Santhi Mayadevi – Actress popular for her lawyer roles on screen

Santhi Mayadevi is a film actress and screenwriter associated with Malayalam and Tamil cinema, best known for character roles. She shot to fame after playing memorable roles in Drishyam 2 (2021) and Neru (2023), both directed by Jeethu Joseph. Her appearance in Leo (2023) sharing screen space with Vijay also got noticed. She is also credited as Santhi Priya in a few films. She is an advocate by profession, who frequently does ‘advocate’ roles on screen.

Her name is a combination of her mother and grandmother names

Santhi Mayadevi born to Vimal Kumar and Maya Devi in Melankode near Nedumangad of Thiruvananthapuram district. In the memory of his mother Shanti who passed away within 2 weeks of Vimal Kumar’s birth, he gave her name to his daughter. Her mother’s name was also added to her name. Thus her unique name became Santhi Mayadevi.

Santhi completed her education in government schools – Nedumangad LP School and Girls’ Higher Secondary School. Later she studied at MG college. She gives the credits of her success to her teachers and parents. She learnt classical music for 10 years. Her father dreamed about she and her brother Hari getting fame and recognition in the field of art. Her father wanted them to learn music, dance, kathaprasangam and swimming. But their situations didn’t favour them all. Yet Vimal Kumar did everything he can do for his children.

An anchor turned advocate turned actor

Santhi Mayadevi started anchoring TV shows soon after completing + 2. Her experience in Kadhaprasangam came handy. Later she joined LLB course and continued during TV shows, side by side. She left to her anchoring job after she started practising her profession at Vanchiyoor court, Thiruvananthapuram. She knew popular stage artist Ramesh Pisharady ever since her anchoring days. She joined film industry in 2019.

She shared screen space with Mammootty in her debut flick

In 2019 she marked her big screen debut through Mammootty starrer Ganagandharvan. She played the memorable role of Advocate Anamika in the film. She continued her ‘Advocate’ role in her next flick, Drishyam 2 as well. It’s mere co-incidence that advocate Santhi Mayadevi played the same role in first two films. In Jeethu Joseph’s Ram film too, she played a minor role of Mohanlal’s lawyer.

She co-scripted Neru aside Jeethu Joseph

After she did a minor role in Ram, the director Jeethu Joseph gave her the script of Drishyam 2 to read and correct mistakes of this court drama. Though she added a few things from her imagination the director didn’t add it to the script, but appreciated her efforts. He even said that she has the spark of a screenwriter, and wanted to share a story thread with her, which was in his mind. Later, they together scripted Neru, which was a super hit at box office. The film was shot in Thiruvananthapuram and the court premises of Vanchiyoor, where she began her career as a lawyer. Though she was interested in writing, most of her writings were related to court cases. It was the director Jeethu Joseph who gave her the courage to write a script. She is currently working on Jeethu Joseph’s next film and the lead role has been signed by Fahadh Faasil.

Santhi is married to Shibu Rajasekharan, a bank employee. The couple has one daughter, Aaradhya Rishika Paurnami. Both are movie buffs who support her in her film profession a lot.

Santhi Mayadevi – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She is also credited among the screen writers of 2023 court drama, Neru, which was a major box office hit.

2. She was an 8 or 9-year-old kid when Mohanlal’s blockbuster Kilukkam was released. While watching the popular song, ‘Kilukil Pamparam’, she desired she was in the place of Revathy. Her admiration for Mohanlal began those days, and years later she got opportunity to work with two of his best thrillers.

3. She met Mohanlal for the first time in the shooting set of Ram.

4. During childhood her father used to wake up her and her brother in the early mornings and took them for running 2 kms. He also taught them swimming in those early mornings in cold water. He also made them do Saadakam in water.

5. Her father also trained her Kadhaprasangam, its hand and eye movements, which later helped her a lot in storytelling to others.

6. While she was playing Mammootty’s lawyer in her debut flick, he, a lawyer in real life, corrected her how to say ‘Yes, Your Honour’. He made her understand, its mode of creation different in session court and district court.

7. She played Mammootty’s advocate in Ganagandharvan and Vijay’s advocate in Leo. She played Mohanlal’s assistant in Neru, who also played an advocate in the film.

8. Santhi is also a skilled Bharatanatyam dancer and painter, showcasing her versatility in various art forms.