Actor, director, producer and writer · Telugu cinema
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar movies: 13 Telugu films on file (13 as actor, 1 as director, 1 as producer, 1 as writer), 2019–2026. Earliest on file: Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL (2019). Latest release: S Saraswathi (6 March 2026).
- Films on file
- 13 (13 as actor, 1 as director, 1 as producer, 1 as writer)
- Years on file
- 2019–2026
- Born
- 3 March 1985 · March birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Hanu Man, Yashoda, Veera Simha Reddy
- Record
- Q7915423 on Wikidata
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar (born 5 March 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. The daughter of the actor Sarathkumar, she made her debut in the Tamil film Podaa Podi (2012) and has since become known for supporting and antagonist roles as well as leads, including in the Telugu films Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL (2019), Yashoda (2022) and Veera Simha Reddy (2023).
Early life and education
Varalaxmi was born in Bangalore to Sarathkumar and Chaya. She went to school at St. Michael’s Academy in Chennai, graduated in microbiology from Hindustan Arts and Science College in Chennai, and earned a master’s in business management from the University of Edinburgh. She trained at Anupam Kher’s acting school in Mumbai before acting professionally. The actress Raadhika is her stepmother.
Missed chances and debut
She had been selected for the lead role in Shankar‘s Boys (2003), but turned it down at her father’s request, and also missed out on Kaadhal (2004) and Saroja (2008). In June 2008 she signed Vignesh Shivan’s romantic drama Podaa Podi, drawn by the chance to play a London-based dancer. The film took four years to complete and was released in October 2012, with Silambarasan as her co-star. Critics singled her out: Rediff.com called her the scene stealer, and Sify described it as a promising debut delivered with confidence and candour. The film did moderate business overall but performed well in multiplexes.
Kannada and Malayalam
Her second film, the Kannada Maanikya (2014), alongside Sudeep, was a major success and one of the highest-grossing Kannada films of the year. In 2016 she was cast opposite Mammootty in the Malayalam film Kasaba, a role she said came her way because of her performance in the Tamil film Tharai Thappattai.
A prolific run
In 2017 she appeared in Vikram Vedha, Nibunan, Vismaya, Sathya, Kaattu and Masterpiece. She played antagonists in Sandakozhi 2 and Sarkar (both 2018) and hosted the Jaya TV show Unnai Arindhaal. Her first Telugu film was Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL (2019).
She played the lead in Velvet Nagaram (2020), a police officer in Danny (2020), and leading roles in Chasing and Singa Paarvai (both 2021).
Telugu films
In the Telugu film Yashoda (2022), led by Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the title role, Varalaxmi played the other key part. She played an eccentric character in Nandamuri Balakrishna‘s Veera Simha Reddy (2023) and the lead in Sabari (2024). Sundar C’s Madha Gaja Raja, which she made with Vishal, finally reached cinemas in January 2025, 13 years after it was shot, having been held up by financial difficulties.
Personal life
She married Nicholai Sachdev, a Mumbai-based gallerist, on 3 July 2024.
Career on file
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar has 13 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2019 to 2026: 13 films as actor, one film as director, one film as producer and one film as writer. The earliest of them is Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL (2019), and the most recent release is S Saraswathi (2026). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Hanu Man (2024), Yashoda (2022) and Veera Simha Reddy (2023). Other recent releases on file are Shivangi Lioness (2025), Mr. Celebrity (2024) and Sabari (2024).
Shruti Haasan and Samuthirakani are the most frequent co-stars, each sharing two films with Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. Among directors, Gopichand Malineni cast Varalaxmi Sarathkumar most often, in two films. Music on two of them is by Thaman S. GA2 Pictures produced two of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 11 different directors, 12 music directors and 30 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 10 of them; they average 143 minutes, and the longest is Veera Simha Reddy at 172 minutes. Ten of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2010s (1) and 2020s (12).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.