‘My sisters tried to kill me and my mother did everything to prevent my birth’: Actress Surabhi Lakshmi

Actress Surabhi Lakshmi, winner of the National Award for Best Actress, recently opened up about her quirky and mischievous childhood. She shared stories of her early years, recalling how her mother tried everything to prevent her birth and how her sisters once joked about ‘killing’ her.

In an interview with Dhanya Varma, Surabhi revealed that her arrival into the world was far from straightforward. “I was the fourth child in the family, and back then, nobody around us had four kids,” she said with a smile. “They used to call me the ‘Saudi kid’ because my dad had worked in Saudi Arabia. My mum actually tried all sorts of traditional rituals to stop the pregnancy — even jumping into a pond every day to avoid it! She did everything a pregnant woman shouldn’t do. But after seven months, she started feeling guilty, worrying I might be born with some problem. Then, when I was born, she loved me a lot.”

Laughing about her childhood antics, Surabhi described herself as a nonstop troublemaker and a “relentless crybaby.” “My elder sisters couldn’t even study because I’d tear their books apart,” she said. “One was in Class 6, the other in Class 8. They even joked about killing me — there was this little spot near our house where they took me and said, ‘Should we kill her now?’ One said, ‘Let’s wait till tomorrow!’ We laugh about it now, but I was really a handful.”

Despite all this, she said, her sisters took care of her and loved her. “Now we all laugh about it,” Surabhi added.

Starting her career as a drama artist, Surabhi struggled for years in small film roles before her big break. She became widely recognised after starring as the lead opposite Tovino Thomas in ‘A.R.M.,’ a rare opportunity for many supporting actresses. Despite winning the National Award for ‘Minnaminungu,’ she said there was a period when film offers didn’t come easily.

Her journey from the village of Narikkuni to stardom has been full of ups and downs, but Surabhi’s ability to nail both comic and emotional roles has made her stand out. She also won over TV audiences with her role in a popular sitcom.