Parvathy To Keerthy: 5 Malayalam Actors Who Are Known For Their Acting Prowess

Ever since the Malayalam film industry expanded to explore new horizons actresses down south have grabbed the limelight. The characters played by these new generation actresses stand for empowerment and equality. Their potential and talent have earned them several laurels.

Here are 5 award-winning actresses of the Malayalam movie industry of the decade.

Parvathy Thiruvothu

Parvathy Thiruvothu made her debut back in the 2006 movie, Out of Syllabus. Except for a couple of movies like Notebook, she was cast in the supporting roles. Later, she did movies in other South Indian languages. She made her comeback in the Malayalam movie industry with the 2014 Anjali Menon directorial hit Bangalore Days. 

Every role that she played was of a powerful female character. Some of her most acclaimed films are Take Off, Ennum Ninte Moideen, Uyare, and Charlie. Lately, she debuted in Bollywood with Qarib Qarib Singlle cast opposite Irrfan Khan. 

Thiruvothu received the Special Jury Award for Best Female Actor at the International Film Festival of India for her role as nurse Sameera in the movie Take Off. Adding to her long list of laurels is Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, Special Jury Mention at the National Film Awards, and Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Like her influential female characters in the movies, Parvathy Thiruvothu is a real-life feminist activist too. From being one of the founder members of Women in Cinema Collective, she has always stood front fighting against injustice towards women in the industry.

Rajisha Vijayan

Winning the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 2017 for debut movie Anuraga Karikkin Vellam Rajisha Vijayan’s career saw an amazing start. In a short span, she has earned a popular name as well as won the hearts of many. 

Vijayan starred in romantic as well as the strong female-centered genre of dramas. Her lead role in the 2019 hit movie June turned heads for her subtle performances. Another notable movie he did was Finals released in 2019. In this movie, she portrayed the story of a female cyclist Alice.

Before entering movies, she was a famous name in the television industry as a host of several TV shows.

Nimisha Sajayan

This 23-year-old actress is famously known for playing not-so-glamorous female leads. But all of her characters are very relatable. Nimisha Sajayan made her Mollywood debut in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum in 2018. Her role as Sreeja in the movie won her several accords.

She received the Best Debut Actress at South Indian International Movie Awards and Best Actress Award at Toronto International South Asian Film Awards.

Later that year, she did the movies Oru Kuprasidha Payyan and Chola for which she won the Kerala State Award for Best Actress. Another popular film of Sajayan is Eeda which is a modern-day adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

Surbhi Lakshmi

Surbhi Lakshmi has been around in the Malayalam film industry for a long time now. She is popularly known for portraying comedy roles in movies. Her rise to fame came from a TV show titled, "M80 Moosa”.

But breaking all stereotypes, Lakshmi played the character role of a struggling middle-aged mother in Minnaminungu (Firefly) for which she received National Film Award for Best Actress in 2016.

Some other famous films of Lakshmi are Ulta, Athiran, and Theevandi.

Keerthy Suresh

Keerthy Suresh has become a popular name in the Indian Film Industry after winning the National Award for Best Actress in 2018. She won the award for her role of the biopic, Mahanati of the legendary yesteryear South Indian Actress Savitri.

Though she had a fulfilling career in other South Indian languages, her start was from the Malayalam Film Industry. Suresh is the daughter of producer G. Suresh Kumar and the popular South Indian Actress, Menaka Kumar. The 28-year-old actress stepped into films as a child actress itself.  

She worked in some of her father’s productions as a child actress including Pilot (2000) and Kuberan (2002). Her first lead role was in the 2013 Malayalam film Geethaanjali. 

The views expressed are the author's own.