Abhirami () (née Divya Gopikumar; July 1983) is an Indian actress and television host. She has acted in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

films.

Early life and education

She was born as Divya in July 1983, to Gopikumar and Pushpa in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

.She attended Christ Nagar English High School and

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

, in Trivandrum and did predegree training from Mar Ivanios College, before graduating in programs for psychology and communications from the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Her family migrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 2004 when she got a job there. Her parents are

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

instructors in

Career

Abhirami made her debut in director

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...

's film '' Kathapurushan''. While in college, Abhirami worked as a TV anchor for the program ''Top Ten'' which aired on the Asianet channel, which according to Abhirami was "quite popular" and got her a film offer. She also appeared in the 100-episode Malayalam serial ''Akshaya Pathram'', directed by

Sreekumaran Thampi Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, director, producer, and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel ...

. She changed her screen name to Abhirami, the character name of the heroine of the film ''

Gunaa ''Gunaa'' is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language psychological romantic drama film directed by Santhana Bharathi and co-written by Sab John. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Rekha and newcomer Roshini. The film revolves around a newly released psychiatri ...

'', being "obsessed with the role and the name". She had a small role in the Malayalam film ''

Pathram ''Pathram'' () is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language political thriller film written by Renji Panicker and directed by Joshi, starring Suresh Gopi, Manju Warrier, Murali, N. F. Varghese, Biju Menon, Abhirami. Plot Nandagopal, an associate e ...

'' in 1999 and in the series ''

Mercara Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India. Etymology Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddura ...

'' directed by

Jude Attipetty Jude Attipetty is an Indian director of Malayalam cinema and television. He is the head of programs at Mazhavil Manorama and is the director of award-winning tele-series such as ''Sararanthal'' and ''Mikhayelinte Santhathikal''. He has also rece ...

. Later she acted in the films ''

Millennium Stars ''Millennium Stars'' is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Jayaraj, starring Jayaram and Suresh Gopi in lead roles, and also features Biju Menon and Abhirami. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Vidyasagar. The movie ...

'', ''

Njangal Santhushtaranu ''Njangal Santhushtaranu'' () is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language domestic drama film directed by Rajasenan and starring Jayaram and Abhirami in lead roles. Plot Sanjeevan (Jayaram) is a police commissioner who lives with his widowed father ...

'', and ''

Sradha ''Sradha'' ( en, Focus) is a 2000 Indian Malayalam language action film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by T. Damodaran and Dr. Rajendrababu. The film stars Mohanlal, Arun Pandian, Abhirami, Sangeetha, Shobhana and Indraja. It features a ...

'' before shifting to

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

. Her first Tamil film was ''

Vaanavil ''Vaanavil'' () is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced by Guru Films and directed by Manoj Kumar. The film stars Arjun, Abhirami and Prakash Raj in lead roles. The film released to mixed reviews, but performed well at the box offic ...

'' (2001) opposite Arjun, which was a "big hit" and was followed by ''

Middle Class Madhavan ''Middle Class Madhavan'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by T. P. Gajendran. The film stars Prabhu and Abhirami, while Vadivelu, Vivek, Manivannan and others in supporting roles. The film explores t ...

'' and '' Samudhiram''. A notable film in her career was ''

Virumaandi ''Virumaandi'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, co-edited, produced, and directed by Kamal Haasan, who also performed in the title role. The film revolves around the interview of two prison inmates, firstly, Kothala Th ...

'', in which she appeared as a Tamil village girl from

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

opposite

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

. Besides Tamil and Malayalam, she has appeared in Telugu and Kannada films and was a notable Tollywood actress. In 2003, she appeared opposite

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

in the film ''

Raktha Kanneeru ''Raktha Kanneeru'' () is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Sadhu Kokila, starring Upendra and Ramya Krishna. The film was produced by Munirathna and was later dubbed in Telugu. The screenplay and dialogues of the film were writ ...

'' and opposite

Shiva Rajkumar Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy (born 12 July 1962) known by his screen name Shiva Rajkumar, is an Indian actor, producer and television presenter, predominantly works in Kannada cinema.

in ''Sri Ram''. In 2004, she retired from the film industry and settled in the

for her studies. She went on to work as the marketing director of an MNC there. In 2013, Abhirami was the voice of

Pooja Kumar Pooja Kumar is an American actress of Indian descent who works in Tamil, Hindi, and English-language Indian films. After winning Miss India USA in 1995, she pursued a career as an actress and producer. She has appeared in a number of American f ...

in both parts of Kamal Haasan's ''

Vishwaroopam ''Vishwaroopam'' (titled ''Vishwaroop'' in Hindi; ) is a 2013 Indian action spy film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role, and is written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari. The film has Rahul Bose ...

'' and she went on to host ''Rishimoolam'', a talk show on the Tamil television channel Puthuyugam. The following year, she returned to Malayalam films with ''

Apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

'', in which she played the role of a gynaecologist. She also appeared in ''

Ithu Thaanda Police ''Ithu Thaanda Police'' () is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by debutant director Manoj Palodan. It stars Asif Ali in the lead role alongside Abhirami, Janani Iyer, Sajitha Madathil and Sruthi Lakshmi. The story ...

'' playing the role of Sub-Inspector Arundhati Varma. She has also anchored the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

''Made For Each Other'' on

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Free-to-air Malayalam general entertainment television channel operated and owned by Malayala Manorama Television (MMTV), the publisher of the widely circulated ''Malayalam Manorama'' daily, and the Malayalam wom ...

Personal life

Abhirami is married to Rahul Pavanan, grandson of writer Pavanan.

Filmography

As actress

Television

* ''Top Ten'', anchor of musical program ( Asianet) * ''Piyatha'' ,

telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

( Asianet) * ''Akshaya Pathram'', serial ( Asianet) * ''Annie'' , telefilm (

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment television channel owned by Kairali TV Network (Malayalam Communications Limited). It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. The channel is ...

) * ''Rishimoolam'', host ( Puthuyugam) * ''Made For Each Other'', host (

) * '' Kanakanmani'', serial ( Surya TV) as Radhika (Cameo) * ''Flowers Oru Kodi'' (Flowers TV) as Participant * ''Red Carpet'' (

Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam Language general Entertainment television channel owned by Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It was launched in 2005. Theme song The theme song, "Lokasamastha," was composed by Rahulraj for Mata Amritanandamayi's 50t ...

) as Mentor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abhirami 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Living people Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Non-Malayali Keralites Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan schools alumni 1983 births College of Wooster alumni Indian voice actresses Actresses in Malayalam television