Other names Malavya Role Film actress Name Malavika Nair | Years active 2012 – present Occupation Actress | |
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Awards Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil Movies Yevade Subramanyam, Cuckoo, Pakida, Black butterfly Similar People Nag Ashwin, Raja Murugan, Santhosh Narayanan, Maniyanpilla Raju, Gopi Sunder | ||
Not to be confused with the younger actress of the same name
Malavika Nair is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil language films as a child. After appearing in minor supporting roles in several Malayalam films in 2012, she played her first lead role in the Malayalam film Black Butterfly (2013). She won critical acclaim for her performances as a blind girl in Cuckoo (2014) and as an adventurer in Yevade Subramanyam (2015).
Career
Malavika Nair was born in Delhi. Her family soon moved to Kerala and Malavika attended the T oc-H Public School in Vyttila, Kochi, before returning to New Delhi, where she continued her studies at DAV school.
While studying, she modelled, appearing in various advertisements as well as the Mohan Sithara-directed music video, "Rithukkal". She subsequently began to receive acting offers and eventually entered the film industry at age 13. In her first few films she had minor supporting or cameo roles; in Ustad Hotel, she made a brief appearance in a song sequence, while in Puthiya Theerangal and Karmayodha she played the daughter of Nedumudi Venu and Mohanlal's characters, respectively. Her first major role was as Reena, a house maid who faces an acid attack, in the Malayalam drama film Black Butterfly (2013), a remake of Vazhakku Enn 18/9.
After watching her performance in Black Butterfly, Balaji Sakthivel, director of its original version, was impressed and recommended aspiring director Raju Murugan to cast her in his romantic drama film Cuckoo (2014). She portrayed an independent blind girl in the film and prior to the shoot, attended a workshop where she interacted with blind people. Pairing alongside Dinesh, Malavika portrayed Sudhanthirakodi and won critical acclaim for her portrayal. A critic from Draft:Behindwoods.com noted she "effectuated excellence", while Sify.com's review stated she was "superb" and that she "lives the role". Her performance was subsequently rewarded with the Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress as well as the SICA Award for Best Newcomer and the Vikatan Award for Best Actress. Prior to Cuckoo, she had a Malayalam release, Pakida, in which she portrayed a fifteen-year-old girl who is sold to a brothel by her own father.
The actress was next seen in the Telugu film, Yevade Subramanyam (2015) alongside Nani, with a critic noting she "shows a lot of spunk and comes up with a matured performance for a newcomer".