Acting

Rukmini Vasanth

Rukmini Vasanth is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Born on December 10, 1996, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, she is the daughter of Colonel Vasanth Venugopal, Karnataka's first recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, and Subhashini Vasanth, an acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer. She trained in classical dance and theatre from an early age before obtaining a formal degree in acting from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She made her acting debut in the Kannada mystery thriller *Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni* (2019). She achieved widespread critical acclaim and nationwide recognition with Hemanth M. Rao's two-part romantic drama *Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A* and *Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B* (2023). Her portrayal of Priya earned her major industry honors, including the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Kannada, the SIIMA Critics Award for Best Actress, and the IIFA Utsavam Award for Best Actress. She followed this breakthrough with notable roles in the romantic drama *Baanadariyalli* (2023), the action thriller *Bagheera* (2024), and the neo-noir crime drama *Bhairathi Ranagal* (2024). Rukmini quickly expanded into other major South Indian film industries, marking her Telugu debut in *Appudo Ippudo Eppudo* (2024) and venturing into Tamil cinema with Vijay Sethupathi's *Ace* (2025) and A. R. Murugadoss's *Madharaasi* (2025) alongside Sivakarthikeyan. Her high-profile projects also include starring as Kanakavathi in Rishab Shetty's period epic *Kantara: Chapter 1* (2025) and featuring alongside Yash in Geetu Mohandas's multilingual action drama *Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups* (2026).