Name	Malayalam
States	India
Region	Kerala, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mahé, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Speakers	35,893,990.33,015,420 in India (2001),1,847,902 in other countries (2007):• 773,624 in UAE• 447,440 in Saudi Arabia• 134,728 in Kuwait• 134,019 in Oman• 105,655 in USA•  94,310 in Qatar•  58,146 in Bahrain•  26,237 in UK•  15,600 in other Europe•  11,346 in Canada•  10,636 in Malaysia•   7,800 in Singapore•   7,094 in Australia and New Zealand
Rank	32
Familycolor	Dravidian
Fam2	Southern
Fam3	Tamil-Kannada
Fam4	Tamil-Kodagu
Fam5	Tamil-Malayalam
Nation	(Kerala),
Map	Distribution of native Malayalam speakers in India
Iso1	ml|iso2=mal|iso3=mal|notice=Indic}}

Malayalam (pronounced ; ), is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Mahé. It is spoken by 35.9 million people. Overseas it is also used by a large population of Indian expatriates living around the globe in the Middle East, North America, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Europe.

Malayalam most likely originated from ancient Tamil in the 6th century, of which Modern Tamil was also derived. An alternative theory proposes a split in even more ancient times. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, a famous example being Silappatikaram. While Dravidian Tamil used to be the ruling language of the Chera Dynasty Ai and Pandyan kingdoms. Sanskrit/Prakrit derived Buddhist Pali Language and the Jain Kalpasutra were known to Keralites from 500 BC. The Grantha Bhasha or Sanskrit mixed Tamil which was written in Grantha Script (Arya Ezhuthu) was used by Brahmins residing in Tamil areas. The Dravidian component of Malayalam-Tamil has words similar to ancient Sangam Literature. During the Later Chera dynasty the inscriptions included some lines from Grantha Bhasha in Grantha Script along with Malayalam-Tamil written in Vattezhuttu. A form of Grantha Bhasha, a Sanskrit mixed Tamil closely resembling the later Malayalam was used to write books by Brahmins from Tulunadu residing in Kerala in the second Millennium. The oldest literature works in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated certainly to the 11th century, perhaps to the 9th century. Thousands of books were printed in this Lingua Malabar Tamul during the Portuguese period from Ambalakkadu (Ambalakatta) near Angamaly Thalassery and Quilon.The FLOS SANCTORAM written by Henrique Henriques in 1586 is still preserved in Oriental Collection (Orientalske Afdeling) of the Royal Library, Copenhagen and also Vatican. Flos Sanctoram is printed in modern Tamil Script.The printing in Tamil continued even after Portuguese left from 1673 to 1680 at the Jesuit Monastery at Ambalakkadu near Angamaly.

printed in Lisbon on 11th Feb 1554 displays Portuguese and Tamil written with Portuguese script.

In the 17th century Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was the first to substitute the Tamil Vatteluttu with Grantha-Malayalam script. Still Tulu-Malayalam containing Sanskrit and Tulu wards and written with Tulu Script was used by Namboothiris and those with Tulunadu roots only.

With the discovery that Sanskrit belonged to the group of Indo-European languages prompted the Christian missionaries with German roots to support Sanskrit rich Grantha Bhasha in the 18th century. Johann Ernst Hanxleden(Arnos Paathiri), a German priest in Kerala, wrote poems and grammar books in Sanskrit and Malayalam. Johann Ernst Hanxleden alias Arnos Padiri who learned the highly sanscritised Grantha Malayalam or Tulu Malayalam from Namboothiris of Melur, Thrissur and Angamaly called his work Grantha Bhashayude Vyagaranam. Very few Christian works were actually written in the Tulu-Malayalam or Grantha Bhasha. However Christians of Kerala were neither Grantha Malayalam or Sanskrit till the British became dominant.

Tamil or Malayalam-Tamil (Malayanma) remained the language of masses of Kerala till the beginning of 19th century. The Tamil English Dictionary by Graham Shaw which appeared in 1779 calls itself a Malabar and English Dictionary.

Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the southern group of Dravidian languages. Some believe Proto-Tamil, the common stock of ancient Tamil and Malayalam, apparently diverged over a period of four or five centuries from the 9th century on, resulting in the emergence of Malayalam as a language distinct from Proto-Tamil. As the language of scholarship and administration, Proto-Tamil which was written in Tamil-Brahmi script and Vatteluttu later, greatly influenced the early development of Malayalam. Later the irresistible inroads the Namboothiris made into the cultural life of Kerala, the Namboothiri-Nair dominated social and political setup, the trade relationships with Arabs, and the invasion of Kerala by the Portuguese, establishing vassal states accelerated the assimilation of many Roman, Semitic and Indo-Aryan features into Malayalam at different levels spoken by religious communities like Muslims, Christians, Jews and Jainas.

T.K. Krishna Menon, in his book A Primer of Malayalam Literature describes four distinct epochs concerning the evolution of the language: Karintamil (3100 BCE - 100 BCE): Malayalam from this period is represented by the works of Kulashekara Alvar and Pakkanar. There is a strong Tamil element, and Sanskrit has not yet made an influence on the language. Kulasekhara Alwar who wrote Perumal Thirumozhi, a Tamil Alwar saint, founder of the Later Chera Dynasty lived at 800 AD. Some of the Sangam literatureசங்க இலக்கியம் works in Tamil such as Ainkurunuru,Puṟanāṉūṟu Kaliththokai Patiṟṟuppattu describe Kerala and its Tamil Kings of Chera Dynasty.

Old Malayalam (100 BCE - 325 CE): Malayalam seems to have been influenced by Sanskrit as there are numerous Sanskrit words in the language. There are personal terminations for verbs that were conjugated according to gender and number.Tamil Sangams produced Tamil Sangam literature in the same era.Tamil-Brahmiscript was used to write inscriptions in that era. The Sangam literature the ancient Tamil literature does have some Sankrit words.Akanaṉūṟu author Perunthevanar also translated Mahabharatha in Tamil.The exploits of Chera king Imayavaramban Nedun-Cheralatan is mentioned in Patiṟṟuppattu. Ezhimalai kings of Kannur the Nannans are mentioned in Malaipaṭukaṭām an ancient Sangam literature. Silappatikaram ചിലപ്പതികാരം composed by Chera prince Ilango Adigal (இளங்கோவடிகள்) provide vivid descriptions about ancient Tamilakam including Kerala.

Middle Malayalam (325 CE - 1425 CE): Malayalam from this time period is represented by works such as Ramacharitram. Traces of the adjuncts of verbs have disappeared by this period. The Jains also seemed to have encouraged the study of the language. Kulasekhara Alwar wrote Perumal Thirumozhi in Tamil while writing Mukundamala in Sanskrit. The official language of the Kerala kings the Chera Dynasty and Ay kingdom was Tamil and inscriptions were written only in Tamil Vatteluttu similar to other Tamil Kingdoms such as Chola Dynasty and Pandyan Kingdom.Chera Dynasty never used Tulu Script or Tulu words which became common after the arrival of Naga dynasties from Tulunadu.

Modern Malayalam (1425 CE onwards): Malayalam seems to have established itself as a language separate from classical Tamil and Sanskrit by this point in time.This period can be divided into two categories: from 1425 CE to 1795 CE, and from 1795 CE, onwards. 1795 CE is the year the British gained complete control over Kerala.The Tulu Script was used from 14th century onwards by Namboothiris of Tulunadu origin from 14th century onwards who initially used to write Manipravalam. The use of Grantha Bhasha or Sanscritised form of Malayalam was also used by only Namboothiris. The common mans language was Dravidian Malayalam-Tamil till the British replaced it with Tulu-Malayalam or Grantha Malayalam in the early 19th century.

Doctrina Christam written by Henrique in Lingua Malabar Tamul with transliteration and translation in Malayalam(Grantha Bhasha)and printed by Portuguese in 1578 was the first printed book in Kerala. Church Mission Society(CMS) at Kottayam started printing books in Malayalam when Benjamin Bailey a Anglican priest in 1821 made the first Malayalam types and contribuited to standardize the prose. Hermann Gundert from Stuttgart, Germany started the first Malayalam newspaper, Rajya Samacharam in 1847 at Thalassery printed at Basel Mission.

Development of literature

The earliest written record resembling Malayalam is the Vazhappalli inscription (ca. 830 CE). The early literature of Malayalam comprised three types of composition: Malayalam Nada, Tamil Nada and Sanskrit Nada.

Classical songs known as Naadan Paattu

Manipravalam of the Sanskrit tradition, which permitted a generous interspersing of Sanskrit with Malayalam.Niranam poets Manipravalam Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar wrote Manipravalam poetry in the 14th century. The changed political situation in the 14th century after the invasion of Malik Kafur in 1310 led to the decline of Tamil dynasties leading to the dominance of people with Prakrit and Sanskrit heritage, the languages of Ahichatra in Uttarkhand, the original home town of Aryans and Nagavanshi people.

The folk song rich in native elements

Malayalam poetry to the late 20th century betrays varying degrees of the fusion of the three different strands. The oldest examples of Pattu and Manipravalam, respectively, are Ramacharitam and Vaishikatantram, both from the 12th century.

The earliest extant prose work in the language is a commentary in simple Malayalam, Bhashakautaliyam (12th century) on Chanakya’s Arthasastra. Adhyathmaramayanam by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (known as the father of the Malayalam language) who was born in Tirur, one of the most important works in Malayalam literature. Unnuneeli Sandesam written in the 14th century is amongst the oldest literary works in Malayalam language.

By the end of 18th century some of the Christian missionaries from Kerala started writing in Malayalam but mostly travelogues, Dictionaries and Religious books. Varthamana Pusthakam (1778), written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar is considered to be the first travelogue in an Indian language. Church Mission Society which started a seminary at Kottayam in 1819 also started a press which printed Malayalam books in 19th century. Malayalam and Sanskrit were increasingly studied by Christians of Kottayam and pathanamthitta by the end of 19th century Malayalam replaced Syriac as language of Liturgy in the church.

Phonology

For the consonants and vowels, the IPA is given, followed by the Malayalam character and the ISO 15919 transliteration.

Vowels

{|class="wikitable" ! rowspan=2 |   ! colspan=3 | Short ! colspan=3 | Long |- ! Front ! Central ! Back ! Front ! Central ! Back |- ! Close | align=center| ഇ i | align=center| * ŭ | align=center| ഉ u | align=center| ഈ ī |   | align=center| ഊ ū |- ! Mid | align=center| എ e | align=center| * a | align=center| ഒ o | align=center| ഏ ē |   | align=center| ഓ ō |- ! Open |   | align=center| അ a |   |   | align=center| ആ ā |   |}

* is the , an epenthentic vowel in Malayalam. Therefore, it has no independent vowel letter (because it never occurs at the beginning of words) but, when it comes after a consonant, there are various ways of representing it. In medieval times, it was just represented with the symbol for , but later on it was just completely omitted (that is, written as an inherent vowel). In modern times, it is written in two different ways - the Northern style, in which a chandrakkala is used, and the Southern or Travancore style, in which the diacritic for a is attached to the preceding consonant and a chandrakkala is written above. * (phonetically central: ) and are both represented as basic or "default" vowels in the abugida script (although never occurs word-initially and therefore does not make use of the letter അ), but they are distinct vowels.

Malayalam has also borrowed the Sanskrit diphthongs of (represented in Malayalam as ഔ, au) and (represented in Malayalam as ഐ, ai), although these mostly occur only in Sanskrit loanwords. Traditionally (as in Sanskrit), four vocalic consonants (usually pronounced in Malayalam as consonants followed by the , which is not officially a vowel, and not as actual vocalic consonants) have been classified as vowels: vocalic r (ഋ, , ), long vocalic r (ൠ, , ), vocalic l (ഌ, , ) and long vocalic l (ൡ, , ). Except for the first, the other three have been omitted from the current script used in Kerala as there are no words in current Malayalam that use them.

Consonants

{|class="wikitable" |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" !colspan="4"| !colspan="2"| Bilabial | Labiodental !colspan="2"| Dental !colspan="2"| Alveolar !colspan="2"| Retroflex !colspan="2"| Palatal !colspan="2"| Velar !colspan="2"| Glottal |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Stop !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="2"| Unaspirated | പ p || ബ b || || ത t || ദ d || * t || || ട || ഡ || ച c || ജ j || ക k || ഗ g |colspan="2"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="2"| Aspirated | ഫ ph || ഭ bh || || ഥ th || ധ dh || || || ഠ || ഢ || ഛ ch || ഝ jh || ഖ kh || ഘ gh |colspan="2"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Nasal |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| മ m | |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ന n |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ന * n |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ണ |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ഞ ñ |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ങ |colspan="2"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Approximant |colspan="2"| |style="font-weight: normal"| വ v |colspan="4"| |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ഴ l |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| യ y |colspan="4"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Liquid |colspan="2"| | |colspan="2"| |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| റ r |colspan="7"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Fricative |colspan="2"| |style="font-weight: normal"| ഫ* f |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| സ s |colspan="2"| |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ഷ |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ശ ś |colspan="2"| |style="font-weight: normal"| ഹ h |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Tap |colspan="5"| |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ര r |colspan="7"| |- !bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="4"| Lateral approximant |colspan="5"| |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ല l |colspan="2" style="font-weight: normal"| ള |colspan="5"| |}

The unaspirated alveolar plosive stop used to have a separate character but it has become obsolete because it only occurs in geminate form (when geminated it is written with a റ below another റ) or immediately following other consonants (in these cases, റ or ററ is usually written in small size underneath the first consonant). To see how the archaic letter looked, find the Malayalam letter in the row for t here.

The alveolar nasal used to have a separate character but this is now obsolete (to see how it looked, find the Malayalam letter in the row for n here) and the sound is now almost always represented by the symbol that was originally used only for the dental nasal. However, both sounds are extensively used in current colloquial and official Malayalam, and there is no distinction made in the spelling.

The letter ഫ represents both , a native phoneme, and , which only occurs in adopted words.

Grammar

Malayalam has a canonical word order of SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) as do other Dravidian languages. Both adjectives and possessive pronouns precede the nouns they modify. Malayalam has 6 grammatical cases.

Writing system

. Malayalam language possesses official recognition in the state of Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry]] Historically, several scripts were used to write Malayalam. Among these scripts were Vattezhuthu, Kolezhuthu and Malayanma scripts. But it was the Grantha script, another Southern Brahmi variation, which gave rise to the modern Malayalam script. It is syllabic in the sense that the sequence of graphic elements means that syllables have to be read as units, though in this system the elements representing individual vowels and consonants are for the most part readily identifiable. In the 1960s Malayalam dispensed with many special letters representing less frequent conjunct consonants and combinations of the vowel /u/ with different consonants.

Malayalam language script consists of 53 letters including 16 vowels and 37 consonants. The earlier style of writing is now substituted with a new style from 1981. This new script reduces the different letters for typeset from 900 to fewer than 90. This was mainly done to include Malayalam in the keyboards of typewriters and computers.

In 1999 a group named "Rachana Akshara Vedi", produced a set of free fonts containing the entire character repertoire of more than 900 glyphs. This was announced and released along with a text editor in the same year at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. In 2004, the fonts were released under the GNU GPL license by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation at the Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kochi, Kerala.

Though not popular, Malayalam has been written in other scripts like Roman and Arabic scripts; Arabic script particularly were taught in Madrassas in the Lakshadweep Islands.

Dialects and external influences

Variations in intonation patterns, vocabulary, and distribution of grammatical and phonological elements are observable along the parameters of region, religion, community, occupation, social stratum, style and register. Influence of Sanskrit is very prominent in formal Malayalam used in literature. Malayalam has a substantially high amount of Sanskrit loan words. Loan words and influences also from Hebrew, Syriac and Ladino abound in the Jewish Malayalam dialects, as well as English, Portuguese, Syriac and Greek in the Christian dialects, while Arabic and Persian elements predominate in the Muslim dialects. This Muslim dialect known as Mappila Malayalam is used in the Malabar region of Kerala. Another Muslim dialect called Beary bashe is used in the extreme northern part of Kerala.

The regional dialects of Malayalam can be divided into thirteen dialect areas. They are as follows: {|class=wikitable |- |South Travancore |Central Travancore |West Vempanad |- |North Travancore |Kochi (Cochin) |South Malabar |- |South Eastern Palghat |North Western Palghat |Central Malabar |- |Wayanad |North Malabar |Kasaragod |- | |Lakshadweep | |}

The Central Travancore dialect is called "Achadi malayalam" since it has the closest resemblance to written malayalam.

Words adopted from Sanskrit

When words are adopted from Sanskrit, their endings are usually changed to conform to Malayalam norms:

Nouns

# Masculine Sanskrit nouns ending in a short "a" in the nominative singular change their ending to "an". For example, -> . The "an" reverts to an "a" before masculine surnames, honorifics, or titles ending in "an" and beginning with a consonant other than "n" - e.g. Krishna Menon, Krishna Kaniyaan etc., but Krishnan Ezhutthachan. Surnames ending with "ar" or "aL" (where these are plural forms of "an" denoting respect) are treated similarly - Krishna Pothuval, Krishna Chakyar, but Krishnan Nair, Krishnan Nambiar. "an" also reverts to "a" before Sanskrit surnames like "Varma(n)", "Sarma(n)", or "Gupta(n)" (rare) - e.g. Krishna Varma, Krishna Sharman. If a name is a compound of multiple names, only the last name in the compound undergoes this transformation - e.g. Krishnadevan. # Feminine words ending in a long "ā" or "ī" are changed so that they now end in a short "a" or "i", for example Sītā -> Sīta and -> . However, the long vowel still appears in compound words like Sītādēvi or . Some vocative case forms of both Sanskrit and native Malayalam words end in ā or ī, and there are also a small number of nominative ī endings that have not been shortened - a prominent example being the word Śrī, # Masculine words ending in a long "ā" in the nominative singular have a "vŭ" added to them, for example Brahmā -> Brahmāvŭ. This is again omitted when forming compounds. # Words whose roots are different from their nominative singular forms - for example, the Sanskrit root of "Karma" is actually "Karman"- are also changed. The original root is ignored and "Karma" (the form in Malayalam being "Karmam" because it ends in a short "a") is taken as the basic form of the noun when declining. # Sanskrit words describing things or animals rather than people which end in a short "a" take an additional "m" in Malayalam. For example, -> . "Things and animals" and "people" are not always differentiated based on whether or not they are sentient beings - for example Narasimha becomes Narasimham and not Narasimhan whilst Ananta becomes Anantan even though both are sentient. This can be explained by saying that "Ananta" can also be a man's name and does not necessarily have to refer to the Hindu serpent-god, whereas "Simha" actually means lion and therefore must be of the neuter gender. # Nouns ending in short vowels like "", "Prajāpati" etc. stay the same. # Along with these tatsama borrowings, there are also many tadbhava words in common use. These were borrowed into Malayalam before it became distinct from Tamil. As the language did not then accommodate Sanskrit phonology as it now does, words were changed to conform to the Old Tamil phonological system. For example: -> .

Malayalam also has been influenced by Portuguese, as is evident from the use of words like mesa for a small table, janala for window, varaanda for an open porch, and alamaara for cupboard.

For a comprehensive list of loan words, see Loan words in Malayalam.

Legends

Ezhuthachan is considered the father of Malayalam language. He was born at Tirur in the Malabar area of Kerala, where there is now a monument to him. A.R. Rajarajavarma is the man who gave grammatical rules to Malayalam. His monument and burial place is at Mavelikkara in the Central Travancore area of Kerala.

See also

Demographics of India for a list of the official languages of India

Kerala

Malayalam calendar

Malayalam cinema

Malayalam journalism

Malayalam literature

Malayalam script

Kasaragod Malayalam

Tulu Script

Manipravalam

Lingua Malabar Tamul

Languages of India

List of Indian languages by total speakers

Languages with official status in India

Malayalam poetry, Poetry in Malayalam language

Malayali, people with Malayalam language as their mother tongue.

Mappila dialect of Malayalam, a sub dialect of Malayalam language spoken by Muslim communities of Kerala.

Judeo-Malayalam, a sub dialect of Malayalam spoken by Cochin Jews.

Arabi Malayalam, a system in which Malayalam language is written using modified Arabic script.

References

Further reading

External links

Malayalam Keyboard and text editor

Ethnologue report for Malayalam

Unicode Code Chart for Malayalam (PDF Format)

Malayalam typing,Free malayalam keyboard download

Category:Agglutinative languages Category:Dravidian languages Category:Languages of India Category:Kerala Category:Languages used in Tamil Nadu Category:SOV languages

Name	Suresh Gopi
Birth name	Suresh Gopinathan Nair
Birth date	June 25, 1960
Birth place	Kollam, Kerala, India |
Occupation	Film actor, playback singer
Years active	1965, 1986 - present
Parents	K Gopinatha Pillai, V Gyanalaxmi
Spouse	Radhika
Children	Lekshmi (died), Gokul, Bhagya, Bhavna, and Madhav
Other names	Suresh
Website	http://www.bharatsureshgopi.com

Suresh Gopinathan Nair (born 25 June 1960),

Suresh Gopi officially started his film career in the late 1980s, making his debut in Sathyan Anthikkad's T. P. Balagopalan M.A. (1986). During the late 1980s and early 1990s he portrayed character roles and villainous roles, including roles in films such as Irupatham Noottandu (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), and Manichithrathazhu (1993). With the commercial success of Thalastaanam (1992), Ekalavyan (1993), and Commissioner (1994), all three directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Renji Panicker, Suresh Gopi established himself as a lead actor. He won the 1998 National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in Jayaraj's Kaliyattam (1997).

Personal life

He was born in Kollam to Gnanalekshmi and Gopinathan Pillai. Suresh Gopi did his schooling at the Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian High School at Thangasseri. He graduated in English Literature from Fatima Mata National College in Kollam. He is married to Radhika, the granddaughter of Aranmula Ponnamma, and has four children: Lekshmi (deceased), Gokul, Bhagya, Bhavna, and Madhav. He is settled at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and is currently living in Sasthamangalam.

Career

1965: Child artist

Suresh Gopi first appeared onscreen as a child in K. S. Sethumadhavan's Odeyil Ninnu (1965). It was a popular film that had Sathyan in the lead role along with Prem Nazir.

1980s: Early career

He returned to acting in the mid-80s with Sathyan Anthikkad's T.P. Balagopalan M.A. (1986), where he played a prospective groom in a small scene. He went on to play supporting and villain roles. Some other roles of his include Balan in Nandi Veendum Varika (1986), Kumar in Rajavinte Makan (1986), Vinod in January Oru Orma (1987), Shekaran Kutty in Irupatham Noottandu (1987), Suresh in New Delhi (1987), Harry in Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988), Unni in 1921 (1988), and Aromal Chekavar in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989). He played the comic role of Inspector "Minnal" Prathapan in Manu Uncle (1988) and of Dr. Narendran in Padmarajan's Innale (1989).

He played Sethumadhavan in Siddique-Lal's blockbuster In Harihar Nagar (1990). Another role was of Christopher Luke in Viji Thampy's Nagarangalil Chennu Raparkam (1990). The film that helped him get noticed as a serious police officer was the satirical comedy Aanaval Mothiram (1990), where he played Sub-Inspector Nandakumar and co-starred with Sreenivasan.

1990s: Peak

The films that made Suresh Gopi a bankable lead actor were Thalastanam (1992), Ekalavyan (1993), Mafia (1993) and Commissioner (1994), all by Shaji Kailas and scripted by Ranji Panicker. All of them were police dramas and had, more or less, similar themes. He became immensely popular with his role as Bharathchandran IPS in the block-buster movie Commissioner. Renji Panicker's dialogues employed by Suresh Gopi in English became quite popular with the masses.

During this period, most of his films were dubbed and simultaneously released in Telugu, which made him a sensation in Andhra Pradesh.

During the early to mid 90s, he also played characters of substance in films such as Jayaraj's Paithrukam (1993), Fazil's Manichithrathazhu (1993), Sathyan Anthikkad's Samooham (1993) and Sibi Malayil's Sindoora Rekha (1995).

The success of his cop roles led to more films of such nature, where he either played police officers or other tough characters in films such as City Police (1993), The City (1994), Rudraksham (1994), Kashmeeram (1994), and Mahatma (1996), with most of them failing to get noticed.

In 1997, with Jayaraj's Kaliyattam (1997), an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, Suresh Gopi won the National Film Award for Best Actor for playing Kannan Perumalayan. He proved he was more than just another mainstream actor. This was a turning point in his career.

In the late 90s, Suresh Gopi was noted for playing in Joshi's films such as Lelam (1998) and Pathram (1999), again, scripted by Ranji Panicker. He played Nasrani character Chackochi in Lelam and journalist Nandagopal in Pathramwhere he co-starred with Manju Warrier. Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, and Manju Warrier teamed up in Sibi Malayil's Summer in Bethlahem (1998) which was a commercial success.

2000s

He started off 2000 with Millennium Stars directed by Jayaraj. The movie was a colossal flop and severely affected the careers of all the stars involved. But he had a success later the same year in Thenkasipattanam. After 2000, when his films were doing fairly well, he decided to stop acting in movies depicting violence, a decision he would later regret. It was also rumored that he was giving up his acting career for pursuing a political career. He acted in off-beat movies and accepted only soft roles from 2001 to 2005. With his movies failing to make an impact, he had just one release each in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he decided to return to action movies. Ranji Panicker, scriptwriter of his most successful movie, Commissioner, directed the sequel Bharathchandran I.P.S. portraying him as the police commissioner. The movie was a super hit and was followed by a number of movies in the same genre, in which he played the typical police officer or detective. Some of them were successful, like The Tiger, Chinthamani Kolacase directed by Shaji Kailas, Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri directed by K. Madhu and Detective. All the others, such as Time, Aayudham, Thavalam, Rashtram, Pathaka, Bullet and Smart City, were flops. In between he attempted to do a different role with negative shades in Lanka which, flopped at the box office and ignited a controversy for an unaesthetic kissing scene with his female co-star, Mamta Mohandas. In 2006 he reunited with his favorite director Shaji Kailas for the movie Time, which had huge expectations but bombed at the box office. It was dubbed into Telugu as Police Ante Veedera and Hindi as On Duty, but failed to fetch better results.

Before coming to the film world, he had displayed great interest in the field of literature; his favourite authors are Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare. He is famous for his philanthropic efforts.

In 2008, Suresh Gopi appeared in multi-starrer produced by AMMA. Again, he acted with Mohanlal in Pakal Nakshatrangal, an off-beat movie directed by Rajiv Nath.

Filmography

Awards

National Film Awards:

Best Actor - 1998 - Kaliyattam

Kerala State Film Awards:

Best Actor - 1998 - Kaliyattam

Film Critics Awards:

Film Critics Best Actor Award (three times)

Best Supporting Actor Award (four times)

In July 2005, he was considered for the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a mentally distressed person in Ullam and as a doctor in Makalkku, but lost out to Mammootty.

See also

Cinema of Kerala

References

External links

Official Website

Suresh Gopi biography and filmography

Category:Indian actors Category:Malayali actors Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram Category:Indian child actors Category:National Film Award winners Category:Kerala State Film Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Kollam Category:1959 births

Name	Sujatha
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Sujatha Mohan
Born	March 31, 1964, Thiruvanathapuram, India
Died
Occupation	Playback singer
Years active	1974-present

Sujatha Mohan (, ), usually credited as Sujatha, is an award winning Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She has also sung for Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She is widely popular for her evergreen melodies and her sweet voice is considered to be her biggest asset.

Family

Sujatha Mohan is the granddaughter of Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai, the first Chief Minister of the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin State after Independence. Her only daughter, Shweta Mohan, is also a singer.

Career

Sujatha was shot to fame in the seventies as Baby Sujatha, the schoolgirl who regularly used to sing with K. J. Yesudas in his stage shows all over the world. She recorded her first song, "Kannezhuthy Pottuthottu" when she was in sixth standard. The song was composed by M. K. Arjunan for the 1975 Malayalam movie Tourist Bungalow. She recorded songs for Shyam in Kamam Krodham Moham and Salil Chowdhury in Aparadhi. Around this time, composer M. G. Radhakrishnan got her to record many non-film songs; the biggest hit among them was "Odakkuzhal Vili".

She debuted in Tamil films through the song "Kaadhal Oviyam Kandein", but it was not included in the film. Her first released song in Tamil was "Kalai Paniyil" from the Tamil film Gayathri (1977), starring Sridevi and Rajinikanth with music by Ilaiyaraja. She sang for Ilaiyaraaja in Johnny, Kavikuyil and Ilamai Kolangal. After her marriage in 1981, she took a sabbatical from playback singing. She made a successful comeback in 1988 through Kadathanadan Ambadi, followed by the superhit Chithram.

She used to sing ad jingles in the late 1980s for A. R. Rahman (such as a Remanika Sarees ad). Then, Rahman got her to sing "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" from Mani Ratnam's 1992 film Roja, which became one of the biggest hit songs in India. The backing vocals for the song "Kadhal Roja" were also performed by Sujatha. She has had other hit songs, most of them with Rahman from films including Pudhiya Mugam (1992), Gentleman (1993), Jeans and Minsaara Kanavu (1997). She has also recorded some songs in Hindi, including "Dil Hai Sanam" (the Hindi version of "Thee Thee") from Chor Chor (Thiruda Thiruda), "Ishq Bina" from Taal, "Hai Jaana" from Pukar and "Ishwar Allah" from Earth, and provided backing vocals for the song "Tum Ho Meri Nigahom" from Kabhi Na Kabhi, all of them composed by A. R. Rahman. She has had many of her notable and successful songs under the musical direction of A. R. Rahman.

She had a strong comeback in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and most of her notable Malayalam songs were composed by Vidyasagar. Most of her hit songs from Telugu are composed by Mani Sharma.

Popular songs

Tamil Hits

{|class="wikitable" ! Year !! Song Title !! Film !! Music Director |- |rowspan="2"| 1992 || "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" ||rowspan="2"|Roja ||rowspan="2"| A. R. Rahman |- | "Kadhal Rojave" |- |rowspan="3"| 1993 || "Netru Illatha Matram" || Pudhiya Mugam || A. R. Rahman |- | "Enveetu Thottathil" || Gentleman || A. R. Rahman |- | "Aathangara Marame" || Kizhakku Cheemayile || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="5"| 1994 || "Kathirikka Kathirikka" || ''Duet || A. R. Rahman |- | "Kaatru Kuthirayile" || Kadhalan || A. R. Rahman |- | "Porale Ponnuthayi"* || Karuththamma || A. R. Rahman |- | "Vaadi Sathukkudi" || Pudhiya Mannargal || A. R. Rahman |- | "Innal Oru Ponnal" || Manitha Manitha || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="4"| 1995 || "Malarodu Malaringu" ||rowspan="2"| Bombay ||rowspan="2"| A. R. Rahman |- | "Idhu Annai Bhoomi" |- | "Ini Achham Illai" || Indira || A. R. Rahman |- | "Thilana Thilana" || Muthu || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="5"| 1996 || "Rukku Rukku" ||rowspan="2"| Avvai Shanmughi || Deva |- | "Kaadhala Kaadhala" |- | "Naalai Ulagam" || ''Love Birds || A. R. Rahman |- | "Mellisaye" || Mr. Romeo || A. R. Rahman |- | "Chittu Chittu Kuruvi" || Ullathai Allitha || Sirpi |- |rowspan="5"| 1997 || "Poo Pookkum Osai" || Minsara Kanavu || A. R. Rahman |- | "Oru Pattampoochi" || Kadhalukku Mariyadhai || Ilayaraja |- | "Chandiranai Thottadhu Yaar" || Ratchagan || A. R. Rahman |- | "Chalakku Chalakku" ||rowspan="2"| Suryavamsam ||rowspan="2"| S. A. Rajkumar |- | "Natchathira Jannalil" |- |rowspan="4"| 1998 || "Athisayam" || ''Jeans || A. R. Rahman |- | "Saravana Bhava" || Kadhala Kadhala || Karthik Raja |- | "Garuda Garuda" || Natpukkaga || Deva |- | "Yedho Oru Paatu" || Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen || S. A. Rajkumar |- |rowspan="7"| 1999 || "Oru Poyyavadhu" || Jodi || A. R. Rahman |- | "Un Per Solla Asaidhaan" ||rowspan="2"| Minsara Kanna ||rowspan="2"| Deva |- | "Boy Frienda" |- | "Athikalayil Sevalai" || Nee Varuvai Ena || S. A. Rajkumar |- | "Iravaa Pagalaa" || Poovellam Kettuppar || Yuvan Shankar Raja |- | "Mudhal Murai" || Sangamam || A. R. Rahman |- | "Sotta Sotta Tajmahal" || Tajmahal || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="5"| 2000 || "Yengal Veettil" ||rowspan="2"| Vanathai Pola ||rowspan="2"| S. A. Rajkumar |- | "Vaanil Vennila" |- | "Purave" || Eazhaiyin Sirippil || Deva |- | "Aruppu Kottai" || Vallarasu || Deva |- | "Aalangatti Mazhai" || Thenali || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="17"| 2001 || "Un Azhagukku" || Aalavandhan || Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy |- | "Vaadi Vaadi Natukkatai" || Alli Thanda Vaanam || Vidhyasagar |- | "Un Samayal Araiyil" || Dhill || Vidhyasagar |- | "Desingu Raja" || Dumm Dumm Dumm || Karthik Raja |- | "Manjal Poosum" ||rowspan="2"| Friends ||rowspan="2"| Ilayaraja |- | "Penkaloda Potti" |- | "Paadava Paadava" ||rowspan="2"| Little John ||rowspan="2"| Pravin Mani |- | "Hey Mister" |- | "Azhagaana Sooriyan" || Manadhai Thirudivittai || Yuvan Shankar Raja |- | "Adhisaya Thirumanam" || Paarthale Paravasam || A. R. Rahman |- | "Chella Nam Veetukku" || Poovellam Un Vasam || Vidhyasagar |- | "Mazhaye O Mazhaye" || Punnagai Desam || S. A. Rajkumar |- | "May Matham Katru" || Shahjahan || Mani Sharma |- | "Rasika Rasika" || Star || A. R. Rahman |- | "Desing Rajathaan" || Thavasi || Vidhyasagar |- | "Kavidhaigal Sollavaa" || Ullam Kollai Poguthae || Karthik Raja |- | "Amul Baby" || Vaanchinathan || Deva |- |rowspan="10"| 2002 || "Maaya Maaya" || Baba || A. R. Rahman |- | "Theendi Theendi" || Bala || Yuvan Shankar Raja |- | "Thiru Thiruda" || Five Star || Parasuram |- | "Ini Naanum Naanillai" || Hey! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke || Srinivas |- | "Sundari" || Kannathil Muthamittal || A. R. Rahman |- | "Sakala Kalavallavane" || Pammal K Sambantham || Deva |- | "Kadhal Pisase" || Run || Vidhyasagar |- | "Sil Sil Silala" || Unnai Ninaithu || Sirpi |- | "Thappu Thandaa" || Villain || Vidhyasagar |- | "Adi One Inch Two Inch" || Youth || Mani Sharma |- |rowspan="6"| 2003 || "Aasai Aasai" || Dhool || Vidhyasagar |- | "Nenjodu" || Kadhal Kondein || Yuvan Shankar Raja |- | "Dholna" || Parasuram || A. R. Rahman |- | "Maankuttiye" || Priyamana Thozhi || S. A. Rajkumar |- | "Thithikkuthe" || Thittikudhey || Vidhyasagar |- | "Azhakooril Poothavale" || Thirumalai || Vidhyasagar |- |rowspan="3"| 2004 || "Nenjam Ellaam" || Ayutha Ezhuthu || A. R. Rahman |- | "Kokkara Kokkarako" || Ghilli || Vidhyasagar |- | "Sakkara Inikkira Sakkara" || New || A. R. Rahman |- |rowspan="3"| 2005 || "Annanoda Paatu" || Chandramukhi || Vidhyasagar |- | "Rangola Hola" || Ghajini || Harris Jayaraj |- | "Mazhaye Mazhaye" || June R || Sharath |- |rowspan="2"| 2006 || "Ennai Konjam Konjam" || Aadhi || Vidhyasagar |- | "Atrai Thingal" || Sivappathigaram || Vidhyasagar |- |rowspan="2"| 2007 || "Ae Manpuru Mangaye" || Guru || A. R. Rahman |- | "Katrin Mozhiye" || Mozhi || Vidhyasagar |- |rowspan="1"| 2008 || "Chellam Chellam" || Kuselan || G. V. Prakash Kumar |- |rowspan="2"| 2010 || "Maanja Maanja" || Maanja Velu || Mani Sharma |- | "Unnai Ninaithadume" || Aadu Puli || Sundar C Babu |- |}

Malayalam

"Kunu Kune" from Yodha

"Pranayamanithooval" from Azhakiya Ravanan

"Ethrayo Janmamayi" from Summer in Bethlahem

"Varamanjaladiya" from Pranayavarnangal

"Kakkakarumban" from Ee Puzhayum Kadannu

"Perariya" from Soothradharan

"Manju Peyyanu" from Chandranudikkunna Dikhil

"Marannittum" from Randaam Bhavam

"Onnam Kili" from Kilichundan Mampazham

"Kandu Kandu" from Mampazhakkalam

"Thattam Pidichu" from Paradesi

"Aaroraal Pularmazhayil" from Pattalam

"Juneile Nilamazhayil" from Nammal Thammil

Telugu

"Paruvam Vaanaga" from Roja

"Na Cheli Rojave" from Roja

"Naathora Tamashalalo" from Ninne Pelladutha

"Sorry Sorry Sorry" from Bavagaru Bagunnara

"Cheppave Chirugaali" from Okkadu

"Gola Gola Rangola" from Ashok

"Jada Thoti kodithe" from Lakshmi Narasimha

"Kannu Kottina" from Balu

"Manasa Vacha Manasisthe" from Iddaru Mitrulu

"Sukku Sukku" from Lakshyam

"Abbabba Iddu" from Choodalani Vundi

"Yem Pilla Kusalama" from Chennakeshava Reddy

"Shukriya Shukriya" from Nuvve Kavali

"Sundari" from Amrutha

"Swagatham" from Sivaramaraj

"Raja Hamsavo" from Ganesh

"Gutthonkaya" from Kalyana Ramudu

"Chiguraku Chatu Chilaka" from Gudumba Shankar

"Ne Style Nakishtam" from Raghavendra

"Gusa Gusale Gumma Mamillu" from Annayya

"Mokka Jonna Thota" from Subhash Chandra Bose

"Ele Ele Maradala" from Annamayya

"Entha Pani Chesindi Prema" from Dongadu

"Kolo Koloyamma Kolo" from Abhimanyu

Hindi

"Dil Hai Sanam" Chor Chor (Thiruda Thiruda Hindi version)

"Ishq Bina Kya" from Taal

"Hai Jaana" from Pukar

"Tum Ho Meri Nigahom" from Kabhi Na Kabhi

"Ishwar Allah" from 1947 Earth

Malayalam album songs

Ravereyayittum from Pranayamarmaram - 2009

Ee Manjil from ''Spandanam - 2010

Online initiative

Sujatha was among the first mainstream artists to support the Acethetik initiative, along with M Jayachandran, Madhu Balakrishnan, M G Sreekumar. She recorded "Manju Puthappil" and other songs for the website.

Awards

Sujatha has received several awards and recognitions for her work in the South Indian film musical world.

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards:

2001 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Un Samayal Arayil" from Dhill

1996 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Poo Pookkum Oosai" from Minsara Kanavu

1993 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Netru Illatha Maatram" from Pudhiya Mugam

Kerala State Film Awards:

2008 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Bansuri" from Rathri Mazha

1999 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Varamanjaladiya" from Pranayavarnangal

1996 - Best Female Playback Singer - "Pranayamanithooval" from Azhakiya Ravanan

Asianet Film Awards:

2004 - Best Female Playback - "Kandu Kandu" from Mampazhakkalam

2001 - Best Female Playback - "Perariya" from Soothradharan

Other prominent awards:

2009 - Swaralaya Yesudas Award

Film Critics Award For Best Female Playback - 11 times

Cinema Express award

Dinakaran award

External links

Sujatha's official website

Songs by Sujatha

Listen to Sujatha's and others' Tamil/Hindi/Telugu songs

A collection of Sujatha's songs

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian Hindus Category:Kerala State Film Award winners Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Malayalam playback singers

Name	Shriya Saran
Caption	Saran at the premiere of Enthiran (2010)
Birth name	Shriya Saran
Birth date	September 11, 1982
Birth place	Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Occupation	Actress, Model, Host, Philanthropist
Years active	2001–present
Website	http://www.shriyasaran.com

Shriya Saran (; born September 11, 1982), Subsequently, she appeared in several Telugu films with prominent actors, while also making in-roads in the Hindi film industry as well as the Tamil film industry.

In 2007, Shriya starred alongside Rajinikanth in Sivaji: The Boss, which became the highest grossing Tamil film at that time. She has since appeared in films such as Azhagiya Tamil Magan and Kanthaswamy in Tamil and appeared in high budget Hindi pictures such as Mission Istanbul, roles which have established her as one of the leading actresses in the South Indian film industry. Shriya also played the lead role in an American-Indian crossover film, The Other End of the Line.

Shriya has also featured as the brand ambassador for several stores across India appearing for prominent beauty and health products. Furthermore her work as a philanthropist has seen her being attached to noted charity organisations whilst she has recently pledged to open a spa for the visually challenged.

Early life and family

Shriya Saran was born in Dehradun to Pushpendra Saran and Neeraja Saran. Her father worked for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and her mother was a chemistry teacher in Delhi Public School. Saran was trained as a Kathak dancer during her youth; she was a student of Padma Shri Shovana Narayan. She has a brother Ahiroop who recently got married and lives in Mumbai. The video, shot at Banaras, prompted Ramoji Films to offer her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam. Even before the release of Ishtam, Saran signed four high-budget films including Santosham, Chennakeshava Reddy, Nuvve Nuvve and Tagore.

Then she made her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan.

Ups and downs (2004-2007)

After a fairly quiet 2004, Saran had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films. Chatrapati where she played opposite Prabhas, earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. Meanwhile, she made her comeback in Kollywood through the film Mazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham. Neither the movie, nor her performance were well received either. She also made a cameo appearance in the National Film Award-winning Bommalata.

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Her only 2006 release, other than special appearances, was the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam. In 2007, she beat other top actresses for the much coveted role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss, which was the most expensive Indian film at that time.

Recent work (2008-present)

In 2008, she made a special appearance in the Vadivelu-starrer Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan which turn out to be her only Tamil release of 2008. She then acted in the Hindi film Apoorva Lakhia's Mission Istanbul with Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Shabbir Ahluwalia. She played the character of Anjali Sagar which was inspired by the character of Romila Dutta played by Preity Zinta in the film Lakshya; a journalist who desires to have a child with her husband, which leads to their separation, since he is reluctant. Rediff and Bollywood Hungama critics said that her character was totally wasted and also had a weak characterization.

Saran then made her Hollywood debut in Ashok Amritraj's The Other End of the Line. She played the role of Priya Sethi who works as a telephone operator in an India Call Centre, while acting alongside Jesse Metcalfe, Anupham Kher and Tara Sharma. Shriya's performance was praised by critic, particularly her on-screen chemistry with Jesse Metcalfe.

In 2009, she appeared in Tamil film Kanthaswamy, gaining her a nomination at the Vijay Awards, and win at the Mathrubhumi awards.

In 2010, Saran made her Malayalam debut with Pokkiri Raja in which she appeared opposite Mammootty and Prithviraj. The film created big hype among the audience in Kerala and was declared a super hit in the first week, breaking the record in Malayalam cinema by grossing over in its first week of release, surpassing the old record holder . Saran herself was appreciated for her performance. She then enacted her first lead role in a Telugu film after five years, in the successful action-comedy film Don Seenu opposite Ravi Teja.

Upcoming projects

Saran will be seen next in the Tamil film Chikku Bukku with Arya and Preetika Rao, directed by Manikandan, a former assistant to director Jeeva. In 2010, Saran also signed to work in Rowthiram with Jeeva for the first time. Saran will also star in Deepa Mehta's long delayed English project Midnight's Children, which is based on Salman Rushdie's highly acclaimed novel of the same name. Saran has also signed her second Malayalam project, Casanovva with Mohanlal, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, which is said to become the most expensive film in Malayalam cinema ever made. The movie was delayed heavily and friction between the cast was reported. In addition Sameera Reddy was said to have replaced Saran. In October 2010, the producer of the film announced that shooting would soon commence at Dubai with Saran among the cast of the film.

Sources reported that Saran is currently undergoing filming for Komagata Maru, opposite Akshay Kumar. The film will be directed by Deepa Mehta and will undergo long production, as the film is to release in 2014 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident.

Other work and events

at the India Bridal Week 2010.]]

In 2003, Saran hosted the 50th Filmfare South Award with actor R. Madhavan. She was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which sought to raise funds for The Banyan, a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai. She was one of the guests alongside actor Surya Sivakumar at the finale of Maanada Mayilada season 3.

Saran was also the first actress and the third celebrity after Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan to deliver a lecture to students at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on 12 February 2010. She said that, "The Indian Media and entertainment industry is the fastest growing sector at present, so considering this IIM Ahmedabad had started a new program CFI — Contemporary Film Industry — A Business Perspective. I was there to give a lecture to 2nd year students of CFI and did a lot of research for the lecture for nearly five days." She held a lecture on marketing and branding of a film.

Saran started her modelling career by acting in Pond's Creams advertisement and Coca-Cola advertisement alongside Tamil actor Vijay which was directed by prominent director Rajiv Menon. She also starred in a Fair & Lovely creams advertisement during her early career. In 2007, she become the brand ambassador of Saravana Stores. She is now the brand ambassador of the Lux and Head & Shoulders. Saran was also signed as brand ambassador along with actor Saif Ali Khan for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea. Saran also says no to soft drinks advertisements because she feels that soft drinks may harm child health.

Controversy

; Obscenity charges

On 11 January 2008, a Hindu organisation based in Chennai lodged a police complaint against Saran, objecting to the outfit worn by her during the 175th day celebration of her film, Sivaji: The Boss. In a complaint, the Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) alleged that Shriya's outfit had "offended Hindu culture". Shriya publicly apologised to Tamils and Hindus, saying it was a mistake, and that she had "great respect for the tradition and culture of Tamil Nadu [...] I was shooting for a Hindi film in Thanjavur. I came to the function directly from the shooting, [...] I was unaware of the repercussions because of the attire I wore during the function."

Philanthropy

Saran is well known for her charity work, and is a long time patron for the blind. In 2010, Saran announced that she has plans to open a spa for the visually challenged. Saran has said "When I studied in DPS Mathura Road in Delhi, there was a school for blind exactly opposite to our school. I used to go there every week and spend time seeing how these students played cricket and did other things normally. That is what inspired me to do something for these people".

Saran is a brand ambassador for the Naandi Foundation and Save A Child's Heart Foundation (SACH) alongside tennis player Sania Mirza which works for the benefit of poor children and for people affected by natural calamities. She also helps finance a Prevention of Aids foundation. In 2009, Saran joined hands with actor Surya Sivakumar and other eminent personalities to promote 'The Joy of Giving Week', to encourage people from all walks of life to engage in acts of giving. Saran also regularly participates in carnivals and campaigns that associate with child benefits. She is also associated with animal welfare and the Blue Cross of India.

Awards

; Wins

2007 - South Scope Style Award - Best Tamil Actress for Sivaji: The Boss 2008 - Stardust Exciting New Face Award for Mission Istanbul 2009 - Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actress in Tamil for Kanthaswamy

; Nominations

2002 - Viewer's Choice - Telugu Cine 'Maa' Awards Best Actress for Santhosham

2005 - Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for Chatrapathi

2007 - Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for Awaarapan

2007 - Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance for Awaarapan

2007 - Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine for Sivaji: The Boss

2009 - Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine for Kanthaswamy

; National honours and recognitions

2010 - TSR Lalitha Kala Parishath Awards for Contributions to Telugu Cinema 2010 - Featured in a poll conducted by Rediff about woman achievers in Indian entertainment, ranking her among the top actresses.

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:People from Haridwar Category:Tamil film actors Category:Telugu actors Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Kannada film actors Category:Non Malayali actors acted in Malayalam-language films Category:University of Delhi alumni Category:People from Delhi Category:Indian Hindus

Name	K Surendran
Birth place	Thiruvananthapuram
Occupation	Actor

Indrans is a Malayalam film actor and costume designer. He acts mainly in comedy roles. He has acted in over 200 films.

Indrans, a Tailor by profession, debuted in the film Choothattam as a costume designer. It was producer Charlie who offered him a chance to assist in costume designing. Although he had the opportunity to meet many filmmakers, including evergreen hero Prem Nazir, Sattar, Pappu, Jose Prakash and Jayabharathi, he concentrated only on designing costumes for several years in the industry. However, he did very small roles on screen.

Soon, Indrans started getting fresh assignments from well-known directors like Padmarajan, Venu Nagavally, Shaji N. Karun, Sibi Malayil and K. Madhu. CID Unni Krishnan was a turning point in his career as an actor. His brand of comedy clicked among the audiences and he went on to become one of the mainstream comedians in Kerala. Since then, he is busy till date.

Indrans had acted in more than 200 films so far. He created his own style in cinema and never replicated the comedy of the legendary Adoor Bhasi, Bahadoor, Jagathi Sreekumar or Innocent (actor). Renowned directors Adoor Gopalakrishnan and T.V. Chandran too offered him roles.

Filmography

Actor

# Aparan (1988) .... Bit role # Innale (1989) .... Hospital Attendant # Maala Yogam (1990) .... Kochu Raman # Utsava Melam (1992) # Kaazhchakkppuram (1992) .... Teashop Worker # Ayalathe Addeham (1992) .... Abu # Adharam (1992) .... Dinakaran # Kavadiyattam (1993) .... Tea Shop Employee # Janam (1993) # Aagneyam (1993) .... Rajappan # Vardhakya Puranam (1994) # Vadhu Doctoranu (1994) .... Natheli # Pavam Ia Ivachan (1994) # Manathe Kottaram (1994) # Malappuram Haji Mahanaya Joji (1994) # CID Unnikrishnan B.A., B.Ed. (1994) # Three Men Army (1995) .... 'Basha' Surendran # Thovalapookkal (1995) # Sphadikam (1995) # Punnaram (1995) # Mazhavilkoodaram (1995) # Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995) .... Ponnappan # Mangalam Veettil Manaseswari Gupta (1995) .... Dasan # Kusruthikaatu (1995) .... Arogya Swami # Kokkarakko (1995) # Kalamasseriyil Kalyanayogam (1995) .... Palarivattam Philipose # Kakkakum Poochakkum Kalyanam (1995) .... Balakrishnan # Avittam Thirunaal Aarogya Sriman (1995) .... Mangalan Mankombu # Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava (1995) .... Balan # Aadyathe Kanmani (1995) .... Narayanankutty # Swapna Lokathe Balabhaskaran (1996) .... Kunjunni # Sulthan Hyderali (1996) # Sathyabhamakkoru Premalekhanam (1996) # Man of the Match (1996) .... 'Neerkoli' Narayanan # Mandrika Kuthira (1996) # Kinnam Katha Kallan (1996) # Kalyana Sowgandhikam (1996) .... Krishnankutty # Kaathil Oru Kinnaram (1996) .... Rajappan # Excuse Me Ethu Collegila (1996) # Dilliwala Rajakumaran (1996) # Vaachalam (1997) # Manthramothiram (1997) .... Sundareshan # Kalyana Uniikal (1997) # Kadhanayakan (1997) .... Sreedharan # Hitler Brothers (1997) .... Balaraman # Ekkareyanente Manasam (1997) .... Bhargavan # The Car (1997) .... Idiyan Vikraman # Grama Panchayath (1998) .... Bhaskaran # Alibabayum Arara Kallanmarum (1998) .... E. T. Lukose # Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum (1999) # Swastham Grihabaranam (1999) .... Vilakkoothi Vasu # Onnam Vattom Kandappol (1999) # James Bond (1999) # Chandranudikkunna Dikhil (1999) # American Ammayi (1999) # Priyam (2000) # Pilots (2000) # Mark Antony (2000) # Darling Darling (2000) # Rakshasa Rajav (2001) # Nagaravadhu (2001) # Megasandesam (2001) .... Thommy # Uthaman (2001) .... Abdulla Haji # Bharthavudyogam (2001) .... Madhavan # Fort Kochi (2001) # One Man Show (2001) .... Achuthan # Videsi Nair Swadesi Nair (2002) .... Kochu Preman # Valkannadi (2002) .... Kanaran # Snehithan (2002) .... Studio Owner # Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan (2002) .... Madhavan # Kuberan (2002) .... Abdu # Kakke Kakke Koodevide (2002) # Jagathi Jagathish in Town (2002) .... Moosa # Nizhalkkuthu (2002) (aka Serviteur de Kali, Le (France), aka Shadow Kill (International: English title)) .... Barber # Vellithira (2003) .... Iyamkutty # C.I.D. Moosa (2003) .... Theekkanal Varkey # Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum (2003) .... Chandran # Balettan (2003) .... Koya # Pattalam(2003) .... Velayudhan # Varum Varunnu Vannu (2003) .... Servant # Thalamelam (2004) .... Nakulan # Kusruthi (2004) .... Champion Bhaskaran # C.I. Mahadevan 5 Adi 4 Inchu (2004) .... Narayanan # Vellinakshatram (2004) # Kanninum Kannadikkum (2004) .... M. A. Chengamangalam # Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004) .... Pappan # Kadhavaseshan (2004) # Ponmudipuzhayorathu (2005) .... Supran # Udayananu Tharam (2005) .... Vijayan Varkala # Iruvattam Manavatti (2005) .... Chandrappan # Athbhutha Dweepu (2005) .... Chandrappan # Kochi Rajavu (2005) .... Canteen Manager # Pandippada (2005) .... Veeramani # Nerariyan CBI (2005) .... Devaswam # Mayookham (2005) # Madhuchandralekha (2006) .... Lukose # Kilukkam Kilukilukkam (2006) .... Bakkar # Athisayan (2007) # Veeralipattu (2007) # Kangaroo (2007) .... Chellappan # Oru Pennum Randaanum (2008) # Twenty:20 (2008) # Robo(2008) # Dalamarmarangal(2009) # Cheriya Kallanum Valiya Policum (2010)

Costume designer

# Namukku parkan Munthirithoppukal # Sarvakalasala (1987) # Season (1989) # Innale (1989) # Rajavazhcha (1990) # Maala Yogam (1990) # Njan Gandharvan (1991) # Kaazhchakkppuram (1992) # Ayalathe Addeham (1992) # Kavadiyattam (1993) # Bhagyavan (1993) # Sphadikam (1995) # Kalyana Uniikal (1997)

Singer

Kadhanayakan (1997)

References

External links

Category:Malayali actors Category:Indian comedians Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people