Abhija Sivakala
Abhija Sivakala is an Indian film actress in the Malayalam film industry.[1][2] She is also a notable theatre artist and a dancer.
Abhija Sivakala | |
|---|---|
 അഭിജ ശിവകല | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | India |
| Education | Bachelor of Fine Arts |
| Alma mater | College of Fine Arts Trivandrum |
| Occupation | Actor, Theatre Artist |
| Years active | 2010 - Till date |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
Early life
Abhija was born in Vannapuram, a small town near Thodupuzha, Idukki district, Kerala. Her father, KR Sivadas and mother, KK Rugmini were both Government employees. She has a younger sister, Atmaja Manidas, who is also an artist and actress.
She completed her schooling from SNMHS, Vannapuram. She joined St Joseph's College, Moolamattam in the science stream only to realize that art was her passion and calling. She then enrolled in College of Fine Arts Trivandrum and graduated in Applied Arts.
Abhija started her career as an animator in Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore. She later moved to Bangalore and worked in various IT companies in the field of animation and visual designing.
Dance
Bangalore opened up a lot of dance avenues for Abhija. She is trained in Kathak by Guru Murali Mohan Kalvakalva of Nadam and Odissi by Guru Sharmila Mukherjee of Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance. She is also trained in folk and contemporary dance forms.
She has also attended dance workshops by Pandit Birju Maharaj, Saswati Sen; Surupa Sen, Bijayini Satpathy, Pavithra Reddy of Nrityagram; Bhriga Bessel to name a few.[3]
Theatre
A couple of years of professional life made Abhija realize that acting is her calling. Playing the lead role in Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre's Macbeth kick started her career in theatre. And since then, she has worked with many Indian and international directors like Elias Cohen (Chile), David Berga (Catalonia), Francoise Calvel (France), Alexandra (La Patriotico Interesante, a street theatre production group, Chile) etc.
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| Macbeth | An independent adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth directed by Jyothish MG of Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Abhija played the lead role of Lady Macbeth. |
| Saree Rosa | Devised and performed at International Theatre Festival, Kerala by La Patriotico Interesante, a street theatre production group from Chile |
| Automatarium | Directed by David Berga, Catalonia |
| Once Upon a Time | An English clown theatre production directed by Francoise Calvel from France |
| Pacha | A Malayalam theatre production directed by Surjith Gopinath of School of Drama & Fine Arts,Thrissur |
| Invisible Cities | A Malaylam adaptation of Italo Calvino's novel, directed by Firos Khan, National School of Drama |
| Tsunami Express | A multilingual production, in collaboration with Indian and Latin American artists, directed by Elias Cohen from Chile |
| Las Indias | A multilingual, multicultural community dance and music theatre project, directed by Elias Cohen from Chile |
| Karuna | A dance drama directed by veteran film maker Lenin Rajendran. Abhija portrayed the lead character of Vasavadatta in this adaptation of Kumaranasan's Karuna and performed extensively in Kerala |
Filmography
| Title | Year | Role | Language | Director | Notes |
| Bachelor Party | 2012 | Uncredited | Malayalam | Amal Neerad | |
| Last Puff | 2013 | Shailaja | Malayalam (Short film) | Achuth Vinayak | |
| Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi | 2013 | Paaru | Malayalam | Sameer Thahir | |
| Mazhayodoppam Mayunnathu | 2013 | God | Malayalam (Short film) | Manilal PM | Best Sound Award at Imphal International Short Film Festival, 2013 |
| Seconds | 2014 | Thampi's (Vinayakan) wife | Malayalam | Aneesh Upasana | |
| Njan Steve Lopez | 2014 | Anjali | Malayalam | Rajeev Ravi | |
| Love 24x7 | 2015 | Shweta Pillai | Malayalam | Sreebala Menon | |
| Lukka Chuppi | 2015 | Renuka | Malayalam | Bash Mohammed | |
| Ozhivu Divasathe Kali | 2015 | Geetha | Malayalam | Sanal Kumar Sasidharan | Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination. The only female lead in the movie.
Best Film award in the 46th Kerala State Film Awards |
| Mundrothuruth | 2016 | Kathu | Malayalam | Manu Solomon | The only female lead in the movie. John Abraham Award for the Best Film. Aravindan Puraskaram for the Best Debut Filmmaker |
| School Bus | 2016 | Shyamala | Malayalam | Rosshan Andrrews | |
| Action Hero Biju | 2016 | Sindhu | Malayalam | Abrid Shine | |
| Sakhisona | 2017 | Heera Malini | Bengali (Short film) | Prantik Narayan Basu | Won Tiger Award for the Best Short Film at Rotterdam Fest |
| Udaharanam Sujatha | 2017 | Thulasi | Malayalam | Phantom Praveen | |
| Catharsis | 2017 | Sreeja | Malayalam (Short film) | Indira Zen | Best Actress Award at Terumo Penpol Short Film Fest, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Aabhaasam | 2018 | Maoist | Malayalam | Jubith Namradath | |
| Kinar/Keni | 2018 | ACP Uma Maheshwari | Malayalam/Tamil | MA Nishad | |
| Murippadukal | 2018 | Shantha | Malayalam (Short film) | Dr Nikesh Kiran | Social awareness film by Department of Animal Husbandry, Govt. of Kerala |
| Idam | 2019 | Soumya | Malayalam | Jaya Jose Raj | Best Supporting Actress Award, Jaipur International Film Festival 2020;
Screened at - PickurFlick Indie Film Festival 2020, India; South Film and Arts Academy Festival 2020, Chili; International Film Festival 2020, New Delhi; Festival Cinematografico de Merida 2020, Mexico; Darbhanga International Film Festival 2020, India New York Indian Film Festival 2019 |
| Confessions of Cuckoos | 2019 | Shobha Vincent | Malayalam | Jay Jithin Prakash | In post production |
| Pada | 2019 | CK Leela | Malayalam | Kamal KM | In post production |
TV Commercials
- Indulekha Haircare Oil
- Kerala Vision
- Usha Sewing Machine
Awards & Nominations
- Best Supporting Actress Award - Idam - Jaipur International Film Festival, 2020
- Best Actress Award - Catharsis - Terumo Penpol Short Film Fest Thiruvananthapuram, 2017
- Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Nomination - Ozhivudivasathe Kali, 2017
- Best Supporting Actress Nomination - Cinema Paradiso Club, 2017 & 2018
- Best Actress Nomination - Mahindra Excellence Theatre Awards, 2014
References
- Express News Service, "More actresses and South Indian film bodies support WCC stand", The New Indian Express, July 2, 2018.
- TNM Staff, "8 things that make us reject you: 15 WCC members slam AMMA in a strong statement", The News Minute, July 1, 2018.
- Article, Deccan (March 28, 2016). "Deccan Chronicle article". Deccan Chronicle.
External Links
- Abhija Sivakala on IMDB
- https://www.azhimukham.com/actor-abhija-interview-by-lisha/amp/
- https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/mollywood/270316/the-midukki-girl.html
- https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/actor-abhija-on-her-journey-in-theatre-and-cinema/article24410489.ece
- https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/once-upon-a-fairy-tale/article4077554.ece