Actress Shruti Haasan didn’t have the most auspicious launch as a star kid with a string of flops across multiple languages. It took a hit like Pawan Kalyan’s Gabbar Singh to change the trajectory of her career and there was no looking back for Shruti ever since. Shruti fit the bill for a commercial heroine perfectly, worked on her dancing skills over time and appeared a natural at humour.
It wasn’t entirely surprising that she got opportunities to work with almost every top actor in multiple industries including Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, Naga Chaitanya, Ajith, Vijay, Mahesh Babu, Suriya, Vishal, Akshay Kumar, Rajjkumar Rao to name a few. Then came the surprise in 2017, when she took a break from films at the peak of her career to focus on her musical interests – a decision probably no other contemporary of hers would’ve dared to take at such a critical stage.
She didn’t do any films but managed to stay in the news for her musical endeavours regularly for the next three years. In 2020, when the Telugu industry was flooding with newer heroines and it was announced that Shruti Haasan was slated to make a comeback to Telugu cinema with Krack, many didn’t give her a chance. She had already completed shooting for her Tamil film with Vijay Sethupathy and was seen in Suhasini’s short for the Amazon Prime anthology Putham Puthu Kalai. Her long-delayed Hindi film Yaara finally had a digital release. Luck was finally smiling on the actress.
Krack’s success this Sankranti gave her graph a much-needed zing again. She was playing the quintessential heroine in a commercial potboiler but the actress managed to impress within the limitations of the role. Her comic timing was sharp, so were her moves and the impossible-to-forget action sequence helped her seal the final moment of glory.
The official announcement of her appearance in the Telugu remake of Pink, Vakeel Saab gave more credibility to her return. The promos of her next project, the Netflix anthology Pitta Kathalu arrived shortly and made an impression. In a matter of time, we hear she’s pairing up with Prabhas for his pan Indian project Salaar.
In short, this comeback story confirms us that the times are changing in the industry and one can never write anyone off. All it takes is one hit film to change the course of a career. Of course, it takes great conviction from an actress to go on a brief sabbatical from films, focusing on her passion and returning to the industry with greater confidence. No doubt, this phase has made Shruti Haasan a much balanced, calmer person who is secure at heart.