Divya Gopikumar, professionally known as Abhirami (born 26 July 1983) is an Indian film and voice actress. She has acted predominantly in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

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

films and few credits in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

films. Abhirami went on to establish herself as an leading actress in the 2000s across the

and

language industries. Abhirami went on to establish herself as a leading actress in the 2000s across the

and

language industries after appearing in films such as ''

Sradha ''Sradha'' () is a 2000 Indian Malayalam language action film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by T. Damodaran and Dr. Rajendrababu. The film stars Mohanlal and Arun Pandian (in his Malayalam debut) in the lead roles. It features a musical ...

'' (2000), ''

Middle Class Madhavan ''Middle Class Madhavan'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by T. P. Gajendran. The film stars Prabhu and Abhirami, while Vadivelu, Vivek, Manivannan and others in supporting roles. The film explores th ...

'' (2001), ''

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

'' (2002), ''

Raktha Kanneeru ''Raktha Kanneeru'' () is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language Masala film directed by Sadhu Kokila, starring Upendra and Ramya Krishna. The film was produced by Munirathna and was later dubbed in Telugu. The screenplay and dialogues of the film wer ...

'' (2003) and ''

Virumaandi ''Virumaandi'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, co-edited, produced, and directed by Kamal Haasan, who also performed in the title role. The cast also includes Pasupathy, Napoleon, Abhirami, Rohini, Shanmugarajan a ...

'' (2004).

Early life and education

She was born as Divya Gopikumar on 26 July 1983, to Gopikumar and Pushpa who were living in Kerala. She attended Christ Nagar English High School and

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent institut ...

, in Thiruvananthapuram and did predegree training from

Mar Ivanios College Mar Ivanios College is an autonomous educational institution situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The college was ranked as 45th best college in the country by Ministry of Education's National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2023, ...

, before graduating in programs for psychology and communications from the

College of Wooster {{Infobox university , image = College of Wooster seal.png , image_upright = .6 , name = The College of Wooster , former_names = University of Wooster (1866–1915) , motto ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Her family migrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2004 when she got a job there. Her parents are

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

instructors in

Career

Abhirami made her debut in director

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...

's film ''

Kathapurushan ''Kathapurushan'' () is a 1995 Indo-Japanese Malayalam-language period drama film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It was produced by Gopalakrishnan himself and co-produced by NHK. The film stars Vishwanathan, Mini Nair, Aranmula P ...

''. While in college, Abhirami worked as a TV anchor for the program ''Top Ten'' which aired on the

Asianet Asianet may refer to: JioStar channels * JioStar, is an Indian media conglomerate wholly owned by Disney India. ** Asianet, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** As ...

channel, which according to Abhirami was "quite popular" and got her a film offer. She also appeared in the 100-episode Malayalam serial ''Akshaya Pathram'', directed by

Sreekumaran Thampi Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he w ...

. She changed her screen name to Abhirami, the character name of the heroine of the film ''

Gunaa ''Gunaa'' is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, uncon ...

'', being "obsessed with the role and the name". She had a small role in the Malayalam film ''

Pathram ''Pathram'' () is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir political thriller film written by Renji Panicker and directed by Joshi. The movie stars Suresh Gopi in the lead role as an associate editor of a popular newspaper. The film collect ...

'' in 1999 and in the series ''Mercara'' directed by

Jude Attipetty Jude Attipetty is an Indian director of Malayalam cinema and television. He is the head of programs at Mazhavil Manorama and is the director of award-winning tele-series such as ''Sararanthal'' and ''Mikhayelinte Santhathikal''. He has also rece ...

. Later she acted in the films '' Millennium Stars'', ''

Njangal Santhushtaranu ''Njangal Santhushtaranu'' () is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language domestic drama film directed by Rajasenan and starring Jayaram and Abhirami in lead roles. Plot Sanjeevan is a dedicated and honest police commissioner who lives with his widowed ...

'', and ''

'' before shifting to

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

. Her first Tamil film was ''

Vaanavil ''Vaanavil'' () is a 2000 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language film produced and directed by Manoj Kumar (Tamil director), Manoj Kumar. The film stars Arjun Sarja, Arjun, Abhirami Gopikumar, Abhirami (in her Tamil debut) and Prakash Raj. It was ...

'' (2000) opposite Arjun, which was a "big hit" and was followed by ''

'' (2001), as well as '' Dost'' (2001), ''

Samudhiram ''Samudhiram'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Erode Soundar and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars an ensemble cast of Sarathkumar, Murali, Manoj Bharathiraja, Kaveri, Abhirami, Sindhu Menon and Monal. T ...

'' (2001) and '' Samasthanam'' (2001) with

R. Sarathkumar Ramanathan Sarathkumar (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, politician and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He has acted in more than 150 films and won two ...

. A notable film in her career was ''

'' (2004), in which she appeared as a Tamil village girl from

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

opposite

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

. Besides Tamil and Malayalam, she has appeared in Telugu and Kannada films and was a notable Tollywood actress. In 2003, she appeared opposite

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

in the film ''

'' and opposite

Shiva Rajkumar Dr.Shiva Rajkumar (born Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy; 12 July 1962) is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Ka ...

in '' Sri Ram''. In 2004, she retired from the film industry and settled in the

for her studies. She went on to work as the marketing director of an MNC there. She went on to host ''Rishimoolam'', a talk show on the Tamil television channel '' Puthuyugam''. After a 10 year hiatus, she returned to the film industry in 2014 and acted in multiple films as a supporting actress until 2021 when she got a role as one of lead actresses in the film '' Maara'' after 17 years. She also became a reality show judge through the show '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs'' (2023). She was cast in the supporting role in the action drama film ''

Vettaiyan ''Vettaiyan'' ( ) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by T. J. Gnanavel and produced by Subaskaran Allirajah's Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth as Athiyan, a senior police officer, who accidentally shoots an ...

'' (2024) with

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

. Shen then appeared in the black comedy '' Jolly O Gymkhana'' (2024) as well as hyperlink thriller, '' Once Upon A Time in Madras'' (2024).

Personal life

Abhirami is married to Rahul Pavanan, grandson of writer

Pavanan Puthan Veetil Narayanan Nair, fondly called and popularly known by his pen name Pavanan who was born on 26 October 1925 and died on 22 June 2006, was a well-known rationalist, literary critic and left wing political activist from Kerala, Ind ...

. The couple have an adopted daughter.

Filmography

As actress

As a dubbing artist

Television

* ''Top Ten'', anchor of musical program (

) * ''Piyatha'',

telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

(

) * ''Akshaya Pathram'', (

) * ''Annie'', telefilm (

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment free-to-air television channel owned by PTC Network via holding company G-Next Media Pvt Ltd . It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. Hist ...

) * ''Rishimoolam'', host ( Puthuyugam) * ''Made For Each Other'', host (

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment Free-to-air television channel owned by Malayala Manorama. The channel’s headquarters is at Aroor, Alappuzha in Kerala, India. History The channel has been on air sin ...

) * '' Kanakanmani'', (

Surya TV Surya TV is an Indian Malayalam language Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. which is headquartered at Kochi. Surya TV HD became the third Malayalam language high-definition channel. Current broadcas ...

) as Radhika (Cameo) * ''Flowers Oru Kodi'' (

Flowers TV Flowers TV is an Indian Malayalam-language, general-entertainment, pay television channel owned by Insight Media City. The channel was launched on 12 April 2015. Flowers TV HD feed is only available through their YouTube channel. History ...

) as Participant * ''Red Carpet'' (

Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam-language free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal an ...

) as Mentor * '' Oru Kodai Murder Mystery'', as Ananthalakshmi (Annie) Varadarajan * '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs (season 3)'', (

Zee Tamil Zee Tamil is an Indian Tamil language pay television general entertainment channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel started broadcasting on 2008 and is available internationally. The channel broadcasts from Guindy, Chennai, ...

), Judge * ''Shyamambaram'' (

Zee Keralam Zee Keralam also known as Z Keralam is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel was launched on 26 November 2018 and it is ZEE's fifth channel in the sou ...

) * '' Goli Soda Rising'' (

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

) as Thendral * ''Super star'', (Amrita TV), Judge * ''

Mahanadigai ''Mahanadigai'' is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language reality show which premiered on 5 October 2024 on Zee Tamil, and is also available on the digital platform ZEE5. The first episode was aired on Saturday to Sunday at 20:30 ( IST). It was aired ever ...

'', (

), Judge

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abhirami 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Living people Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan schools alumni 1983 births College of Wooster alumni Indian voice actresses Actresses in Malayalam television