Beyond the film sets and spotlight, Catherine Tresa finds joy in movement, travel, and the endless pursuit of learning

Some careers are built through a carefully mapped plan. Others are shaped by curiosity and a willingness to embrace the unfamiliar.

For Catherine Tresa, that journey has taken her from a sheltered childhood in Dubai to a career across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema. From films such as Madras, Sarrainodu, Theeram, World Famous Lover, Gangers, and Phani to martial arts training, travel, and constant self-discovery, every chapter has been guided by a desire to keep learning.

“When I came to India, I was almost like a blank slate,” she says. “I was taking everything in, trying to evolve as a person, understand different cultures and languages, and continue learning every day.”

Growing up in Dubai, she spent her early years ice skating, learning the piano, taking part in environmental initiatives, and moving through a multicultural world at home. It was a comfortable, sheltered childhood—one that gave her an early sense of many cultures, even before independence and cinema asked her to navigate unfamiliar terrain.

A DIFFERENT MAP

Moving from a comfortable childhood in Dubai to living independently in Bangalore was not without its challenges.

Her move to Bangalore for college was followed by Hyderabad and Chennai for films, each city bringing its own rhythms, languages, and expectations. “Living alone in Bangalore, studying, and then moving into films was a brand new world for me,” she recalls. “I was taking it all in one day at a time, and I think what helped a lot was that I was able to embrace challenges rather sportively. That definitely paid off quite well.”

“I quickly realised that I was actually pretty naive and had a lot of learning and growing up to do in a short span of time,” she says.
Instead of resisting the unfamiliar, Catherine embraced it. She learned to observe, listen, and remain open to experiences that pushed her outside her comfort zone.

That openness was supported by a principle she had been raised with: focus fully on the task in front of her. “I was always told to focus, to be present in the moment, and to give my full attention to whatever it was that I was doing,” she explains. The lesson has stayed with her, whether she is working, training, studying, or simply making space to enjoy a moment without distraction. “When I started applying that approach, I realised the results I was getting reinforced that belief,” she says. “When results reinforce what you think, it shows you that you’re probably on the right path.”

That early uncertainty also informs what she would tell young women entering an unfamiliar industry, especially without connections or a carefully drawn roadmap. “I think the most important thing I would want her to know is that you don’t have to have everything figured out,” she shares. “What mattered was being open to opportunities, being willing to learn, and continuing to move forward even when things felt uncertain.”

THE KALAIARASI EFFECT

While Catherine has worked across four film industries, Madras remains one of the defining chapters of her journey.
Playing Kalaiarasi challenged the industry’s perception of her and expanded her own understanding of what she was capable of.

Looking back, she sees an unexpected kinship with the character. “When I look back at Kalaiarasi today, I think a lot of the characteristics she had were very similar to my own,” she reflects. “I would have been a lot like her had I lived in North Madras my entire life.”

“Up until that point, I had mostly played glamorous, urban women on screen. Kalaiarasi was definitely not something people expected me to pull off,” she shares.

She credits director Pa. Ranjith with recognising a possibility before she could see it herself: “I think the credit for that goes to director Pa. Ranjith for seeing something in me that I don’t think I saw in myself at the time.”

It was her first Tamil film, and the two-week workshop undertaken with the lead actors helped her understand both the character and the world the film was trying to build.

Preparing for the role meant immersing herself in a language and environment that were entirely unfamiliar. She listened to Tamil FM radio, watched Tamil news, and spent time understanding the world of North Chennai.
She adds, “Speaking to people there, even in my limited Tamil at the time, was fascinating. It remains a very special experience for me.”

Chennai has remained close to her long after that first immersion in North Madras. “I love Chennai and especially its food,” she says. Yet Hyderabad, where she has built her life, holds a different kind of belonging. “That’s where I settled down and where my home is now,” she notes. “I wouldn’t even call it a second home anymore. It has become my first home.”

A CLEARER CHAPTER

The work ahead continues to take Catherine through distinctly different worlds. Gangers brings her back to Tamil cinema and reunites her with director Sundar C for the third time; Phani took her to the USA for a pan-India thriller; and Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu reunites her with Chiranjeevi.

“All three films are very different from one another and took me into completely different worlds,” she says. Compared with the beginning of her career, she now approaches the work with a greater sense of purpose. “Earlier, I think there was a desire to prove a point, to establish myself, and to make it. Today, it comes from a place of security, clarity, and a genuine love for the craft and for the work itself.”

There is no single city she credits with defining this phase. Instead, she sees it as the sum of every place that has shaped her. “I think it is really a culmination of all the cities and places I have been to throughout my journey that have shaped me into the person I am today,” she reflects.

THE JOY OF MOVEMENT

Long before film sets became part of her routine, movement already was.
Ice skating, dance, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and fitness have all played important roles in her life.

She is quick to credit the people who helped her discover dance. “First of all, I didn’t actually teach myself how to dance. I had wonderful dance teachers who were incredibly patient with me, so I have to give them credit for that,” she says.

For Catherine, physical activity is about more than staying fit. It is a way of staying connected to herself and remaining fully present in the moment.
“There is something very meditative about movement. When you’re fully present in what you’re doing, everything else disappears for a while,” she says.

Whether she is skating, dancing, training in kickboxing or mixed martial arts, she is drawn to the discipline as much as the movement itself. “It’s about understanding what my body is capable of, pushing my limits, and continuing to learn,” she explains. It is a practice that gives her a rare sense of stillness through action.

COLLECTING WORLDS

Travel occupies a similarly important place in Catherine’s life.
Whether she is filming in a new city or travelling for leisure, she prefers wandering through cafés, local markets, and neighbourhood streets over ticking off tourist attractions.

Those unplanned hours are often the ones she remembers most. “I think some of the best experiences happen when you don’t have a rigid plan,” she says. “You stumble upon places you would never have found otherwise, meet people you weren’t expecting to meet, and end up with memories that stay with you much longer than anything on a checklist.” For her, they often offer a more authentic feeling of a place than any tourist attraction can.

Food is equally essential to the way she reads a city. Growing up in Dubai, she was exposed to cuisines from around the world, and food became one of the ways she connected with people and cultures. “I think food is deeply tied to memory,” she reflects. “Years later, you may forget details of a trip, but you’ll often remember exactly what you ate and who you were with.” Whether it is a small local restaurant, a meal shared with friends after a long day, or an unexpected find while wandering, the experience around the food is what stays with her.

Japan remains high on her personal wish list, not for a shoot but for a journey at her own pace. She is fascinated by “the culture, the discipline, the attention to detail, and the way tradition and modernity seem to coexist there.” She hopes to explore different cities, understand the culture more deeply, and simply immerse herself in the experience without work commitments attached to it.

Travel has also sharpened her awareness of public life. “One of the biggest things I’ve noticed while travelling is how differently people approach public spaces and shared environments,” she observes. In many places, she has seen a stronger sense of collective responsibility, as well as discipline in the way people approach time, work, and everyday responsibility. The deeper lesson, she adds, is respect for difference: “When you travel, you realise there isn’t just one correct way to live.”

LIFE OFF CAMERA

After a long schedule away, the first thing Catherine does on returning home is spend time with her animals. “They don’t care where you’ve been, what you’ve achieved, or how tired you are. They’re just happy that you’re back,” she says. The uncomplicated comfort of that presence, along with sleeping in her own bed and having quiet time, helps her reset.

Music is a constant companion wherever she goes, while books offer a way to slip into an entirely different world during long journeys and in-between hours. Her travel bag nearly always contains a book, something related to fitness or training, and a photograph or object that reminds her of her animals.

Her advice to those beginning without certainty is to remain patient with the pace of growth. “Trust your journey. Focus on improving yourself rather than comparing yourself to others,” she says. “Things don’t always happen when we want them to, but that doesn’t mean they’re not happening.”

More than destinations, it is the lessons travel leaves behind that matter most.
“Travel has taught me to be more open-minded, more adaptable, and more curious,” she notes.
Across cities, languages, industries, and experiences, Catherine Tresa has approached life with the mindset of a student—always willing to learn, evolve, and discover something new.

Her final philosophy returns to that same openness. “At the end of the day, I think life is really about learning,” she says. “Every city, every conversation, every challenge, every success, and every failure teaches you something. The more open you are to those lessons, the richer your journey becomes.”