Utthara Unni

Being the daughter and disciple of Urmila Unni, Utthara started learning Bharatanatyam at a very young age from her mother. Later she was also trained under various gurus such as RLV Prashob Warrier, Kalamandalam Yamini, Dakshayini Ramachandran and Saikripa Prasanna. She holds a degree in B.F.A. Bharathanatyam from Sastra University under the special guidance of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam and is currently doing her M.A. in Bharathanatyam from Trichy University and also learning Nattuvangam from Kalakshetra Hari Padman.

She has performed in more than 300 stages in and around India. She has also performed in the Natyanjali festivals held at Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Thirunallar, Nagapattinam, Mayavaram, Thiruvarur and Thanjavur. Some of her significant stages include Soorya Dance Festival – Parampara,[4] Mylapore Fine Arts – Chennai,Sangeeth Natak Akademi – Trissur, Nishagandhi – Trivandrum,Ernakulam Shiva temple, Guruvayur, Mookambika temple, Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan – Trivandrum etc.

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  Utthara Unni's Dance Performance

Utthara has also made a name for herself by giving solo concerts in other countries such as Nepal, Thailand, UAE, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain and Kuwait.[1][5]

She is also the director of the dance school "Temple Steps" situated in Cochin,[6] [3] She is a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council.[7]

Utthara's directorial debut was through a horror short film Randaam Varavu[8] featuring her mother Urmila Unni. The film won her five awards for best direction.[9] She later directed a supernatural short-film featuring Urmila Unni and Devan called Ninth Month.[10] She was praised about her writing and film making skills in her next short film Paw Prints[11][12] featuring Siddique. The short film is about canine love and explores the special relationship between a man and a dog. Utthara is a well known animal welfare activist.[13]She has also created music videos and documentaries.[14] Utthara Unni is also an acclaimed singer and has released a music album titled Pathirapontheril.[15]She has recently directed a music video Venalmazha, in which she sung the song.

She made her debut in the Tamil film Vavval Pasanga (2012) directed by Suresh. Her first Malayalam film[16][17] Edavappathy directed by Lenin Rajendran and shot by Madhu Ambat also featured Manisha Koirala and Siddharth Lama. Utthara portrayed dual roles of Vasavadatta (a famous character from Kumaran Asan's poem Karuna) and a modern girl Yamini in the parallel story of the film. Her performance was critically acclaimed and won her the Kerala Film Critics Association Award for the best upcoming actor (debut).[18][19]Utthara started modelling during her school days and has worked with many Indian brands such as Dhathri Real Slim Oil, SriKumarans, Bhima Jewellers, Emmanuval Silks, Asianet Broadband, Golden Lotus, Milco, P And N Ceramics and many others. She has also modelled for a German brand Ground Zero which used to be represented by John Abraham.

Utthara started her TV career in 2015 with a show called Mambazham in Kairali TV. Later, she hosted Valampirishanku on JaiHind TV in 2016. Currently, she is hosting a brand new reality show on Amrita TV called Autumn Leaf[20] to find the best music band in Kerala.