Urvashi (actress)

Early and personal life

Urvashi was born to popular drama actors Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi at Sooranad in the Kollam district of Kerala. She is the granddaughter of famous Malayali writer Sooranad Kunjan Pillai. Her elder sisters are actors Kalaranjini and Kalpana. Her family was resettled to Thiruvananthapuram. Her two brothers, Kamal Roy and Prince, had also acted in a few Malayalam movies. Prince (Nandu of Layanam fame) committed suicide at the age of 17.

Urvashi studied at Fort Girls' Mission High School in Thiruvananthapuram until fourth grade and later at Corporation Higher Secondary School, Kodambakkam, until ninth grade, when the family shifted to Chennai.

Firstly, Urvashi was cast by director K.Bhagyaraj in his village-based film Mundhanai Mudichu. The film was successful and declared a super hit at the box office. She could not continue her studies since she had become busy with her movie career by then.

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 350 films (upto 2025) 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 Dwik Vijayam, released in 1980, she plays Krishna in the song sequence Madhumaasa Nikunjathil, where her sister Kalpana plays Radha. 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 Tamil film as heroine was Mundhanai Mudichu directed by K. Bhagyaraj in 1983, making her debut movie. Ethirppukal in 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 also hosted Kannada Show Krazy Couple on Zee Kannada.

Filmography

Main article: Urvashi filmography

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Urvashi

References

References

1. (27 July 2024). "കിരീടം വെക്കാത്ത ലേഡി സൂപ്പർസ്റ്റാർ ഉർവശിയുടെ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ യോഗ്യത; പഠനത്തെക്കുറിച്ച്‌ താരത്തിന്റെ വെളിപ്പെടുത്തൽ".
2. Vasanth TV. (18 January 2025). "அந்த 2 பேர் இழப்பு என்ன ரொம்ப பாதிச்சது – Actress Urvashi interview {{!}} Vasanth TV".
3. . (7 June 2018). ["Kavitha Ranjini is the real name of actress Urvashi"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/did-you-know/kavitha-ranjini-is-the-real-name-of-actress-urvashi/articleshow/64494591.cms).
4. (21 July 2010). "നായികമാര്‍ എന്തിന് ഭയക്കണം?, Interview – Mathrubhumi Movies". Mathrubhumi.com.
5. "Urvashi, the mother of all roles". The Times of India.
6. (8 February 2020). "Why Malayalam Cinema's Usual Rules Do Not Apply To Urvashi".
7. "ഏകാന്തതയുടെ കടല്‍ ഞാന്‍ നീന്തിക്കടക്കും – articles, infocus_interview – Mathrubhumi Eves". Mathrubhumi.com.
8. (27 July 2024). "കിരീടം വെക്കാത്ത ലേഡി സൂപ്പർസ്റ്റാർ ഉർവശിയുടെ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ യോഗ്യത; പഠനത്തെക്കുറിച്ച്‌ താരത്തിന്റെ വെളിപ്പെടുത്തൽ".
9. (28 August 2015). "Popular siblings from the Malayalam film industry". [[The Times of India]].
10. (20 March 2009). "Friday Review : The Urvashi formula". [[The Hindu]].
11. PK Sreenivasan. (24 March 2014). "മുന്താണെ മുടിച്ചും പതിനാലുകാരി കവിതയും".
12. "A messy divorce!".
13. (30 March 2014). "Actress Urvashi's Second Marriage with Sivaprasad".
14. (22 September 2014). "Cinemaa Chirimaa with Kalpana and Manju Pilla: 22-9-2014". mazhavilmanorama.
15. (14 August 2024). "Kerala State Film Awards 2024: Mammootty, Prithviraj, Urvashi in the running for Best Actor, Actress".
16. (1 January 2014). "Urvashi returns to Kannada". The Times of India.