Kani Kusruti is an acclaimed Indian actress, born on January 23, 1984, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She was raised in a socially progressive family, with her parents being social activist Maitreya Maitreyan and Jayasree AK. Kani creatively adopted the surname "Kusruti," meaning "mischievous" in Malayalam, at the age of 15 to meet school requirements. Her early exposure to theater through the Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre significantly shaped her acting career.