Keerthy Suresh says she could have played Gangubai

Fan-casting can be the warmest kind of compliment, and Keerthy Suresh just received one face-on. After the trailer for her Netflix series Akka lit up timelines, several viewers suggested she would have been an ideal Gangubai Kathiawadi. Her response, shared in an India Today conversation, is likely to please both her own fans and Alia Bhatt’s.

What Keerthy actually said

Keerthy did not dodge the question. Asked whether she could have done justice to the Sanjay Leela Bhansali role, the 34-year-old actor said, “If I could have pulled off that role? I believe yes.” She immediately added that she really liked Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi and said, “I love her body of work.”

That two-step—own the ability, then applaud the actor who actually played the part—is a small masterclass in handling fan comparisons. It keeps the conversation on craft instead of pitting two performers against each other.

The role in question

Gangubai Kathiawadi is based on S. Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The film follows a young woman from Kathiawad who is forced into prostitution and rises to become a powerful madam and an influential figure in Bombay’s red-light district. It is a physically and emotionally demanding part, and the comparison speaks to how audiences now see Keerthy: as someone who can carry period grit and authority.

Where Akka fits in

The timing matters. The fan chatter began after the trailer of Akka, where Keerthy shares the screen with Radhika Apte. Set in the fictional kingdom of Pernuru, the series follows two women, Bhavani and Rudra, caught in a power struggle and carrying a legacy forward. Directed by Dharmaraj Shetty and produced by YRF Entertainment, it premieres on Netflix on October 30.

The key facts to hold:

• The claim: Keerthy says she could have played Gangubai Kathiawadi.
• The praise: She liked Alia Bhatt in the film and loves her body of work.
• The project: Akka drops on Netflix on October 30, with Radhika Apte.

Why this is a watching moment

For Hindi film fans, this is less about who should have been cast and more about what Akka signals. A trailer strong enough to pull Keerthy into a Bhansali-sized conversation is a sign that the series is aiming for a big-screen scale. The real verdict arrives on October 30, when audiences can see her in a full power struggle and decide whether the fan-casting had a point.

Until then, the double feature is easy to line up: revisit the 2022 film for the world Bhansali built, then queue Akka to watch Keerthy build her own.

Source: India Today