Updated on

: 

21 Jun 2025, 1:26 pm

You remember that viral song "En Pondate Nee, Pondate Nee…” from Goli Soda 2, then you’ll surely recall the expressive, curly-haired Madhi who stole hearts on screen. That young girl, Krisha Kurup, is no longer just a face from a Tamil hit she’s now making waves in Malayalam cinema with her recent performance in Ronth. But behind that confident on-screen presence lies a story stitched together with dreams, detours, and quiet determination.

Though she speaks fluent Malayalam today, Krisha was born and raised in Chembur, Mumbai. “We’re a Malayali joint family, but our entire life was in Mumbai. My parents too were raised there,” she says. Her childhood was modest and grounded in middle-class values, with school days spent juggling textbooks, dance classes, and Hindustani music lessons.

“I took up classical dance and Hindustani music so I wouldn’t lose touch with my roots,” she shares. Her grandmother played a pivotal role in teaching her Malayalam, a language she picked up at home, rather than from any formal school curriculum.

Krisha's first brush with performance came when she was in Class 8, through a unique opportunity a voice test for the BBC-owned CBeebies channel. Her father’s friend had suggested her name for dubbing the cartoon, 3rd and Bird from English to Hindi. “That was my first creative breakthrough,” she recalls. Not only did she land the dubbing role, but she was soon writing Hindi translations for TLC shows all before she turned 15.

Soon, she found herself performing classical dance at Rotary Club and Lions Club events, slowly stepping into public view. That’s when a call came for a short film audition and changed everything.

“I was in 10th when I got that call for a short film. The shoot was in Kerala, and I had never been there before,” Krisha recalls. So unfamiliar was the idea of sending their daughter alone that her entire family accompanied her. “I think they were scared,” she laughs.

Though the short film didn’t launch her into stardom, it opened doors. The cinematographer later offered her a role in another project, but it wasn’t until her 12th standard that the project materialised. “That’s when I first realised how unpredictable the film industry can be,” she says. “I felt like, maybe this won’t work for me.”

But fate had other plans. A still photographer from one of her shoots shared her photos with Krisha’s father. “That was my first professional shoot where I wasn’t in a Bharatanatyam costume,” she says. Wanting to share it with friends, she uploaded them on Facebook, unknowingly opening yet another door.

Soon, the team behind Azhagu Kutti Chellam spotted her pictures and reached out via Messenger. Assistant director Silvester Dileepan and director Charles of Mercury Network saw potential. Initially hesitant, her father was eventually convinced after a representative visited them in Mumbai and assured them this was “a golden opportunity.”

Krisha was cast as Nila, a pregnant teenage girl. “I had never been to Chennai before, didn’t know Tamil, and suddenly I was in this completely new world,” she says.

Her performance in Azhagu Kutti Chellam caught the eye of DOP Vijay Armstrong, who then recommended her to cinematographer-director Vijay Milton for Goli Soda 2. It was around this time that life threw her a cruel twist.

“Two days before my father passed away, we went together to Vijay Milton sir’s office to sign Goli Soda 2,” she says. Her father, Vinod Kurup, a businessman, had always accompanied her to shoots. “He was like my spine,” she adds.

Losing him to a cardiac arrest mid-shoot left her shattered. “I didn't know how to handle anything. I only ever listened to scripts. My father managed everything. I felt like this wasn’t my place.”

But Goli Soda 2 released, and with it came the storm of popularity. The song Pondate Nee went viral, and audiences embraced her again. “Learning Tamil was hard. I mugged up lines and forced myself to speak the language daily,” she says. “Eventually, I got good at it.”

Despite acting, she completed two degrees: one in Advertising and Marketing from SIES Mumbai, and another in Psychology from the University of Mumbai. “I did all this while doing my movies.”

For the bilingual film Clap (Tamil and Telugu), Krisha played Bagyalakshmi, a 400-metre athlete. “I lost 18 kilos and trained with real athletes. My daily schedule was intense, waking up at 6 am, workouts, gym, dialogue practice, and more,” she says. “It was hard, but I understood how tough athletes’ lives are.” The movie was released during lockdown on SonyLiv.

Krisha’s Malayalam debut came with B 32 Muthal 44 Vare, after an online audition and a shoot in Kochi.

'Ronth'

Her big break came with Ronth, directed by Shahi Kabir. While filming for an upcoming Tamil movie, Mylanchi, Krisha visited Kochi to meet her partner Siddharth. During the visit, photographer Abhilash reached out to her on Instagram. They did a casual photoshoot, and Abhilash posted them on Instagram.

Director Shahi Kabir saw the photos and asked Abhilash for her number. “I was shocked,” she grins. “When Abhilash asked if I was interested, I immediately said yes.”

Shahi Kabir called her directly, explained the script, and asked if she would audition. “Of course, I said yes,” she laughs. And just like that, Krisha became Anu, Dinanath’s wife in Ronth.

“The script of Ronth blew my mind,” Krisha says. “There’s no song, no frills just raw, realistic storytelling. Every character is important. Every scene makes you think.”

For Krisha, stepping into the skin of Anu a small-town woman rooted deeply in family was a huge leap. “In the world I grew up in, I didn’t know anyone like her. Her thought process, her surroundings everything was new to me.”

Working with Roshan Mathew, who plays Dinanath, was equally enriching. “Rehearsing with him felt so organic. I don’t think I even have the calibre to talk about how brilliant he is.”

She recalls one final scene where director Shahi simply asked them to choreograph their emotions: “We weren’t acting anymore. We were living the characters.”

Today, Krisha stands at an interesting crossroads of different cultures, languages, and film roles. From dubbing cartoons as a child to playing deep, meaningful characters, her journey has been unique and truly her own.

“I never thought a photoshoot would change my life,” she says. “But it did. I’m thankful to Shahi sir, Abhilash, and everyone who believed in me.”