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

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film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. Urvashi was a prominent lead actress of the 1980s and 1990s, primarily in Malayalam Films. She has written the films '' Ulsavamelam'' and ''

Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu ''Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu'' () is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Viji Thampi and written by Sasidharan Arattuvazhi from a story by Urvashi, who also produced the film. Starring Urvashi, Manoj K. Jayan, Ja ...

'', 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 movie after a period of 6 years. 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.

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 and Kalpana. Her two brothers, Kamal Roy and Prince had also acted in few Malayalam movies. Prince (Nandu of Layanam fame) committed suicide at the age of 26. She had her primary education from Fort Girl's Mission High School, Thiruvananthapuram, until fourth grade and later at Corporation Higher Secondary School, Kodambakkam until ninth grade, when the family shifted to Chennai. 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 Chennai 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's daughter. She acted as Srividya's dance student in the movie ''Digvijayam'', released in 1980, she plays Krishna in the song sequence ''Madhumaasa Nikunjathil'', where her sister Kalpana plays

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. 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'' ( Tamil, directed by K. Bhagyaraj) in 1983, making her debut movie. ''Ethirppukal'' ( Malayalam, 1984) was one of her earlier films in Malayalam. 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

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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