Rima Kallingal is an Indian actress and film producer who mainly appears in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

films. She made her Malayalam film debut with '' Ritu'' (2009). She married to the

film director

Aashiq Abu Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema. He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), ''Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female Kottayam'' (201 ...

in 2013.

Early Life and Career

Born in

Thrissur, Kerala Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

, Rima Kallingal began practising dancing when she was three years old. A dancer by profession, she has been a part of a dance company called Nritarutya and has had performances on national and international stages. She studied in

Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School Stanes Schools are two schools in Coimbatore and Coonoor. History The schools were established by Sir Robert Stanes in 1862, with the Coimbatore branch starting with four children and two teachers.It started as a European and Eurasian school but ...

Coonoor Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. Demographics According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a population ...

up to Fifth grade. She completed her schooling from

Chinmaya Vidyalaya Chinmaya Vidyalayas are a group of schools operated by the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT), founded by Swami Chinmayananda and currently headed by Swami Tejomayananda.There are more than 80 Chinmaya Vidyalayas across 12 states in India a ...

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

, graduating in 2001. She holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in journalism from

Christ University CHRIST - Deemed to be University is a deemed to be university in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Founded in 1969 as Christ College, the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India conferred autonomy to Christ College in 2004. On 22 July 2008 i ...

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. She is also skilled in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

(Korean martial art), Chao (Manipuri martial art) and

Kalari A kalari is a gymnasium or training space primarily associated with the martial art of Kalaripayattu. The word ''kalari'' comes from Malayalam. In the past, village schools in Kerala, typically run by the traditional astrologer families, were k ...

. She was a semi-finalist of the

Asianet Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

reality show ''

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

Thakadhimi''. She moved to

to pursue a modelling career and later participated in the Miss Kerala beauty pageant, in which be she became the first runner-up, losing to Shree Thulasi in a tie-breaker. She was spotted by director

Lal Jose Lal Jose is an Indian director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Direc ...

on a magazine cover, who cast her for a

goat herder A goatherd or goatherder is a person who herds goats as a vocational activity. It is similar to a shepherd who herds sheep. Goatherds are most commonly found in regions where goat populations are significant; for instance, in Africa and South A ...

role in a Tamil film ''Mazhai Varappoguthu''. The project didn't materialise, but she was offered the lead female character of Varsha by director

Shyamaprasad Shyamaprasad (born 7 November 1960) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor from Kerala. Career Shyamaprasad was born on 7 November 1960 at Palakkad, as the younger son of O. Rajagopal and Santhakumari. He was named after Shyama Prasad ...

for '' Ritu'', which eventually marked her acting debut. She was 25 when she acted in the film. In 2012, she acted in the film '' 22 Female Kottayam'' which became a big success, commercially as well as critically. She received praises and won many awards for her portrayal of Tessa. She also won the Kerala State Government award for Best Actress. After ''22 Female Kottayam'' she told that she had made some mistakes in her career and stated "Yes, I have done a few films I never should have, but I am determined not to repeat those mistakes". In 2013, Kallingal turned television anchor with the

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Free-to-air Malayalam general entertainment television channel operated and owned by Malayala Manorama Television (MMTV), the publisher of the widely circulated ''Malayalam Manorama'' daily, and the Malayalam wom ...

show "

Midukki ''Midukki'' was a 2013-2013 Indian cinema, Indian reality television series in a beauty pageant style which was aired on the Mazhavil Manorama channel. The first season of the show was hosted by Malayalam cinema, Mollywood actress Rima Kallinga ...

". Following which the Kerala Film Chamber imposed a ban on her which was revoked later. In 2014 she set up her own Dance institute Mamangam in Kochi, Kerala.

Personal life

Kallingal married director

on 1 November 2013, in a simple ceremony held in Kakkanad Registration office, Kochi. As part of the occasion, they donated Rs 1 million towards the welfare of poor cancer patients at the General Hospital, Ernakulam, and Rs 25,000 to meet a day's expense of the dietary kitchen at the hospital.

Filmography

As actor

*All projects are in Malayalam language unless noted

As producer

Television

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kallingal, Rima Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Living people Actresses from Thrissur Kerala State Film Award winners Actresses in Malayalam cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Filmfare Awards South winners Indian television actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Female models from Kerala Christ University alumni Indian female taekwondo practitioners Year of birth missing (living people)