She first gained kani in 2009 with the film Kerala Cafe, where her performance was critically acclaimed. Kani was born in Cheruvakkal, a small village in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to social activist and rationalist parents Jayasree A.
Her parents had dropped their last names to erase the social hierarchy marker that comes with last names in India. At Abhinaya, Kusruti made her theatre debut in Baudhayana’s classic farce Bhagavadajjukam. She played the lead role of Vasantsena in the production from 2000 to 2006. The play toured across theatre festivals, including the Bharat Rang Mahotsav and the International Theatre Festival of Kerala. She rendered the part of Kamala in M.