From a mechanical engineer in Bengaluru to female-superhero. Meet Bhoomi Shetty, the face of Prasanth Varma's Mahakali. Her education and career

She was once a mechanical engineering student in Bengaluru with dreams far from the spotlight. Today, Bhoomi Shetty is all set to headline Mahakali, the latest superhero saga from HanuMan director Prasanth Varma. The upcoming film marks a turning point for the young actress, who has quietly built her career across television, streaming, and cinema before landing the title role in Prasanth Varma’s ambitious universe.

Bhoomi Shetty in Mahakali

Currently in production, Mahakali is the third instalment in Prasanth Varma’s connected superhero world. The film is directed by Pooja Kolluru, known for Martin Luther King, and features Akshaye Khanna in a pivotal role as Asuraguru Shukracharya, a character whose intense first look had already taken the internet by storm. With Prasanth penning the script and RKD Studios backing the project, Mahakali promises a fresh mix of mythology, power, and female strength.



For Bhoomi Shetty, this is easily her most defining role yet. Born on February 19, 1998, in Kundapura, a coastal town in Karnataka’s Udupi district, Bhoomi’s journey to the silver screen has been anything but typical. Her parents, Bhaskar and Baby Shetty, supported her education first; she studied at R.N. Shetty P.U. College before pursuing Mechanical Engineering at AMC Engineering College, Bengaluru. But even while studying technical subjects, her heart was always drawn toward performance and storytelling.

A trained Yakshagana artist, the traditional dance-drama form of coastal Karnataka, Bhoomi credits her theatre background for shaping her expressions, body language, and love for performance. “Yakshagana taught me how to lose myself in a character,” she shared in an earlier interview, looking at her roots in folk art that eventually guided her to acting.

More about Bhoomi's professional fronts

Her professional acting journey began on television, with her breakout Kannada serial Kinnari, where audiences first took notice of her screen presence. Soon after, she ventured into Telugu television with Ninne Pelladatha, gaining recognition across language boundaries, a rare feat for a newcomer.

Bhoomi’s popularity skyrocketed when she participated in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 7 in 2019. The reality show gave viewers a glimpse into her personality beyond scripted roles, and she emerged as one of the most relatable contestants that season. Her post–Bigg Boss career took off with her film debut in the 2021 Kannada comedy Ikkat, which became a sleeper hit on Amazon Prime Video for its humour and slice-of-life storytelling.


Since then, Bhoomi has steadily expanded her portfolio with roles in Sharathulu Varthisthai and Kingdom, where she played Vijay Deverakonda’s sister-in-law. Each role added a new dimension to her craft, paving the way for the biggest leap of her career, Mahakali.

Written by Prasanth Varma and produced by Riwaz Ramesh Duggal under RKD Studios, Mahakali is reportedly set against a West Bengal backdrop, mixing mythology and modernity. The shoot is already halfway through, with release details expected to be announced soon. Stay tuned!