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 Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathayam ...

. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs,

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

. Since 1998, the

Kerala State Chalachitra Academy 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 Cana ...

, an autonomous non-profit organisation functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs, has been exercising control over the awards. The awardees, decided by an independent jury formed by the academy, are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

. The 1st Kerala State Film Awards ceremony was held in 1970 with

Sheela Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as he ...

receiving the Best Actress award for her role in ''

Kallichellamma ''Kallichellamma'' is a 1969 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. Bhaskaran. It is based on the novel of the same name by G. Vivekanandan. The film stars Prem Nazir, Madhu, Sheela and Adoor Bhasi. It was released on 22 August 1969. S ...

'' (1969). The following year, Sharada was recognised for her performances in two films'' Thriveni'' and '' Thara''. Since then, several actresses have been awarded for more than one film during a year. Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the Government of Kerala has presented a total of 51 Best Actress awards to 34 different actresses.

Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...

has been the most frequent winner in this category, with five awards. She is followed by Sheela and

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, ...

with three awards each. As of 2018, nine actresses

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 ...

, Seema,

Samyuktha Varma Samyuktha Varma (born 26 November 1979) is a former Indian actress who was active in Malayalam films from 1999 to 2002. She made her debut in 1999 as female lead in the movie '' Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal'' for which she won her first Kerala ...

Suhasini Maniratnam Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...

Navya Nair Navya Nair is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam films, along with others in Kannada and Tamil. She is the recipient of several awards. Personal life Nair married Santhosh Menon in 2010, and the couple have a son. ...

Meera Jasmine Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. Meera Jasmine won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in ...

Kavya Madhavan Kavya Madhavan (born 19 September 1984) is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 1991 as a child artist in '' Pookkalam Varavayi''. Her debut role as a lead actress was in Lal Jose's '' ...

Shweta Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and television anchor. She won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Fi ...

and

Parvathy Thiruvothu Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvattaa (born 7 April 1988) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Tamil language films. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South, and two Kerala State Film Award ...

have won the award two times in their careers. The 2005 ceremony was the only occasion when the category was tied; Kavya Madhavan and

Geetu Mohandas Gayatri Das (born 8 June 1981), known professionally as Geetu Mohandas, is an Indian actress and director known for her works in Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. In 2013, she directed the socio political film '' Liar's Dice'' which has received ...

shared the award, while the former for her performance in ''

Perumazhakkalam ''Perumazhakkalam'' (English: The season of heavy rains) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Kamal and written by T. A. Razzaq. It stars Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, Dileep, Vineeth and Biju Menon. Notable asso ...

'' and the latter for the films '' Akale'' and ''

Oridam ''Oridam'' is a 2005 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Pradeep Nair, starring Vishnu and Geethu Mohandas Gayatri Das (born 8 June 1981), known professionally as Geetu Mohandas, is an Indian actress and director known for her works in Ma ...

'' respectively.

Anna Ben Anna Ben is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam cinema. The daughter of screenwriter Benny P. Nayarambalam, she made her acting debut with ''Kumbalangi Nights'' in 2019. Anna has since starred in the dramas ''Helen'' (2019) and ''Kappela ...

, won the award for her role in ''

Kappela ''Kappela'' () is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written and directed by Muhammad Musthafa (in his directorial debut). Movie produced by Vishnu Venu Under his banner Kadhaas Untold. Starring Anna Ben, Sreenath Bhasi, and ...

'' in 2020 and the recent recipient of the award is

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films. She has won several ...

, for the film

Bhoothakaalam Bhoothakaalam () is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language horror film written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, starring Shane Nigam and Revathy. The film is produced by Anwar Rasheed under the banner Plan T Films in association with Shane Nigam Film ...

in 2021.

Superlatives

Winners

References

External links

Official website

Department of Cultural Affairs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerala State Film Award For Best Actress Kerala State Film Awards Film awards for lead actress

Superlatives

Winners

See also

References

External links