DYK Sai Pallavi made headlines way before 'Premam' with her dance performance in 'Dhee 4'?

28-year-old South actress Sai Pallavi has been well known for her performance in Alphonse Puthren’s Malayalam romantic drama, Premam (2015). Eventually, her acting career soared with the release of the 2017 Telugu film Fidaa. But did you know that Sai Pallavi initially began her career as a dancer in TV shows? Let's dive into her career to know more about the South dancing queen turned actress!

Read more| Samantha Akkineni Gushes Over Naga Chaitanya's New Movie 'Love Story's' Teaser

Before Sai Pallavi gained her momentum with films like Preram, Kali, Fidaa and Athiran, she actually was into dancing. According to Filmi Beat, Sai Pallavi had first made her on-screen debut with a Tamil dance reality show Ungalil Yaaru Adutha Prabhudeva in 2008. In 2009, despite her mother's initial objections amidst her schooling, she participated in the ETV dance competition show Dhee, which was in its fourth season at the time.

Pallavi grabbed attention for her appearance in the promo for Dhee Jodi, which was the dance show's spinoff for couples. The promo for the series was shot at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. Check out the episode featuring Sai Pallavi on the show which has garnered 10 million views to date!

According to ETV News, Pallavi had mentioned that she had never been 'formally' trained for face, instead, she had watched Aishwarya Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit- Nene's dance videos on repeat. She was noticed by the Dhee 4 makers based on her earlier performances in her college cultural events.

The director of the Dhee TV series Sanjeev Kumar, initially remarked that Pallavi was a "shy, timid and reserved" girl whose person changes when 'the camera is switched on'. As per various sources, Pallavi was the most sought-after contestant on the show, besides the celebrity judges and the host. Her mother also used to accompany her for the shoots, which used to happen at  AVM Studios, Chennai. 

Read more| Sai Pallavi's Romantic Films That Pulled The Right Strings; 'Premam', 'Fidaa' And More

As per Telugu 360, she was known for her exceptional performances on the show, viz. Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (Varsham), Vintunnava (Yem Maaya Chesave), Kuchi Kuchi Kunamma (Bombay), Bhu Bhu Bhujangam (Arundhati) – a few to mention. Despite all her dancing appearances, Pallavi was quite serious about her academics, which was one of the several reasons she quit the television industry. She studied to (almost) become a doctor, graduating with an MBBS degree from Tbilisi State Medical University in Georgia in 2016. 

Read more| Nani Releases New 'Tuck Jagadish' Poster; Announces Release Date On Pongal 2021

Sai Pallavi movies and more updates

Sai Pallavi's movies include Maari 2 (2018), Athiran (2019) and the recently released Tamil anthology mini-series Paava Kadhaigal (2020), where she starred in the episode, "Oor Iravu" alongside Prakash Raj and Hari Krishnan. Her upcoming movie is Love Story (2021), Shyam Singha Roy and Virata Parvam (2021), the latter of which she will star alongside Rana Daggubati. She had depicted her dancing prowess in the popular hit dance video of the song "Rowdy Baby" alongside her co-star Dhanush for the film Maari 2. Check out the groovy track video here which has amassed 106 crore views since 2019.

Read more| Rana Daggubati Shares New Poster Of Upcoming 'Viraataparvam'; Set To Release This Summer

Promo Pic: @saipallavi.senthamarai via Instagram