Ivana (actress)

Ivana
Born	Aleena Shaji
Other names	Ivana
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2012–present

Aleena Shaji, known by her stage name Ivana, is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Tamil cinema, in addition to few Malayalam films. Starting her career as a child artist in several Malayalam films, she made her lead debut in Naachiyaar (2018) and became well known for her role as Nikhita in Love Today (2022) to the audiences. She also played the character of Harini in Single in 2025.

Career

Aleena began her career as a child actress in the Malayalam film industry through supporting role in Masters (2012), before working on Rani Padmini (2015), three years later. Aleena then portrayed a pivotal role in Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (2016) as the daughter of the lead character. ^[1] Director Bala had spotted a news article about Anuraga Karikkun Vellam online and subsequently chose to cast Aleena in his Tamil film, Naachiyaar (2018), which also had Jyothika and G. V. Prakash Kumar in pivotal roles. Bala requested that she should use a stage name which would be easier to pronounce for Tamil audiences, and with the assistance of her cousin, she finalised the name Ivana. ^[2] In order to prepare for her role, she undertook Tamil classes, while her co-actors assisted and gave her tips when filming certain scenes. ^[3] Portraying Arasi, a young, innocent girl, Ivana received praise for her performance. Sify.com noted "with and a pretty fresh face and large expressive eyes, Ivana makes a wholly believable Arasi". ^[4] Likewise, critics from The Indian Express noted that Ivana makes "an impressive debut", while India Today's reviewer stated that Ivana gives a "splendid performance" and her "expressions are pleasing and pretty convincing". ^{[5] [6]}

Filmography

List of Ivana film credits

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language	Notes
2012	Masters	Young Daksha	Malayalam
2015	Rani Padmini	Young Rani
2016	Anuraga Karikkin Vellam	Anu Raghu
2018	Naachiyaar	Kottaiarasi (Arasi)	Tamil
2019	Hero	Mathi
2022	Love Today	Nikitha
2023	LGM: Let's Get Married	Meera
	Mathimaran	Mathi
2024	Kalvan	Balamani
2025	Dragon	Harini Mayilvahanan		Cameo appearance
	Single	Harini	Telugu	[7]

Awards and nominations

List of Ivana awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2019	8th SIIMA Awards	Best Debut Actress	Naachiyaar	Nominated	[8]
	Filmfare Awards South	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated	[8]

References

1. "Anuraga Karikkin Vellam review". Reelistic Views. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
2. Tamil The Hindu (21 February 2018). 'Jyothika helped me to cry' : 'Nachiyaar' Ivana Interview. Hindu Tamil Thisai. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2018– via YouTube.
3. "Naachiyaar: A debut to remember for Ivana". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
4. "Review : Naachiyaar review: A perfectly satisfying watch that (2018)". Sify . Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
5. "Naachiyaar Movie Review: Finally, a Bala film with a happy ending". India Today . 16 February 2018. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
6. "Naachiyaar movie review: Jyothika, GV Prakash Kumar shine in a surprisingly 'soft' Bala movie" . The Indian Express . 16 February 2018. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
7. "Sree Vishnu's 18th film is titled 'Single'". Telugu Cinema. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
8. "Awards 2018 – SIIMA". SIIMA. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.

External links

• Ivana at IMDb