Santhy played the lead role in Harold Pinter's play The Lover directed by Sanal Aman. After the play was staged in Kochi she was approached by director Arun Dominic with an offer of a role in his film Tharangam.[4] She has also acted in plays including A Very Normal Family directed by Roshan Mathew where she played Sweety. She was approached to play the role after her performance in The Lover.[5]
Feature films
Santhy made her feature film debut in Arun Dominic's fantasyblack comedy film Tharangam (2017), opposite Tovino Thomas. Her role was that of a contemporary girl, Malini, who is in a relationship with Pappan, played by Thomas.[6] Santhy described her character as a "bold, independent guest lecturer who is quite a bossy and serious type but ends up being funny".[4] Reviewer Anjana George of The Times of India wrote that Santhy "deserves a special mention as she has given life to Malu, the otherwise loving girlfriend with an interesting psychological disorder, pretty well".[7] She played the lead role in Randu per which went on to be included in the International competition section of International Film Festival of Kerala in 2017.[8] She played a young lady on the verge of break-up in the film.[9] The film was released in 2021 through OTT platforms.[10]
She enacted the only female character in Lijo Jose Pellissery's Jallikkattu (2018) where she played Sophie, "somebody with her own agenda and who is no pushover", according to Santhy.[11] She also added that "it was interesting to be cast as a character who was very unlike her and that she had to run up against the idea that she was too urban and cannot be cast in a role that is rooted in the local space".[12] In the 2020 film Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte she played Linda who according to her takes "actions that are abnormal by others’ standards, but is doing what comes naturally to her“. She admitted that "it was a challenge to be impulsive without being over-the-top".[13] Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express wrote: "Santhy Balachandran shines in a role that evokes the yesteryear performances of Revathi and Urvashi".[14] In 2021, she featured in Bibin Paul Samuel's film Aaha, co-starring Indrajith Sukumaran.[15][16] Arun George of OnManorama labelled her performance as Mary "powerful and graceful".[17]
Santhy hails from Kottayam district of Kerala.[32] She has lived in different parts of India because of her parents' transferable jobs.[12] She holds a postgraduate degree in anthropology from Oxford University.[33] She is also an artist who has conducted six solo exhibitions in various cities and has been part of various group exhibitions.[4]
