Utthara Unni is an Indian

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dancer from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. She has directed some short films, documentaries and music videos. She also acted in two films. She heads a dance academy called Temple Steps in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, Kerala.

Career

As a dancer

She has performed in Natyanjali festivals held at

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

Thirunallar Thirunallar is a small town in Karaikal, India, in the Union Territory of Puducherry, and can be reached by road from the town of Karaikal, an enclave which lies within the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Thirunallar contains the shrine of L ...

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

Mayavaram Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Mediev ...

Thiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing and mea ...

and

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

. Some of her stages include Soorya Dance Festival – Parampara, Mylapore Fine Arts –

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 ...

, Sangeetha Nataka Akademi –

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 ...

, Nishagandhi –

Trivandrum 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 ...

, Eranakulam Shiva temple,

Guruvayur Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

Mookambika temple Kollur Mookambika Temple is located at Kollur in Byndoor Taluk of Udupi District in the region of Tulunadu and in the state of Karnataka, India. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Mother Goddess known as Mookambika Devi. Mookambika is the ...

, Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan –

. Utthara has also made a name for herself by giving solo concerts in other countries such as

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. She is also the director of the dance school "Temple Steps" situated in

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, She is a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council.

As a film maker and singer

Utthara's directorial debut was through a short film ''Randaam Varavu'' featuring her mother

Urmila Unni Urmila Unni is an Indian classical dancer and actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Her daughter Utthara Unni is also an actress. Personal life Unni was born on June 14th, 1962 into a royal family as the daughter of K. C. Anuja ...

. The film won her five awards for best direction. She later directed a supernatural short-film featuring Urmila Unni and Devan called ''Ninth Month''. She was praised about her writing and film making skills in her next short film ''Paw Prints'' featuring Siddique. The short film is about relationship between a man and a dog. She has also created music videos and documentaries. Utthara Unni is also an acclaimed singer and has released a music album titled ''Pathirapontheril.''.

As an actor and model

She made her debut in the Tamil film ''

Vavval Pasanga ''Vavval Pasanga'' is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Suresh. The film stars Rahul and Utthara Unni in the lead roles. Plot synopsis A youngster is compelled to choose an unfavorable path because of societal press ...

'' (2012) directed by

Suresh Suresh is an Indian masculine given name originating in the Sanskrit word ' (compound of ' and '). Its meaning is "Ruler of Gods" and it has been used an epithet for the Hindu gods Indra, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. People named Suresh include: *Sur ...

. Her first Malayalam film was ''

Edavappathy ''Edavappathy'' () is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Lenin Rajendran. It deals with the story of the mental conflicts of a Tibetan Buddhist priest. Siddharth Lama plays the male lead with Utthara Unni opposit ...

'', directed by

Lenin Rajendran Lenin Rajendran ( ml, ലെനിൻ രാജേന്ദ്രൻ) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam cinema. He served as the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation from 2016 to January 2019. ...

. Utthara portrayed dual roles of Vasavadatta (a famous character from

Kumaran Asan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam ...

'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 The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

for the best upcoming actor (debut).

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 Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam Language general Entertainment television channel owned by Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It was launched in 2005. Theme song The theme song, "Lokasamastha," was composed by Rahulraj for Mata Amritanandamayi's 50t ...

called Autumn Leaf to find the best music band in

Personal life

Utthara Unni Urmila Unni Actress Malayalam

Utthara Unni is daughter of

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 ...

actress

and is married to businessman Nithesh S Nair

Awards

*Drishya award for best direction for the Short Film Randaam Varavu *Guru Gopikrishna

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

for

in 2016

Filmography

As actress

As TV show host

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unni, Utthara Living people Indian film actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses from Kochi 21st-century Indian actresses People from Thiruvalla Bharatanatyam exponents Female dancers 1992 births