Kavitha Ranjini, [1] known by the stage name Urvashi, is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, scriptwriter and producer known for her works in the Southern film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. [2] She has acted in around 700 films.
She started her acting career as a child artist, in a Malayalam movie Vidarunna Mottukal , released in 1977. [1] Her first released film as heroine was Mundhanai Mudichu (Tamil, directed by K. Bhagyaraj) in 1983. [3] [4] She was a prominent lead actress of the 1980s and 1990s, primarily in Malayalam Films. [1] She has written the films Ulsavamelam and Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu , the latter was also produced by her. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Achuvinte Amma (2005), which was her comeback film after a hiatus of 6 years. [5] She has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress a record five times, which includes three consecutive wins from 1989 to 1991. She has also received two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. [6]
Urvashi was born to popular drama actors Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi in Sooranad in Kollam district of Kerala .Her elder sisters are actors Kalaranjini and Kalpana. [5] She married actor Manoj K. Jayan on 2 May 1998, which ended in divorce in 2008. [7] [8]
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Best Supporting Actress | Achuvinte Amma | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Best Actress | Mazhavil Kavadi , Varthamanakalam | Won |
1990 | Thalayanamanthram | Won | |
1991 | Bharatham , Mukha Chithram , Kakkathollayiram , Kadinjool Kalyanam | Won | |
1995 | Kazhakam | Won | |
2006 | Madhuchandralekha | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize | Magalir Mattum | Won |
1995 | Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Kalaivanar Award | Contributions to Various Tamil films | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil | Michael Madana Kama Rajan | Nominated |
1994 | Magalir Mattum | Nominated | |
2010 | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress - Malayalam | Mummy & Me | Won |
2018 | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil | Magalir Mattum | Nominated [9] |
2022 | Soorarai Pottru | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Best Actress | Thalayanamanthram , Thoovalsparsham | Won |
1991 | Best Actress | Kakkathollayiram , Mukha Chithram | Won |
2022 | Chalachithra Prathibha Puraskaram | Contribution to Malayalam Film Industry | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Best Actress-Special Performance | Aravindante Athidhikal, Ente Ummante Peru | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Best Actress-Special Jury Award | Aravindante Athidhikal, Ente Ummante Peru | Won |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) | Aravindante Athidhikal | Nominated |
2020 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) | Varane Avashyamund | Nominated |
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Tamil) | Soorarai Pottru | Nominated | |
Best Actress in a Comedy (Tamil) | Mookuthi Amman | Nominated |
Year | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Best Actress in a Comedy (Tamil) | Malaikottai | Won |
2017 | Best Actress in a Comedy (Tamil) | Magalir Mattum | Won |
2020 | Best Actress in a Comedy (Tamil) | Dhilluku Dhuddu 2 | Won |
2020 | Aval Awards for Evergreen Heroine-2021 | Soorarai Pottru, Mookuthi Amman , Putham Pudhu Kaalai | Won |
2020-21 | Best Supporting Actress | Soorarai Pottru | Won |
Krishnasaamy Bhagyaraj is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter, music director, producer and politician active mainly in Tamil films. He has also written and directed Hindi films and TV serials. As an actor, he has worked in more than 75 films and has directed more than 25 films. He won a Filmfare Best Actor Award for Mundhanai Mudichu (1983). He received Lifetime Achievement Award in SIIMA (2014). He is the editor of weekly magazine Bhagya and has also written several novels.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing credits in few films. Ponnamma is a four-time Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress winner. Her sister Kaviyoor Renuka was also an actress. Often called as the Mother to all actors, she has acted as mother of almost all actors in her career panning over decades. At the age of 20, she played the mother of Sathyan and Madhu in the 1965 movie Thommente Makkal. She gained critical acclaim for acting as the mother of the actor Mohanlal.
Mahalakshmi Menon, best known by her stagename Shobha, was an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam and Tamil films. At the age of 17, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1979 Tamil film Pasi. She also received three Kerala State Film Awards: for Best Actress (1978), Best Supporting Actress (1977) and Best Child Artist (1971); and two Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress in Kannada (1978) and Tamil (1979) films. Considered one of the finest talents to have emerged in the Indian film world, her promising career was unexpectedly cut short as she committed suicide in 1980, due to unknown reasons. Her popularity resulted in considerable public scrutiny of the events that led to her death and also various conspiracy theories. The 1983 Malayalam film Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback is supposedly based on her life and death.
Sukumari Amma was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, along with few Hindi and one each in Sinhala, French, Bengali, Tulu, English and Kannada films. Sukumari began acting at the age of 10. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions toward the arts. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film Namma Gramam (2010). Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.
Manoj Kadampoothramadam Jayan, also known as Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor of Malayalam and Tamil films. He has also done a few Telugu and Kannada films and has also acted in a Bollywood film. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for his portrayal of Hariharan's "Kuttan Thampuran" in Sargam (1992), "Thalakkal Chandu" in Pazhassi Raja (2009) and "Kunjiraman" in Farook Abdul Rahiman's Kaliyachan. He has played "Kuttan Thampuran" (Sargam), "Thirumangalath Neelakandan Namboothiri" (Perumthachan), "Kunjunni Namboothiri" (Parinayam), "Unnikrishnan" (Venkalam), "Ananthakrishna Warrier" (Sopanam), "Digambaran" (Anandabhadram) and "Thalakkal Chandu". He is the son of singer Jayan of Jaya-Vijaya combo. He is also a singer.
Urvashi is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, scriptwriter and film producer known for her works in the Southern film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films also worked in Kannada and Telugu films. In a career spanning over four decades, she has won one National Film Award, five Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South respectively. Known for her distinct style of acting, she is widely regarded as one of the finest actors in Malayalam and Tamil cinema.
Sunil Kumar, known by his stage name Narain, is an Indian actor, who has starred in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. He made his debut in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Nizhalkuthu (2002), followed by performances in Malayalam films 4 the People (2004), Achuvinte Amma (2005), and Classmates (2006). Narain's Tamil and Telugu debuts were in Mysskin's Chithiram Pesuthadi (2006) and Jayaraj's Yuvasena (2004).
Achuvinte Amma is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by Ranjan Pramod from a story by Rajesh Jayaraman. It stars Urvashi, Meera Jasmine and Narain. The music is composed by Ilaiyaraaja. It was also a comeback movie for Urvashi in Malayalam after a gap of six years. The film has won several awards, including the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress (Urvashi), Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam, and Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam for Meera Jasmine.
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam film industry. She started her acting career with Kerala People's Arts Club, a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a career spanning five decades, she starred in over 550 films.
Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvattaa is an Indian actress prominently known for her work in Malayalam language films alongside few Tamil language films. Her notable accomplishments include receiving a Special Mention National Award, four Filmfare Awards South and two Kerala State Film Awards.
Kalpana Ranjani, better known mononymously as Kalpana, was an Indian actress who appeared in South Indian films, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil. Kalpana has acted in over 300 films in various South Indian languages. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Thanichalla Njan (2012) at the 60th National Film Awards. Kalpana started her career as a child artist in the late 1970s. Although she came into the industry with the intention of being a lead actress, she turned out to be popular among the audiences for her comic roles.
Sargam is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written and directed by Hariharan and produced by his wife, Bhavani Hariharan. Chowallur Krishnankutty wrote the dialogues. The film features Vineeth, Manoj K. Jayan, and Rambha, while Nedumudi Venu, Soumini/Srikanya, Urmila Unni, V. K. Sriraman, Thilakan, and Oduvil Unnikrishnan play supporting roles. Shaji N. Karun did the cinematography, while Bombay Ravi composed the soundtrack and M. S. Mani handled the editing. This movie was a blockbuster and the third highest-grossing movie of the year. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and three Kerala State Film Awards: Best Director (Hariharan), Second Best Actor, and Best Music Director. It was remade in Telugu as Sarigamalu with Vineeth, Manoj K. Jayan, and Rambha reprising their roles.
Manjari is an Indian playback singer and Hindustani vocalist. Her first stage performance was with Shiva, the Kolkata - based rock band, when she was in class eight.
Muraleedharan Pillai, popularly known as Murali was an Indian film, stage and television actor and author. He mainly appeared in Malayalam films and a few Tamil films and also many other movies. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Appa Mestry, a communist freedom fighter and professional weaver in the 2002 film Neythukaran. He was known for his powerful portrayal of character roles, lead roles and negative roles, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in Malayalam cinema.
Sanusha Santhosh is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She started her career as a child artist to leading actress and supporting character roles. She also appears in some Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films too.
Mohamallika Pillai, better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film Utharayanam by G. Aravindan. Since then, she has appeared in over 60 films. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her role in the 1974 film Swapnadanam.
Mundhanai Mudichu is a 1983 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed and written by K. Bhagyaraj, who also stars alongside Urvashi. The film focuses on Parimala, a mischievous village girl, who falls in love with a widower who works as a teacher in the village. She marries him by falsely accusing him of having sex with her, but she has to take drastic steps to win his love.
K. G. Jayan was an Indian Carnatic singer, musician, and music director from Kerala. Known for his devotional songs, Jayan composed more than 1,000 songs for Tamil and Malayalam films. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
Kavitha Ranjini, known by the stage name Urvashi, is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, scriptwriter and producer known for her works in the Southern film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has acted in total 702+ films: Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films
Kozhikode Sarada was an Indian Malayalam film actress. She has appeared in over 90 Malayalam films in a career spanning over four decades. She started her career as a stage actress. Sarada made her debut in Malayalam films with the film Angakkuri in 1979. She is known for appearing in films such as Kuttisrank, Anyarude Bhoomi, Sallapam Anubandham, Ulsavapittennu and Kilichundan Mambapazham. Sarada's role in Sallapam as the mother of Manoj K Jayan was praised by critics. She is also known for appearing in several Malayalam serials. She is a recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (2016).