Bhavani is still a people’s queen”: Director Dharmaraj Shetty on creating Keerthy Suresh’s gangster avatar in Netflix’s Akka

From an Akka who puts her people before herself to a fierce leader who can take on her enemies, Dharmaraj Shetty talks about bringing a layered female gangster to life through Keerthy Suresh.

A queen who commands loyalty. And a gangster whose fierceness is driven not by ambition, but by circumstances. In Netflix’s Akka, Keerthy Suresh steps into the role of Bhavani, a formidable woman navigating power, responsibility, and the weight of her legacy in a world ruled by women.

For writer-director Dharmaraj Shetty, the idea of Akka was an exciting departure from the conventional gangster stories audiences have seen on screen. What began as an attempt to write a gangster story soon evolved into something far more distinctive when he started exploring South India’s matriarchal traditions. “A queen-turned-gangster was an exciting idea to explore. A gangster in the real world is not someone to look up to, as they don’t really uphold the best values morally. However, Bhavani as a gangster is still a people’s queen, and puts everyone around her above herself, making her an ideal leader. Her ‘gangster’ side is mostly circumstantial, rather than a chosen power game. She is still someone we can cheer on,” he shares.

Bringing this duality to life required an actor who could move seamlessly between Bhavani’s softer, more forgiving side and her fierce, commanding presence. Keerthy Suresh emerged as the natural choice for the character. “Any actor playing Bhavani’s character needed to embody the duality in the character of being a queen and a gangster. A character with the gentle, forgiving side and also a harsher, fierce side, and Keerthy Suresh played this perfectly. She is 100% believable when she plays the soft side and equally convincing when she is kicking ass,” says Shetty.

While Keerthy’s acting abilities were never in question, it was her approach to the action sequences that particularly stood out during filming. The actor brought an individuality to Bhavani’s fighting style, making the action an extension of her personality rather than just a display of physical strength. “There was no doubt about Keerthy’s acting skills, but what was exciting to see was her performing all the action bits. The grace and fierceness with which she did them was fun to witness. She brought in so much of her personality to the action – for example, her signature style of killing her enemies with her hair pin was a brilliant idea that came all from her,” he adds.
The action in Akka was designed to be stylish and cinematic, while remaining rooted in the world and histories of its characters. The makers developed distinct fighting styles for individual clans and tribes, taking into account their backgrounds and fighting proficiency. Female actors from across the country were brought on board to lend authenticity to the action, with Keerthy Suresh and Pooja Mohanraj undergoing rigorous training to learn the region’s fighting techniques.
For Shetty, Bhavani’s journey is ultimately about more than her position of power. It is about a leader negotiating her responsibilities to the people around her while discovering her own identity. As he puts it, “Akka is a story of a leader’s conflicts, both inner and world wise, and how she finds her path as a queen and an individual.”

Written and directed by Dharmaraj Shetty and produced by YRF Entertainment, Akka also stars Radhika Apte, Tanvi Azmi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Anshuman Pushkar and Monica Panwar.
Akka is now streaming on Netflix.