Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (pronounced [saɪ paˈləvi]; born 9 May 1992),[1] is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films.

Pallavi has since established herself as a leading actress of South Indian cinema, starring in the films Kali (2016), Middle Class Abbayi (2017), Maari 2 (2018), Paava Kadhaigal (2020), Love Story (2021), Shyam Singha Roy (2021), Gargi (2022) and Amaran (2024).

Then she took a month break from her studies to act in her second Malayalam film, Kali, which released in March 2016 and directed by Sameer Thahir.

She portrayed Anjali, a young wife who must deal with her husband's extreme anger issues, earning a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam.

[32] The year 2017 marked her debut in Telugu with Sekhar Kammula's Fidaa, in the role of Bhanumathi, a feisty village girl from Telangana.

[37] Her next project with director A. L. Vijay announced that he would be working on a film with her for Lyca Productions and that he would direct a script he had written "three and a half years ago".

However, due to creative reasons reportedly the director wanting a slightly older actress for the part, she was not cast in the final film and eventually went to Aditi Rao Hydari.

[47] A song from the movie, "Rowdy Baby", features the lead pair, Dhanush and Sai Pallavi dancing to the tune in a set at the AVM studios in Chennai.

[50] Sai Pallavi, who had participated in a dance reality TV show called Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva (transl.

[58] In December, several news outlets reported that she refused to accept her full remuneration, expressing solidarity with the producers for the failure of the film.

[60][61] In 2019, she played Nithya Lakshmi, a non-verbal autistic character, in the 2019 psychological Malayalam thriller Athiran opposite Fahadh Faasil.

[63] She portrayed Geetha Kumari, a multifaceted character, not simply defined by anger also likely experiences a range of emotions throughout the film in response to her husband's political career.

[65] She also acted in a Netflix anthology film series Paava Kadhaigal segment Oor Iravu directed by Vetrimaaran.

The narrative explores the clash between love, societal pressures, and notions of honor, with Sumathi's character at the center of this conflict, earning a nomination for SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Tamil.

The lyrical song received praise for Sai Pallavi's dance, choreography and the vocals by Mangli adding a "perfect Telangana nativity to the folk number".

[71] Her next Periodic-based film Shyam Singa Roy opposite Nani in their second collaboration after MCA where she portrayed Maithreyi, a captivating devadasi in 1970s Kolkata.

[81][82][83] Her performance received widespread acclaim and portrayed the character with depth and conviction, earning praise for her emotive acting and natural screen presence.

[91][92] In 2025, she played the female lead opposite Naga Chaitanya titled Thandel, making it their second film collaboration after Love Story.

[95] Pallavi will also portray Sita, opposite Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, in Nitesh Tiwari's two-part adaptation of the Ramayana.

[106][107][108][109] In another instance, an excerpt of an interview resurfaced where Pallavi expressed her opposition to violence, stating, "People in Pakistan think our army is a terrorist group.