Keerthy Suresh Out of Yellamma to Focus on a Commercial Role?

National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh has surprised industry insiders by opting out of Yellamma, an author-backed, content-driven film, and instead signing up as the female lead in Vijay Deverakonda’s next commercial entertainer.

“It came as a surprise because Keerthy has always chosen offbeat, performance-oriented roles,” says a producer. Yellamma, to be directed by Balagam fame Venu, is a real-life story rooted in the rural heartland of Telangana. “Despite its authenticity and strong female lead, Keerthy wasn’t interested,” the source adds.

Instead, Keerthy will now be seen romancing Vijay Deverakonda in a wholesome entertainer directed by Ravi Kiran Kola. “This marks their first collaboration as an on-screen pair, though they previously appeared together in Mahanati — but not as lovers, since their characters existed in different timelines in Savitri’s biopic,” he explains.

Keerthy has shared the screen with several leading Telugu stars — Nani (Nenu Local, Dasara), Ram Pothineni (Nenu Sailaja), and Mahesh Babu (Sarkaru Vaari Paata). She delivered a memorable performance in Dasara, matching Nani in a gritty, rustic love story, and also enjoyed her share of commercial success in Tollywood before venturing into Tamil cinema.

After her Bollywood stint failed to take off following the underwhelming Baby John, Keerthy is now eyeing a strong comeback in Telugu cinema. Recently, she lent her voice to the AI bot Bujji in Kalki 2898 AD, where she also took a few playful digs at Prabhas. With a sequel to that sci-fi epic on the horizon, and a big-ticket Telugu project in hand, Keerthy seems poised to strike a fine balance between mainstream appeal and performance-driven roles once again.