K. V. Srilekha Nair (born 23 April 1986), better known by her
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 ...
Sshivada is an Indian actress who appears 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 wa ...
and
Tamil films.
Personal life
Sshivada was born as K. V. Srilekha Nair to Vijayarajan and Kumari, a Malayali family, in
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
, where she studied till Grade 5.
After grade 5, her family moved to
Angamaly
Angamaly (''Aṅkamāli''), , Malayalam : അങ്കമാലി Situated about north of the city centre, the town lies at the intersection of Main Central Road (MC Road) and National Highway 544. MC Road, which starts from Thiruvanantha ...
and there she was educated at Viswajyothi CMI Public School, Angamaly. She is a Computer Science engineering graduate from
Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering Technology
The Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology (ASIET), is a self-financing college, situated in Kalady, in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The college started on 31 August 2001. ASIET is affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological Un ...
.
She is married to her longtime boyfriend Murali Krishnan and has a daughter named Arundhathi.
Career
Sshivada started her acting career through a small role in 2009 Malayalam anthology film ''
Kerala Cafe
''Kerala Cafe'' is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language anthology film produced by Ranjith and directed by a team of ten directors including Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, ...
''. But she didn't get enough recognition. Later when working as a
VJ in television, she was spotted by Malayalam director
Fazil, who cast her as the female lead in his 2011 film ''
Living Together''. Then she auditioned for the Tamil film ''
Nedunchaalai
''Nedunchalai'' ( Highway) is a 2014 Tamil language thriller film written and directed by N. Krishna and produced by Aaju, C. Soundarajan and Dheeraj Kher. This film features Aari Arujunan and Sshivada in the lead roles, with Thambi Ramiah ...
''. Though her mother tongue is Malayalam, Sshivada managed to dub for her first film. She says, "I was born in
Trichy
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...
and studied in
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 ...
till my fifth standard before moving to Kerala. So, I'm comfortable speaking Tamil."
Sshivada received praise for her portrayal of Manga, a Malayalam village girl, who runs a
dhaba
A dhaba is a roadside restaurant in the Indian subcontinent, primarily across Pakistan and India. They are on highways, generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops. They are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and mo ...
. While
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
wrote "new find Shivada...steals the show. She lights the screen as she executes the loud, aggressive and righteous Manga with a lot of style and élan",
Baradwaj Rangan
Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of '' The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hin ...
called her a "terrific newcomer". In her next film ''Zero'', a supernatural thriller directed by debutant Shiv Mohaa, a former assistant of
Bharat Bala, she plays Priya, "a modern-day wife, who is also orthodox and holds on to some traditional values".
In March 2017, Sshivada signed new project which is to be directed by ''
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popu ...
'' fame Ashwin Saravanan to star along with
S J Suryah and
Wamiqa Gabbi.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Living people
Actresses in Tamil cinema
21st-century Indian actresses
Actresses from Tiruchirappalli
1986 births
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Indian film actresses