Utthara Unni

Utthara Unni
Utthara Unni in the film Edavappathy
Born	Thiruvalla, Kerala, India
Occupations	Dancer actress
Years active	2012–2018
Parent(s)	Ankarath Ramanunni [1] Urmila Unni
Website	www.uttharaunni.in

Utthara Unni is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer from Kerala. She has directed some short films, documentaries and music videos. She also acted in two films. She heads a dance academy called Temple Steps^{[ citation needed ]} in Kochi, Kerala.

Career

As a dancer

She has performed in Natyanjali festivals held at Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Thirunallar, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvarur and Thanjavur. Some of her stages include Soorya Dance Festival – Parampara, ^[2] Mylapore Fine Arts – Chennai, Sangeetha Nataka Akademi – Thrissur, Nishagandhi – Trivandrum, Eranakulam Shiva temple, Guruvayur, Mookambika temple, Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan – Trivandrum. Utthara has also made a name for herself by giving solo concerts in other countries such as Nepal, Thailand, UAE, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain and Kuwait. ^{[3] [4]}

She is also the director of the dance school "Temple Steps" situated in Cochin. ^[5]

She is a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council. ^[6]

As a film maker and singer

Utthara's directorial debut was through a short film Randaam Varavu ^[7] featuring her mother Urmila Unni. The film won her five awards for best direction. ^[8] She later directed a supernatural short-film featuring Urmila Unni and Devan called Ninth Month. ^[9] Her next short film Paw Prints ^{[10] [11]} featuring Siddique is a short film is about relationship between a man and a dog. ^[12] She has also created music videos and documentaries. ^[13] Utthara Unni is also an acclaimed singer and has released a music album titled Pathirapontheril.. ^[14]

As an actress and model

She made her debut in the Tamil film Vavval Pasanga (2012) directed by Suresh. Her first Malayalam film ^{[15] [16]} was Edavappathy , directed by Lenin Rajendran. Utthara portrayed dual roles of Vasavadatta (a famous character from Kumaran Asan's poem Karuna) and a modern girl Yamini in the parallel story of the film. Her performance was critically acclaimed and won her the Kerala Film Critics Association Award for the best upcoming actor (debut). ^{[17] [18]}

As a TV show host

Utthara started her TV career in 2015 with a show called Mambazham in Kairali TV. Currently, she is hosting a reality show on Amrita TV called Autumn Leaf ^[19] to find the best music band in Kerala.

Personal life

Utthara Unni and her mother, actress Urmila Unni

Utthara Unni is daughter of Malayalam actress Urmila Unni and is married to businessman Nithesh S Nair. ^[20]

Awards

• Drishya award for best direction for the Short Film Randaam Varavu ^[8]
• Guru Gopikrishna National Award for Bharatanatyam in 2016 ^[21]

Filmography

As actress

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
2012	Vavval Pasanga		Tamil
2016	Edavappathy	Vasavadatta/Yamini	Malayalam

As TV show host

Year	Show Name	Role	Channel	Language	Notes
2015	Mambazham	Host	Kairali TV	Malayalam
2018	Autumn Leaf	Host	Amrita TV	Malayalam

References

1. "Urmila Unni". Archived from the original on 2 April 2011.
2. "When Uthara Unni became a 'viraha nayika'". The Times of India. n.d.
3. "Uthara Unni: A dancer extraordinaire". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
4. "Actress Utthara Unni's Bharathanatyam Recital Event | RITZ". RITZ Magazine. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
5. Maattumantha, MS Das (16 March 2015). "ബഹറിനിൽ ഊർമിള ഉണ്ണിയും ഉത്തര ഉണ്ണിയും ഡാൻസ് സ്കൂൾ തുടങ്ങി". Cinema Mangalam. pp. 42, 43, 44, 45. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
6. "About – Utthara Unni | Official Website". www.uttharaunni.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
7. Utthara Unni (30 January 2015), Short Film [Horror] – "Randaam Varavu" by Utthara Unni , retrieved 16 January 2018
8. "Actress Uthara Unni takes up direction". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
9. Utthara Unni (30 October 2016), 9th Month – A Short Film | Directed by Utthara Unni | Devan | Urmila Unni , retrieved 16 January 2018
10. "Uttara Unni's short film explores the special relationship between man and dog". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
11. Playground Digital Cinema (4 June 2017), Paw Prints – Official Full Short Film | Utthara Unni Malayalam Short Film 2017 (English Subtitles) , retrieved 16 January 2018
12. "Story from her life: Utthara Unni". Deccan Chronicle . 6 June 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
13. Utthara Unni (25 May 2014), Utthara Unni's Kathakali Documentary , retrieved 16 January 2018
14. "Pathirapontheril Malayalam Album Song-Uthara Unni". 25 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015– via YouTube.
15. "I wanted Edavapathi to mark my debut: Utthara Unni". Deccan Chronicle . 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
16. "Uthara Unni makes her debut in Mollywood". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
17. "Edavappaathy Shooting Location" . Retrieved 10 May 2015– via YouTube.
18. "Manisha Koirala praises Uthara Unni". The Times of India. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
19. "Autumn Leaf: A new reality show to crown the best music band". The Times of India. n.d.
20. Parvathy S Nayar (17 September 2011). "Urmila Unni gets busy in Kollywood". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
21. "In love with her 'chilanka': Utthara Unni". Deccan Chronicle . 24 October 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2018.

External links

• Utthara Unni at IMDb