena | ALTBalaji and ZEE5 | |
| 2019 | Made in Heaven (TV series) | Mani Pandey | Amazon Prime | |
| 2020 | Betaal | Commander Tyagi | Netflix | Horror |
| 2020 | Bebaakee | Dana Alqaazi | ALTBalaji | Hindi Web series |
| 2021 | Call My Agent: Bollywood | Suchitra | Netflix | Hindi Web series |
| 2021 | Hello Mini 3 | KD Maa | MX Player | [11] |
| 2022 | Bestseller | Sukanya | Amazon Prime | Hindi Web series |
| 2022 | Eternally Confused and Eager for Love | Ray's mother | Netflix | Hindi Web series |
| 2023 | Rana Naidu | Tara | Web series | |
| 2024 | Big Girls Don't Cry | Khanna Ma'am | Prime Video | Hindi series |
| Call Me Bae | Neel's Mother |
Singing career
editPillai made her debut as a singer with her first song in the album Mere Liye in 2001.[12][13] Later, she sang few other songs.
Dubbing career
editIn 2007, she performed her first dub-over role in the Hindi version of the American movie, Live Free or Die Hard- Maggie Q's role of Mah Linh.[14] Since then she has dubbed several other roles in Hindi; the parts of Angelina Jolie (Beowulf), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), as Hela for Cate Blanchett in the Hindi version of Thor: Ragnarok, and most recently in the 2020 Netflix original October Faction as Deloris Allen.
Dubbing roles
editLive action television series
edit| Program title | Actor | Character | Dub Language | Original Language | Episodes | Original airdate | Dubbed airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sandman | Gwendoline Christie | Lucifer Morningstar | Hindi | English | 2022–Present |
Live action films
edit| Film title | Actress | Character | Dub Language | Original Language | Original Year Release | Dub Year Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Free or Die Hard[15] | Maggie Q | Mai Linh | Hindi | English | 2007 | 2007 | |
| The Dark Night | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Rachel Dawes | Hindi | English | 2008 | 2008 | Katie Holmes portrayed this character in Batman Begins and was voiced by Neshma Chemburkar in Hindi. |
| Thor: Ragnarok | Cate Blanchett | Hela | Hindi | English | 2017 | 2017 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "My Birthday is on 27 August". Twitter suchitra pillai.
- ^ "Fr. CRCE Alumni Spotlight".
- ^ "Metro Plus Kochi : Brains and Beauty". The Hindu. 9 April 2005. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Suchi's life and her many loves". The Hindu. 23 September 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ Chavda, Sanaya (11 November 2011). "Suchitra Pillai and Lars Kjeldsen is a perfect pair". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "Alumni Spotlights". alumni.frcrce.ac.in. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "Suchitra Pillai: On a high note".
- ^ "The Other Side of the Door reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "2017 LIIFE Nominees & Winners". The Long Island International Film Expo. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Suchitra Pillai on cloud nine with award for 'The Valley' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Hello Mini 3 | Watch Hello Mini New Season 3 All Latest Episodes Online - MX Player". www.mxplayer.in. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Mere Liye (2001) - Hindi Album, Tracklist, Full Album Details and more". ZG Discography. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Mere Liye (2001) - Hindi Album, Tracklist, Full Album Details and more (Archived)". ZG Discography. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ MumbaiMirror[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Mohan-Suchitra dub for 'Die Hard 4' - Entertainment - DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2012.