Sai Pallavi is 34 years old — she was born on May 9, 1992, in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, India. The Indian actress who broke out as Malar in Premam (2015) now plays Sita opposite Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama in Ramayana: Part 1, which releases worldwide on November 5, 2026.
Quick facts
| Full name | Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan |
| Born | May 9, 1992 (age 34), Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Profession | Actress, dancer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | MBBS, Tbilisi State Medical University, Georgia (2016) |
| Known for | Premam, Fidaa, Gargi, Amaran; Sita in Ramayana: Part 1 |
| Estimated net worth | ₹45–50 crore (~$5.4–6M; 2026 media estimates, unaudited) |
| Last updated | October 2026 |
Biography
Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan was born on May 9, 1992, in Kotagiri, in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, into a Badaga family, to Senthamarai Kannan and Radha; her younger sister Pooja is also an actress. She was raised and educated in Coimbatore, schooling at Avila Convent.
Unusually for a film star, she is a trained doctor: she completed her MBBS in 2016 at Tbilisi State Medical University in Georgia, and director Alphonse Puthren approached her for Premam while she was still a medical student. She later took India’s Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in 2020 but has not registered to practice medicine, choosing acting instead.
She is also known for one of Indian cinema’s most-discussed personal choices: in 2019 she reportedly turned down a ₹2 crore endorsement offer from a fairness-cream brand, saying, “Money hasn’t been something that I am drawn to, but again, it’s another personal choice” — a stance in line with her public image of minimal makeup and natural looks.
Career
After uncredited child appearances and a finalist spot on the Tamil dance show Ungalil Yaar Prabhu Deva, her breakthrough came in 2015 as Malar, the teacher in Alphonse Puthren’s Malayalam hit Premam — a role that won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. Her Telugu debut followed with Sekhar Kammula’s Fidaa (2017), winning her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu, and she made her Tamil debut with the bilingual horror drama Diya (2018).
Since then she has built a career on performance-led roles: Kali (2016), Maari 2 (2018), Athiran (2019), Love Story (2021) — her second Filmfare Best Actress – Telugu — Shyam Singha Roy (2021), Gargi (2022), the biographical war film Amaran (2024), and Thandel (2025). Her shelf of awards now includes seven Filmfare Awards South, three SIIMA Awards, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu (2021), and a spot on Forbes India’s 30 Under 30 list in 2020.
The freshness angle: she is front and centre of India’s biggest release of 2026. Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part 1, produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with music by Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, releases worldwide on November 5, 2026, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. She plays Sita opposite Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama, with Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. On October 22, 2026, she joined Kapoor, Yash and Rahman at an Amazon Music–hosted musical celebration of the film at the Chennai Trade Centre, where the Tamil version of Jai Jai Ram was performed. Advance bookings opened on Dussehra and had already crossed ₹5.15 crore gross with 88,300 tickets sold by 11:30 am IST on October 22, with trackers showing the figure climbing through the day. She made her Hindi film debut earlier in 2026 opposite Junaid Khan in Ek Din.
How she makes money — and what she is worth
Acting fees. Indian media reports put her per-film fee in the ₹3–6 crore band: she reportedly earned around ₹3 crore for Amaran, above ₹5 crore for Thandel, and Zee News reported roughly ₹6 crore for Ramayana: Part 1 — though the makers have not confirmed any of these figures.
Endorsements. She is famously selective — the 2019 fairness-cream refusal is the defining example — so brand income is a smaller part of her earnings than for most stars at her level.
So what is she actually worth? The honest range is ₹45–50 crore (roughly $5.4–6 million). The Times of India and Zee News–attributed figures cited across outlets cluster there: around ₹47 crore per Zee News, and ₹45–50 crore per October 2026 reports citing The Siasat Daily and The Times of India. The caveats matter: none of these numbers is audited, Indian celebrity-wealth figures are often recycled from outlet to outlet without disclosure of method, and they do not account for taxes. A range — not a single number — is the only defensible way to state it.
For another South Asian public figure admired for a principled public stance, read the Malala Yousafzai biography.
FAQ
How old is Sai Pallavi?
She is 34 years old. She was born on May 9, 1992, in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, and turned 34 on May 9, 2026. The date is consistent across Wikipedia, Britannica and BookMyShow, with no conflicting reports.
Is Sai Pallavi a doctor?
She holds an MBBS degree, completed in 2016 at Tbilisi State Medical University in Georgia. She took India’s Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in 2020 but has not registered as a medical practitioner in India, and has focused on acting instead.
Who does Sai Pallavi play in Ramayana: Part 1?
She plays Sita opposite Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama in Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part epic. Part 1 releases worldwide on November 5, 2026, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, with advance bookings already open.
What is Sai Pallavi’s net worth?
Indian media reports estimate her net worth at ₹45–50 crore (roughly $5.4–6 million) in 2026, based mainly on per-film fees reported in the ₹3–6 crore range. These are unaudited media estimates, not disclosed figures, so the range — not a precise number — is the reliable statement.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Sai Pallavi
- Britannica — Sai Pallavi
- BookMyShow — Sai Pallavi
- Bollywood Hungama — Ramayana release date announcement
- Box Office Worldwide — Rajamouli backs Ramayana
- DT News — Amazon Music Ramayana celebration, Chennai, Oct 22, 2026
- Zoom TV — Ramayana advance bookings cross ₹5 crore
- The Times of Bengal — Ramayana advance booking update
- Ramayana Film — Sai Pallavi as Sita
- BollywoodShaadis — Ek Din cast fees
Danish Tariq is the founder and editor of Celeb Hubz, covering celebrity net worth, biographies and career stories. He focuses on verified figures and sourced research — no inflated claims, no clickbait.