Five Films By Suchitra Pillai Prove She Is An Underrated Gem

The Dil Chahta Hai actor Suchitra Pillai is also a model, VJ, and anchor. She is also an accomplished theatre artist and a singer in the Indi pop and rock genres, with an album Such is Life released in 2011.Despite having so much talents she is still very underrated in the industry.

Suchitra Pillai earned a degree in electronic engineering. She moved to London after graduation and began acting in films in 1993, when she was offered her first role in the French film Le prix d'une femme as well as a role in the English film Guru in Seven. Suchitra married Lars Kjeldsen, a Danish engineer she met at a mutual friend's house, in 2005. They have one child.

Suchitra Pillai believes in enjoying life rather than questioning it. She has consistently challenged the industry's traditional and accepted gender roles for women. Being from Kerala, Suchitra faced discrimination in the industry due to her skin colour, but she never let that stop her from seizing the best opportunities, and she is now an inspiration to many.

Pillai was recently seen in a Netflix original series Eternally Confused and Eager To Love produced by Tiger Baby films and Excel Entertainment. The actor plays the role of male lead's mother in the web series and like almost all her supporting character roles, Pillai does not go unnoticed.

Here are some of Suchitra Pillai Best Films:

1)Dil Chahta Hai

Suchitra Pillai played the overbearing girlfriend Priya to Saif Ali Khan's Sameer in the 2001 film Dil Chahta Hai; her character was so well defined that people still remember her performance in that brief role.

Dil Chahta Hai, a coming-of-age romantic drama, will turn 21 in August.

The plot revolves around three inseparable childhood friends who have recently graduated from college. Nothing stands in their way until they both fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships cause tension. Suchitra Pillai recalls how director Farhan Akhtar offered her the role and his trust in her to bring this character to life on screen. This was her first major role, and even after 20 years, it is still the film that people remember her by.

2)The Valley

The award-winning film by Saila Kariat, starring Suchitra Pillai as Roopa, was released in 2017. The film has received recognition at film festivals such as the Madrid International Film Festival, the Out of the Can Film Festival, and the DC South Asian Film Festival. It conveys an important message about depression.

It follows a bereaved father as he seeks answers following the suicide of his college-aged daughter. It explores themes of ambition and the drive for success versus human connection through the story of a young depressed girl who makes the ultimate tragic choice.

The story revolves around one family's heartbreak and the search for answers about their child's untimely death, with a stellar cast and some raw acting power.

Suggested Reading: Don’t Give Up On Who You Are Because Of Motherhood: Suchitra Pillai

3)24:India

The plot follows around Jai Singh Rathod, an anti-terrorist unit agent who has twenty-four hours to save the country from a major terrorist attack. Haroon Sherchan, a drug lord, has threatened to release a virus unless the Indian government releases his brother from prison. Suchitra Pillai portrays Mehek Ahuja, a TV Journalist.

The Hindi version of 24 is based on the same-named American show; the India rights were acquired from Fox and 24 producer Howard Gordon by Anil Kapoor's production company, who also plays the lead role in the adaptation. As the adaptation of such an international, there were a lot of expectations, so the audience reviews are both positive and negative.

4)The Other Side Of The Door

Johannes Roberts directed the 2016 American-British supernatural horror film. Piki is played by Suchitra Pillai.

After her young son is killed in a tragic accident, a woman discovers a ritual that will bring him back to say goodbye, but when she disregards a sacred warning, she upsets the balance between life and death.

Suchitra is a nanny who tells Maria about a remote, ancient temple where she can briefly communicate with Oliver. Suchitra is well-known for her role in this film, and she did an excellent and well-balanced job.

5)Cold Case

Suchitra Pillai has only done two films in her mother tongue Malayalam so far, but Cold Case serves as  a 'springboard' for her career in south cinema. She was overjoyed when Cold Case director Tanu Balak told her that she was his first and only choice to play Zaara Zakai, a clairvoyant who plays an important role in solving the film's murder mystery.

The film begins with Hindu exorcisms in Varanasi and Muslim exorcisms in Kerala. When a skull is discovered in a package, ACP Sathyajith is tasked with identifying the victim and tracking down the killer. Similarly, a journalist who gets haunted by a spirit , investigates the mystery.