Parvathy (actress)

Early life and education

Parvathy was born in Kozhikode, Kerala, to P Vinod Kumar and T K Usha Kumari, both lawyers. She has a brother, Karunakaran.Her initials come from her mother's family name, Thiruvoth Kottuvata. During her schooling years, her family moved to Thiruvananthapuram and she pursued her studies there. She finished her schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pangode. She is a Bharatanatyam dancer. After finishing her B.A. in English Literature from All Saints' College at Trivandrum, Kerala, she is currently pursuing her M.A. through distance education. She was a successful television anchor at Kiran TV, a full-time music channel based in Thiruvananthapuram.

Film career

Parvathy made her acting debut in the 2006 Malayalam film Out of Syllabus, portraying a supporting role as a college student. Her second venture, Rosshan Andrrews' Notebook, won media attention due to its theme on teenage pregnancy. Parvathy appeared alongside Roma Asrani and Mariya Roy, after being picked for one of the three main roles from five thousand applicants. She was also seen in Sathyan Anthikkad's comedy drama film, Vinodayathra (2007), playing a supporting role alongside an ensemble cast including Dileep, Mukesh and Meera Jasmine. Her first leading role was in the Kannada film Milana, which became a commercial success upon release. Pairing alongside Puneet Rajkumar, she was a surprise selection for the film and began working on the film in April 2007. The film won mixed reviews, but the actress's role was praised with a critic noting she "has been a wonderful selection for the role", adding that "she has that right attitude for the role". The film went on to become a big commercial success, running for 500 days at a multiplex in Bangalore. She returned to the Malayalam industry portraying the leading female role in Sibi Malayil's Flash with Mohanlal and Indrajith, and prior to release revealed that she hoped the film would give a breakthrough as a lead actress in the industry. However, the film failed commercially and garnered poor reviews on release.

Parvathy was selected to play the lead role in Sasi's Poo (2008) and featured alongside Srikanth, portraying the role of a young Tamil village girl named Maari. She revealed that she had to forgo twelve other offers to commit to the film, noting that Sasi selected her after a successful audition. To acclimatise to the role, the actress had to get her skin tone several shades darker and also visited a firework factory to study Maari's occupation. The actress revealed she found it difficult getting out of character and became emotionally attached to the role she had played. Upon release, the film and her performance won rave reviews. A critic from Sify.com noted "Parvathy has lived in the role of Maari and takes your breath away as she effortlessly delivers such a difficult role so convincingly on her debut in Tamil", adding that "she is consistently credible and lifelike and absolutely riveting." Similarly Rediff.com's reviewer mentioned that Poo is "almost entirely Parvathy's film" noting that "she's superb", while Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote Parvathy "makes optimum use" and "plays a rustic belle to the hilt in attire and expression, also getting the body language right." The actress subsequently went on to win the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress, while also securing other accolades and nominations from several other award juries, notably winning the Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress.

Her only release in 2009 was the Kannada film, Male Barali Manju Irali, directed by Vijayalakshmi Singh, where she dubbed for the role in her own voice. Parvathy accepted the venture, which featured mostly rookie technicians, noting that she was impressed by the director's script and revealed she had turned down several offers from Tamil film-makers during the period who had wanted to cast her in roles similar to her character from Poo. The film won rave reviews, with a critic noting "Parvathy steals the show" and that "she comes with one of the most absorbing performances", adding that "her level of commitment to the role could be gauged by the way she has taken pains to dub in an alien language almost perfectly." Parvathi again teamed up with Puneet Rajkumar in Prithvi, which was based on the political situation in Karnataka. The director has earmarked Parvathy for the role when writing the script and her re-collaboration with Puneet after the success of Milana, was built up by the media. Though the film opened to positive reviews, critics noted the little scope that Parvathy's character had in the film, noting that "she was mostly confined to the songs". Her Malayalam film City of God (2011), which was directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, opened to mixed reviews. Despite the commercial failure of the project, Parvathy won rave reviews again with critics noting she was "just brilliant" and a "dynamo" in her role of a Tamil refuge girl. The actress took a voluntary break after the film's release, deciding to become choosier while selecting scripts.

Her first release in 2013, was the Kannada romantic film Andhar Bahar co-starring Shivrajkumar, which told the story of the relationship between a newly married criminal and his wife. She dubbed with her own voice for the film again, revealing that she chose to star in the film as the role had scope for her to perform. The film opened to good reviews, with a critic noting "Parvathy lights up the screen whenever she appears and is a delight to watch". She was next seen in the 2013 Tamil thriller film, Chennaiyil Oru Naal, featuring her alongside an ensemble cast. The film, a remake of the 2011 Malayalam film Traffic, has its narrative in a hyperlink format and Parvathy won good reviews for her small role as Aditi. She was then signed to essay a leading role in Bharat Bala's romantic drama Maryan opposite Dhanush. The director had seen her performance in Poo and subsequently auditioned her for the part, with Parvathy noting that the character was the best she has played till date. She portrayed Panimalar, a girl in love with the titular character Maryan, who inspires him to overcome his struggles. During production, the actress helped get into the mind of the character by working with fisherman, while also learning how to swim for underwater scenes. The film released to unanimously positive reviews and successful box office collections in June 2013, with Parvathy's portrayal being raved by critics. A reviewer from Sify.com noted Parvathy "leaves a lasting impression", while another critic noted that she "is totally in sync with Dhanush all the way; she has matched him step for step, never allowing him to overshadow her." Times of India's review noted "Parvathy is the other pillar of the film, and comes up with a scintillating performance", adding "it is such a pleasure to watch her portray the various emotions". Her only 2014 release, Bangalore Days directed by Anjali Menon, was a high commercial success, with reports claiming that it was "one of the biggest hits in history of Malayalam cinema". In 2015, she appeared in the romance film Ennu Ninte Moideen which narrated the tragic love tale of Kanchanamala and Moideen which happened in the 1960s in Mukkam, a riverside village in Kerala. The film opened to critical acclaim, with several critics regarding it as one of the greatest romance films made in Malayalam.

Television