Saptami Gowda

Sapthami Gowda (born 8 June 1996) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Kannada cinema. She made her acting debut with the 2020 film Popcorn Monkey Tiger directed by Duniya Suri and is known for her role of Leela in Kantara, directed by Rishab Shetty in 2022. She is a recipient of a Filmfare Award South and two SIIMA Awards.

Early life Sapthami was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, to Inspector S. K. Umesh Gowda and Shanta Gowda. She studied at Baldwin Girls' High School and at Sri Kumaran Composite Junior College in Bengaluru. She then completed her graduation in Civil Engineering from the Bangalore Institute of Technology. She is trained in swimming and has won several medals.

Career

Sapthami Gowda made her acting debut in the 2020 Kannada movie Popcorn Monkey Tiger directed by Duniya suri co-starring Dhananjaya which opened to mixed reviews from audience. She then was seen playing the role of Leela in the Blockbuster movie Kantara which brought her into the limelight and was praised for essaying the role of village girl. She was next seen in Yuva directed by Santhosh Ananddram co-starring debutant Yuva Rajkumar (son of Raghavendra Rajkumar). Initial talks are in place that she might be a potential heroine in the upcoming movie Kaali directed by S. Krishna alongside Abhishek Ambareesh.

She made her Hindi cinema debut through the 2023 movie The Vaccine War directed by Vivek Agnihotri. The movie opened to mixed reviews and her role had a minimal scope but yet was given the appropriate appreciation. Sapthami will be making her debut in Telugu cinema opposite Nithin in the film Thamuudu directed by Venu Sriram.

Other work She has been appointed as the ambassador of the Karnataka Government's "Nanna Maithri" scheme which enables distribution of menstrual cups to adolescent girls across Karnataka. She was also appointed as Brand ambassador for the 3rd T-20 World Cup edition of the Blind cricket 2022, organized by the Samarthanam Trust for blind, a non-profit working to empower those with disabilities.

Filmography Films

All films are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.

Year Title Role Language Notes 2020 Popcorn Monkey Tiger Girija Kannada Debut film 2022 Kantara Leela 2023 The Vaccine War Dr. Sreelakshmy Mohandas Hindi Hindi Debut 2024 Yuva Siri Kannada 2025 Thammudu Ratna Telugu Telugu Debut ShodhaDevikaKannadaWeb series 2026The Rise of Ashoka Ambika

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 2020South Indian International Movie Awards Best Female Debut – Kannada Popcorn Monkey Tiger 2023 Best Actress – KannadaKantara Best Actress Critics – Kannada 2023 Filmfare Awards South Critics Best Actress – Kannada Best Actress - Kannada