Riythvika Panneerselvam also well known as Riythvika, is an Indian actress who appears in supporting roles in
Tamil films. In 2018, she won the Tamil reality television show, ''
Bigg Boss Tamil season 2'', and became the first and only woman to date to win ''
Bigg Boss Tamil
''Bigg Boss'' also known as ''BB'' is an Indian Tamil-language version of the reality TV program ''Bigg Boss''. The program follows the ''Big Brother'' format developed by Endemol in the Netherlands. Over five years, Bigg Boss has rolled out ...
''. In all South Indian languages, she is the second one to win the title, to date as a woman.
In 2014, she won
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil
The Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil ( Kollywood) films.
The award was introduced and first given at the 50th South Filmfare Awards in 2003, wi ...
for her outstanding performance in the 2014 film ''
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...
'' and was nominated for
SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...
and
Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Career
2013–2014: Early life and career beginnings
Riythvika studied at
Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College For Women (SIET) in
Teynampet, Chennai.
She has stated that she had always dreamt of acting in films and that she used to act out scenes and reel out dialogues from films as a child. While studying at SIET, she acted in a number of short films and sent her photos to film PROs, trying for an entry into the cinema industry.
2014–2016: Breakthrough with ''Madras'' and widespread success
During that period, director
Bala
Bala may refer to:
Places
India
*Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India
* Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan
* Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
Romania
* Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...
was casting for his next project, ''
Paradesi'' (2013), an adaptation of the English novel ''
Red Tea'' (1969), which delves into the plight of tea plantation workers in the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...
during the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Q ...
. After going through a couple of auditions, she was selected to play the role of Karuthakanni, a young woman who gets tortured and sexually exploited in the plantations.
She went on to act in
Vikraman's romance film ''
Ninaithathu Yaaro'' (2014) before being chosen by
Pa. Ranjith for ''
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...
'' (2014) to play a pivotal supporting role opposite
Kalaiyarasan
Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan is an Indian actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. He has collaborated with directors Myshkin and Pa. Ranjith, with whom he worked in ''Madras'' (2014) for which he received acclaim for his performance.
Career ...
. Her portrayal of a North Chennai girl was lauded by critics and she won the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil
The Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil ( Kollywood) films.
The award was introduced and first given at the 50th South Filmfare Awards in 2003, wi ...
besides several other nominations.
The success of ''Madras'' prompted Ranjith and other film-makers to often cast her as a girl from a lower socio-economic background. In this trend, she notably appeared as a drug addict in ''
Kabali
''Kabali'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, with Radhika Apte, Sai Dhanshika, Winston Chao, Kishore, Din ...
'' (2016), and as a prostitute in ''
Iru Mugan'' (2016),''
Torchlight
''Torchlight'' is an action role-playing hack and slash dungeon crawler video game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World, released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in the fictional town of Torchlig ...
'' (2018) and ''Sigai'' (2019).
In other assignments during the period, she featured as a liberal radio jockey in ''
Oru Naal Koothu'' (2016), and as a ghost in the horror comedy, ''
Onaaigal Jakkiradhai
''Onaaigal Jakkiradhai'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language horror drama film written, directed and produced by JPR while music is composed by Adheesh Uthriyan. It stars Kabali Vishwanth, Riythvika, and Baby Amrutha in the lead roles. The music ...
'' (2018).
2018: ''Bigg Boss 2'' and ''Torchlight''
In 2018, Riythvika appeared in the reality show ''
Bigg Boss Tamil season 2'' as a contestant, She won peoples hearts and emerged as the winner of the 2nd season in the franchise. She is up to the date the only female to ever win
Bigg Boss Tamil
''Bigg Boss'' also known as ''BB'' is an Indian Tamil-language version of the reality TV program ''Bigg Boss''. The program follows the ''Big Brother'' format developed by Endemol in the Netherlands. Over five years, Bigg Boss has rolled out ...
in history. She also appeared in the film ''
Torchlight
''Torchlight'' is an action role-playing hack and slash dungeon crawler video game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World, released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in the fictional town of Torchlig ...
'' (2018) playing a crucial role in the film alongside actress
Sadha.
2019–Present: Film comeback
She is currently working on projects including ''
Odavum Mudiyathu Oliyavum Mudiyathu'', and an untitled biopic of actor-politician
MGR, where she essays the role of
Janaki Ramachandran
Vaikom Narayani Janaki (30 November 192319 May 1996), also known as Janaki Ramachandran, was an Indian politician, actress and activist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days after the death of her husband M. G. Ramachandra ...
. For the latter role, Riythvika carefully studied the habits and behaviour of Janaki, including by watching her old films.
Excited to play Janaki in MGR biopic: Riythvika
''The Times of India'' (18 January 2018). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
Filmography
*''All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.''
Films
Television
Web series
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Living people
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses from Chennai
Indian film actresses
21st-century Indian actresses
Big Brother (franchise) winners
Year of birth missing (living people)
Bigg Boss (Tamil TV series) contestants