From honing her craft in New York to returning to Chennai and capturing instant attention with the viral hit Katchi Sera alongside Sai Abhayankkar, Samyuktha Viswanathan has quickly carved her place in cinema’s spotlight. Today, she stands at the cusp of a busy release slate. From the relatable charm of I’m Game to the breezy family entertainer Mr. Bhaarat, a women‑centric Rom‑com with Annapurna Studios, and the musical comedy‑drama Texas Tiger. With each project placing her in strikingly different zones, from musician to everyday heroine, Samyuktha is proving that her rise is not just rapid, but richly versatile, with a few more surprises still waiting in the wings.

You went to New York to study acting. Did you already have a plan to come back to Chennai and get into movies or you just wanted to go with the flow? 
When I went to New York, I was honestly just a visitor. Acting was a pipe dream, going to New York was a pipe dream because these are things that are far away from being achievable. I come from a family of no film background at all. In fact, I was supposed to do engineering or architecture. I was really good in school and then I gave my parents the shock of their lives when I told them I want to act. It took them some time, but they’re super supportive now. I wanted to go to New York for my Masters. I honestly didn’t think I’ll actually get in, but my dream university was The NYU Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. I applied to five colleges, and got into all of them, but NYU didn’t give a scholarship. So, I asked them for a scholarship because otherwise it was impossible to be in New York as it is so expensive. So, I completed a Master of Arts in Performance Studies at NYU Tisch and also finished one-year acting conservatory program at Michael Howard Studios.

As much as I wanted to do acting, my parents asked me to do something more cohesive. They were very typical like all other Indian parents. So, I studied a lot of theory of performance and did a whole course on creative expression. I chose acting studio electives and I stayed on for a year. I did many jobs because to survive there, you have to do five jobs and still just about make enough money to survive. We used to joke that there were some days that I went to sleep for dinner. There was no dinner and it was time to sleep. But it was a very eye-opening experience, to be in that culture. Like they say it’s truly a melting pot of cultures. I felt like I was most myself there. I truly felt like I could just be myself and thankfully I found the right people to be myself around. I had a really good friend. The, South Asian community, especially the artist community is very strong there. I was there for a year working, then I did an acting studio course at Michael Howard Studios. And unfortunately, just before the showcase, which is when agents and managers get to see and sign you up and you apply for a visa, COVID struck.

So, I came back with one suitcase leaving all of my stuff in my friend’s place and in my uncle’s garage. I thought of making it back to New York in one and a half years. And then I realised, okay, it’s not going to happen. I was very clear about one thing, wherever I am, I want to act. That was the only thing I knew I’d be happy doing. So, I started to do short films, ads, and all of that stuff. And, COVID changed my life path. What I have realised in life is that not everything goes as per your plan. You make plan A, plan B, plan C, and often it’s plan Z that actually works out, which you never expected.

So, you’re from Chennai and after your course in New York, you came back to Chennai?
I was in New York for about three years and then I came back to Chennai.

Katchi sera song by Sai Abhyankkar made you a familiar face overnight. Did you ever imagine that a song would be actually what would make you famous one day?
I had no idea back then. I knew that the song would do well because as soon as I heard the song, I felt it would go viral. Sai was the one who contacted me himself and asked me about the song. He told me that he’d be doing the song with me. I heard the song and I really liked the directors, the aesthetics and the stylist, the choreography and everything. I told him, I’m in, please don’t take anybody else. I go a lot by gut feeling and I knew the song was going to be a hit. But I did not expect the sort of immense virality that came from it. I did not expect it to go globally viral. I didn’t expect it to give me that much of recognition. That was very new for me. I’ve been part of the industry in some way or the other ever since I passed out of college. I used to work in a place that used to be associated with films. I’ve been doing ads since college. So, I had been around for a while. It was Katchi sera when I got the actual recognition. Even then, a lot of people would call me Katchi sera, more than my name. It was released on Think Music, but was not part of any movie. It was just an album song. And for that to get the acclaim it got was very new for me. I was overwhelmed by it. I didn’t know how to handle it. I was honestly a little over all over the place because I did not see it coming at all.

Any experience from the making of it?
Everybody thought it was sort of overnight success or it just came out of nowhere, which is why my Instagram bio still reads – Every overnight success is a decade in the making, which means that a lot of people don’t see what actually goes on behind the scenes. And that is something that I would like to emphasise on, for other artists also to see. We shot it in 12 hours, exactly. We started at 10 AM and by 10 PM a wrap was called, and I honestly didn’t expect that. I felt we were going to need to do another shoot for sure. We also shot the photo shoots in between. And the change in looks is so massive, especially for me with the makeup and the hair. I remember we were sitting there; the lights were all off and only the flashlights were on and there were five people sticking sequins and glitters all over my legs and getting it all together. That was a very interesting experience. It was planned very efficiently and we rehearsed for a long time. The moment we were done with one set during that time, the next set was ready. And the moment we got done with that set, the fourth set which is the one in the glass box, with the white outfit was ready. They actually finished it all in one day and we wrapped it in exactly 12 hours, which to this day is something that I’m really astounded by.

So, after this success, did you feel that pressure to live up to that? 
Absolutely, I felt major pressure to live up to that. I didn’t expect to have to do the hookstep over 1000 times by now. It has reached a point that I now ask the audience themselves – aren’t you tired of seeing this? So, it both worked well but at the same time it’s easy to get saturated. I definitely felt the pressure of having to live up to the recognition and whatever came with it.

You started getting film offers after that. Tell us about the movie offers that came your way?
Soon after this I started getting film offers. I signed up a romantic comedy film titled Mr. Bhaarath by director Lokesh Kanagaraj under his G Squad and Passion Studios banner. It was the first film that I signed which will release soon. It has been a long wait. I’ve realised that I have to earn everything with time. It doesn’t just happen like that. It doesn’t fall into your lap. I have to really wait for it. So, I do that. Then I actually ran away to New York for a couple months just to take a breather. I also had an accident in between and I had to recover from that. I wasn’t sure about my career path. I knew I wanted to do acting, but I wanted to make the right decisions.

I didn’t want to just start taking up every project that came my way. And then Double Occupancy came and right from the narration part of it I was completely sold. It was something different and something I would really enjoy doing. The director even gave the option of choosing between the two female characters in the film and I chose the character of Priya, which is something that I’m still very proud of and hold very close to my heart. Even after that, there was a sort of high expectation from me.

A lot of people thought I wasn’t acting anymore. I told them, no, I promise I’m shooting and waiting for the films to be released. I learned the hard way that these things are just not in my hands at all. I cannot control it and I just have to wait for it to happen. My other film titled I’m Game, is a film with directed by Nahas Hidhayath with Dulquer Salman. The director was very particular about every nuance of the film. He would say this is the metre and this is how acting should be. He would give me five emotions to do in every second shot and he’d tell me to do it and move off. It was a very good experience.

Was there a moment when you thought I need to get over my Katchi sera girl image and change my image now? 
Absolutely. Katchi sera will always be a song that gave me my first break. I’ll be forever grateful that it gave me what I always wanted. But I did want to be known as an actor. It’s very easy to get lost in being a dancer. I am a ballet dancer. I’ve been training in ballet since I was eight. In fact, it was an injury and a ligament reconstruction surgery that redirected me to theatre, which is good because I always wanted to do acting, but I didn’t think I’d be able to. So, theatre is where I like to find myself. I always wanted to be a versatile actor. And I’m hoping now will be the time for that. I was in the crime thriller series Suzhal: The Vortex. So sometimes when people recognise me, I just assumed it was katchi sera, but some of them have said, they saw me in the short film called Unfollow too. I did that long ago, which was a little bit of a break. Some of them have followed me since I used to be in Fully Filmy, which was long back, right after college. These small things make the actor in me proud.

You’ve done Tamil and Telugu and are now doing Malayalam as well. Are you good with all the south Indian languages?
Tamil is my mother tongue. Telugu, I can fully understand. I am able to deliver my lines as well. In fact, I will dub for myself in the upcoming movie in Telugu. Hopefully I will be able to deliver well, as the pronunciation is very specific. I’m good with picking up languages. So, I’m hoping that will help me. My Tamil, of course is good as I’ve been in Chennai my whole life. And Hindi also I can speak as I studied it in school. That’s how you survive in Hyderabad. You speak in Hindi and they reply in Telugu. I really want to learn Malayalam because I want to do Malayalam films.

So, are you learning Malayalam?
I’m learning Malayalam on an app right now. But I want to get a proper trainer to teach me and I will hopefully start that soon.

You also trained in ballet. So how much of your training is useful for acting?
It’s super important. The training would give me more credibility. But what matters here in the industry is that you need to be around and be seen. What I would have learned as an actor in five years, I learned in one year, because of the intensive training that you go through. There’s a method. Now I know what technique I need to tap into for me to do it. And there’s this quote by Hugh Jackman that said – “You have to do all your preparation, all your technique, and the moment you step on set; you’ve got to throw it all out the window and just be present.” And that is something that is really helpful. So, I do a lot of prep and technique and it’s there in me. It makes me feel more confident that I can do this.

You said you don’t want to be put into labels. So what is the kind of role that you want to completely break people’s perceptions with?
I want to eventually also direct. I write poetry and have started to write film related content, starting with short films. My dream goal would be to truly break the idea that an actor has to be has to be either this or that. I would like to see a space where a lot more unconventional actors are chosen for roles that you won’t have seen before and where you can be known as both an actor and a star and not have to choose according to one label. I go with scripts that excite me, things that my gut feels right about. And, I want to break that perception of an actress can either be this or that.

So, when you read a script, what really touches your attention? The character, the story or the person who you will be sharing the screen space with or the person who’s behind the camera?
I need to have a sync with the director. That’s why for me narrations are very important because you need to understand if you can actually find that space with the director to work with them. The main thing I look at is the story first and if my character has a very clear arc of going from A to B, the change that happens. And then, of course, the scope of the character.

Since you’ve come from a non-filmy background and now people recognise you in public, are you the same person or has anything changed about you?
In the beginning, there would be a lot of whispering and I wanted to tell everyone it is ok, you can come and talk to me and I will actually have a conversation with you. My own mom would tell me to dress properly after that, otherwise I would just step out in jeans and a T-shirt. Inwardly how I am, my personality, it did take me a minute to catch on, but I have mostly been the same. People would tell me this is how a heroine should carry herself, but I think there’s a balance that can be found between being yourself and also carrying yourself in a certain way that the society expects from you. One thing I’m very sure about is that I need to be myself. So, I try to be who I really am. Of course, I’ve grown and evolved, but I don’t want to change who I really am.

What’s the one thing you want to achieve in the next few years to achieve your dream?
I want all my movies to be released that I’ve done so far. I want to be in a place where I’m getting good scripts. I want to be in a place where I can get self-fulfilment and satisfaction with what I’m doing in my career, which can only come internally. I love when someone calls me by my character’s name. I’m proud of my work.

What are the current projects you’re working on?
Right now, I’m waiting for releases for the projects that I have completed. I’m Game should release in September and then Mr. Bhaarat, which is a quintessential, easy, breezy, romantic comedy, family, entertainer. There’s also a Telugu film called Rom-com with Annapurna Studios. And there’s another Tamil musical comedy-drama film called Texas Tiger, directed by Selvah Kumar Thirumaaran that will be coming out soon hopefully. I play a very relatable character in an extraordinary situation in I’m Game. All the characters in my upcoming films will see me in very different zones. Texas Tiger is in completely different zone, where I play a musician. And a lot of women will like my character in Rom-com. It’s a romantic comedy drama that women can relate to. There’s another film called Ahalyagram and that will be completely unexpected.

Rapid Fire

One actor you would like to share screen space with?
Suriya.

Ballet or acting?
Ballet.

A role you wish you had been offered?
Mastani from Bajirao Mastani.

Most star struck you’ve been ever?
When I met Shalini man at a movie preview recently I was completely starstruck, I told her you’re the reason I’m in films and she replied ‘Oh my God, I hope you’re happy with the decision.

If not an actor, what would you have been?
A writer or a teacher.

Describe yourself in three words?
Resilient, hopeful and passionate

Morning person or night person?
Night.

Tea or coffee?
Coffee.

Heels or sneakers?
Sneakers.

Beaches or mountains?
Beaches.

Bollywood or Hollywood?
I want to be all over the world.

Tamil or Telugu?
Tamil.

Love marriage or arranged?
Love.

Most romantic thing anybody has ever done for you?
I had this big journal made for me by a friend that had months of our memories.

Texting or calling?
Calling.

Instagram or YouTube?
YouTube.

Any actor you’ve had a crush growing up or even now?
Suriya, Madhavan and Hrithik Roshan.

Favourite travel destination?
New York. While I was in NYC, I went around a bit to Disneyland and around, but I always thought I’ll travel more when I have more time and I’m able to afford better, but I’m going to have to wait for that.

Favourite comfort food?
Curd rice with fried potato.

What makes you instantly happy?
My younger brother.

Gym or yoga?
Dance.

Your fitness routine?
An eclectic mix of what I feel in that moment, but mostly I would say dance.