In 2011, cinephiles who had stepped into theatres to watch Vikram's Deiva Thirumagal were moved by the actor's performance as Krishna, a mentally challenged adult trying to bring up his daughter. While the film left audiences inconsolable with the actor's performance and the love for his daughter, Sara Arjun's role as Nila equally left people moved. There began the child actor's quiet rise to fame across industries.
Over the years, Sara cemented her fame in the industry, acting in over 100 advertisements for several brands, while cherry-picking her roles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. From Saivam, Jazbaa, The Song of Scorpions, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga to Ponniyin Selvan, she steadily established a foothold over her craft in the last 15 years. With Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar, she has once again entered the limelight as she is set to star as the female lead.
According to reports, Sara has been modelling for various brands since she was a two-year-old with her mother actively managing her acting career. Born in 2005, she is the daughter of actor Raj Arjun, known for Black Friday, Thaandavam, Rowdy Rathore, Traffic, Thalaivaa, Secret Superstar and Dear Comrade, among other films.
CE lists some of her notable roles:
AL Vijay's family-drama Deiva Thirumagal was the first time audiences saw Sara's full-fledged role on screen. She played the role of Nila, the young daughter of Krishna (played by Vikram), a man with an intellectual disability. Her character is the emotional core of the film, portraying innocence, empathy, and unconditional love for her father. Sara was widely appreciated for her natural and heartfelt performance. Despite her young age, she delivered emotionally intense scenes with maturity and authenticity.
Sara plays Sanaya Verma, advocate Anuradha Verma's (Aishwarya Rai) daughter in Jazbaa, directed by Sanjay Gupta. A remake of the 2007 South Korean film Seven Days, Jazbaa revolves around Anuradha's character who is forced to defend a convicted felon in order to get her abducted daughter back. Sara plays a convincing role, embodying emotions needed for her character and won praise for it.
Full of wit and joy, Sara played a lively Tamizhselvi who is loved by her family members, including her grandfather and patriach Kathiresan (Nassar). Also directed and produced by AL Vijay, the film was a critical and commercial success that won Sara a ton of fame. Saivam won two National Film Awards, one for Best Female Playback Singer for Utthara Unnikrishnan and Best Lyricist for the late Na Muthukumar.
Sara starred as Shefali Tomar in Saand Ki Aankh headlined by Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, and directed by Tushar Hiranandani. It highlights the real-life stories of sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. Sara played a key supporting role who looks up at Chandro and Prakashi, taking them as her inspiration.
In Sillu Karupatti (2019), directed by Halitha Shameem, Sara starred in the segment titled 'Pink Bag,' portraying Mity, a teenage girl. The story follows her gentle and heartfelt bond with Maanja (Rahul), a boy from a contrasting social background. Sara’s performance was praised for its natural ease and quiet depth, capturing the tenderness and sincerity of youthful emotions in a simple yet moving way.
After playing Aishwarya Rai's daughter in Jazbaa, her career came to a full circle as Sara played her younger self in Ponniyin Selvan I and II in Mani Ratnam's epic historical fiction film. As a young Nandhini, she exhibited the love, loss and pain of being banished from a kingdom that once gave her a livelihood. She starred opposite actor Santhosh who played the younger self of Aditha Karikalan (Vikram).
Although Sara has been in the limelight for several years with her roles as a child artiste, Ranveer Singh's upcoming film Dhurandhar's teaser had surprised as well as shocked audience as the actor seemed to be playing the female lead opposite Ranveer. This marks the 20-year-old actor's transition into full-fledged lead roles. Helmed by URI: The Surgical Strike (2019) director Aditya Dhar, the upcoming film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal and R Madhavan pivotal roles and is slated for release on December 5 this year.
