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
Vannappuram, Idukki, Kerala
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of Fine Arts
Alma materCollege of Fine Arts Trivandrum
OccupationActor, Theatre Artist
Years active2010 - Present
Height5 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. 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.

NameDetails
MacbethAn 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 RosaDevised 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 TimeAn English clown theatre production directed by Francoise Calvel from France
PachaA Malayalam theatre production directed by Surjith Gopinath of School of Drama & Fine Arts,Thrissur
Invisible CitiesA Malaylam adaptation of Italo Calvino's novel, directed by Firos Khan, National School of Drama
Tsunami ExpressA multilingual production, in collaboration with Indian and Latin American artists, directed by Elias Cohen from Chile
Las IndiasA multilingual, multicultural community dance and music theatre project, directed by Elias Cohen from Chile
KarunaA 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 PS 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 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 a Cuckoo 2019 Shobha Vincent Malayalam Jay Jithin Prakash In post production
Pada 2019 CK Leela Malayalam Kamal KM In post production
Error 2020 Chinnu Malayalam (Short film) Manu PS

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
  1. Express News Service, "More actresses and South Indian film bodies support WCC stand", The New Indian Express, July 2, 2018.
  2. TNM Staff, "8 things that make us reject you: 15 WCC members slam AMMA in a strong statement", The News Minute, July 1, 2018.
  3. Article, Deccan (March 28, 2016). "Deccan Chronicle article". Deccan Chronicle.
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