Kavitha Ranjini, known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Urvashi, is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, scriptwriter and producer known for her works in the Southern film industry, predominantly 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 ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

films. Urvashi was a prominent

lead actress A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...

of the 1980s and 1990s, primarily in

Films. She has written the films ''

Ulsavamelam ''Utsavamelam'' (The Sound of Festival) is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Suresh Unnithan and written by K. S. Bhasurachandran. The rivalry between two families and the unexpected middle man in these issues is the main them ...

'' and '' Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu'', the latter was also produced by her. She won the

National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcast ...

for her performance in ''

Achuvinte Amma ''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. ...

'' (2005), which was her comeback movie after a period of 6 years. She has won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969 to an actress for the best performance within the Malayalam film industry. Until 1997, the awards were managed direct ...

a record five times, which includes three consecutive wins from 1989 to 1991. She has also received two

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

Early and personal life

Urvashi was born to popular drama actors Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi in Sooranad,kollam district. Her elder sisters are actors

Kalaranjini Kalaranjini is an Indian actress and classical dancer who started her career in the early 1980s. Personal life Kalaranjini was born to theatre artists Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi. She is divorced and has a son, Prince. Partial film ...

and Kalpana. Her two brothers, Kamal Roy and Prince had also acted in few Malayalam movies. Prince (Nandu of

Layanam ''Layanam'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language erotic drama film directed by Thulasidas and produced by R. B. Choudary. The film features prominent sexploitation actresses Silk Smitha, Abhilasha, and Devishri/Jahnvi, as well as young Nandu. ...

fame) committed suicide at the age of 26. She had her primary education from Fort Girl's Mission High School,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, until fourth grade and later at Corporation Higher Secondary School, Kodambakkam until ninth grade, when the family shifted to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. She couldn't continue her studies since she had become busy with her movie career by then. Firstly, Urvashi was acting in three films, Bhagyaraj saw the rush and booked her in ''Munthanai Mudichi''. Those three directors helped Urvashi to get preference in ''Munthanai Mudichi'' call-sheets. They calculated that the film would become a hit, then they could release their films with much profit. Urvashi married film actor Manoj K. Jayan on 2 May 2000. They have a daughter, Teja Lakshmi born in November 2001. However, they got divorced in 2008. Urvashi then married

based builder Sivaprasad in November 2013. The couple had a boy, Ishaan Prajapathi in August 2014.

Career

She acted in around 702 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. She started her acting career as a child artist, at the age of 10, in a Malayalam movie ''Kathirmandapam'', released in 1979, as

Jayabharathi Jayabharathi is an Indian actress. She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress. Jayabharathi's first leading role was given by director P. Bhaskaran for his movie Kattukurangu in 1969. Later she became one of ...

's daughter. She acted as

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...

's dance student in the movie ''Digvijayam'', released in 1980, she plays

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

in the song sequence ''Madhumaasa Nikunjathil'', where her sister Kalpana plays

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

. She has also acted as a child artist in ''Ninaivukal Maraivathillai'', a Tamil movie, in 1983, but it was never released. Then she acted as a heroine, at the age of 13, to Karthik in the movie ''Thodarum Uravu'', which completed shooting in 1983, but released in 1986. Her first released film as heroine was '' Munthanai Mudichchu'' (

, directed by

K. Bhagyaraj Krishnasaamy Bhagyaraj (born 7 January 1953) is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter, music director, producer and politician active mainly in Tamil films. He has also written and directed Hindi and Telugu films and TV serials. As an actor ...

) in 1983, making her debut movie. ''Ethirppukal'' (

, 1984) was one of her earlier films in

. During the peak of her career, she starred in M. P. Sukumaran Nair's award-winning film ''Kazhakam'' in 1995, without taking a single penny as remuneration. She was awarded Best Actress for this role. She has acted in some advertisements, and has participated in many stage shows also. She has acted in successful movies with Kamal Haasan which became super hit blockbuster in Tamil cinema.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Urvashi
at MSI {{DEFAULTSORT:Urvashi Living people 20th-century Indian actresses Women artists from Kerala 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Best Supporting Actress National Film Award winners Filmfare Awards South winners Kerala State Film Award winners Indian film actresses Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners 1970 births Child actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian television actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Kannada television Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Tamil television Indian women television presenters Actresses in Hindi cinema Tamil comedians Indian voice actresses