Neethu (born 2 September 1986), also known as Neethu Shetty, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Kannada-language films and a few Tulu and Malayalam films. She won acclaim and praise for movies like Joke Falls (2004), Beru (2005), Photographer (2006), Koti Chennaya (2007), Gaalipata (2008), Krishna Nee Late Aagi Baaro (2009) and many others.

She has done cameos in other successful movies like Abhinetri and Fair & Lovely. Neethu is also socially active and recently studied Dream Tracking and is currently practicing it. With a career spanning over 2 decades, she has been a part of 35+ movies and many television projects.

Early life

Neethu was born in Mangalore, in the Karnataka State of India. Her father, Manjunath Shetty, belonged to the Bunt community, and was an agriculturist. Her mother, Mohini is from a Konkani-speaking family and was a banker. Neethu has a younger sister. They grew up and were educated in Mangalore and Bangalore. Her father died in 2011.[citation needed]

Career

Neethu Shetty acted in Punya, a serial directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar and made her debut through the Jaggesh and Komal-starrer Govinda Gopala and then went on to act in a horror flick Yahoo, which was an average grosser. Her first commercially successful movie was Joke Falls, where she was paired alongside Ramesh Aravind, which was positively reviewed, and was directed by Ashok Patil. She then starred in the movie Beru, directed by P. Sheshadri, which received many accolades such as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada and Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film.

She made her Malayalam debut alongside Mohanlal in the Malayalam film Photographer. She is a recipient of the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the Tulu language film Koti Chennaya. Her performance in her next movie, Poojari, opposite Aadhi Lokesh, brought her closer to the Kannada audience. She received positive reviews for her performance in the 2008 movie Gaalipata, which was a multi-starrer and a blockbuster hit. She received a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Kannada nomination. She later starred in films which some were successful, like Krishna Nee Late Aagi Baaro, Abhinetri and a few others. She also starred in movies such as Aithalakkadi and others that received negative reviews and failed at the box office.

She was a contestant in Bigg Boss Kannada 2, where she survived 80 days, hence becoming the first contestant in the history of Bigg Boss Kannada to be kept in a "secret room". She was a part of the comedy show Bengaluru Benne Dose alongside Arun Sagar. She later appeared as a guest in Bigg Boss Kannada 4 along with Rishika Singh, Tsunami Kitty, N. C. Ayyappa and Bigg Boss Kannada 3 winner Shruti. She also was a part of box cricket league where she was a player for the team Davangere Lions, which emerged runners up.

Filmography

  • Note: all films are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.
Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
YearTitleRoleNotes
2004YahooGeethucredited as Neetha
JenniferJennifer
Joke FallsSulekha
2005BeruSuma
Karavali HudugiAkku
2006EeshaGowricredited as Neetha
Nagareega KomaliKaveriTamil film; credited as Neetha Sree
PhotographerSatyavathiMalayalam film
2007PoojariPriyacredited as Neethashree
Oliver TwistMalayalam film; credited as Neethashree
AgraharaRamya
Govinda GopalaAishwaryacredited as Neetha
Koti ChennayaDeyi BaidithiTulu film
2008GaalipataRadha
Ganesha Matthe BandaGayatri
2009ManasaareBhaamini
2010Ugragami
Krishna Nee Late Aagi BaaroAndy
PancharangiLathaVoice Over (Dubbing) for Ramya Barna
AithalakkadiSevanthi
2011Yogaraj ButSihi
PanchamruthaTanmayi a.k.a. Tanusegment "Samarasave Jeevana: harmonious life"
UjwaduShaantheriKonkani film
2012Jeevana Joke-alliPaaru
PuneethHerselfSpecial Appearance
2013DevaraneSheelaCameo appearance
JeethuHerselfSpecial appearance in the song "Idli Vade"
Crazy StarHerselfSpecial appearance in the song "Ee Hennu Avala Weakness"
2014Fair & LovelyHerselfGuest appearance
JaggiHerselfSpecial appearance in the song "Nela Gudi Neeru"
2015AbhinetriCameo
Eregla PanodchiRukminiTulu film
Ring RoadCameo
2016Ice PiceGeetha
2017Paaru I Love YouPaaru
SitharaPriya
MombatthiACP Shivani
2018Mari TigerSpecial appearance
Amrutha GaligeAmrutha
2019VajramukhiVajramukhi
HangoverHerselfSpecial appearance in the song "Naane Rukku Kodtini"
2022IndiraDr. Suhani
20231888Sandhya Shetty
ParishuddhamHerselfSpecial Appearance
TBAAparadhi NanallaTBAFilming, Guest Appearance
TBAIralarade Iruve BitkondaTBAFilming

Television

YearTitleRoleChannelNotes
2003PunyaTelevision DebutUdaya TV
2012Kuniyonu BaaraFinale JudgeZee Kannada
2014Bigg Boss Kannada 2ContestantStar Suvarna
2014Super MinuteContestantColors KannadaWinner against Aadi Lokesh
2015Bengaluru Benne DoseCo-hostStar Suvarna
2016Swalpa Adjust MadkoliAbhinetri PromotionStar SuvarnaWith Pooja Gandhi
2017Bigg Boss Kannada 4GuestColors Kannada
2017Super Talk TimeGuestColors SuperAlongside Yogesh
2017Maja BharathaGuestColors SuperPaaru I Love You promotion
2018Sixth SensePlayerStar SuvarnaAlongside Karunya Ram
2019Maja BharathaGuestColors SuperVajramukhi promotion
2019Saval Ge SaiCelebrity SpecialUdaya TV1888 promotion
2019Kitchen DarbarCelebrity guestStar Suvarna
2020Namaste Karnataka with NeethuCelebrity guestUdaya TV
2021Chat CornerCelebrity GuestColors KannadaAlongside Shubha Poonja
2022Gaalipata 2 Varamahalakshmi VisheshaGuestZee KannadaAlongside Bhavana Rao, Diganth
2023Kanyadaanadalli Neethu SandanaSpecial AppearanceUdaya TVSpecial Appearance

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryFilmResultNotes
2007Karnataka State Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressKoti ChennayaWon
2008Filmfare Awards SouthBest Supporting Actress in KannadaGaalipataNominated
Suvarna Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressGaalipataNominated

External links