Divya Shaji, better known by her stage names Chippy and Shilpa in Malayalam and Kannada films respectively is an Indian actress and producer who works in the South Indian film industry, primarily in

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

and Kannada films. She has won several accolades including the Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress &

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress The Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada language film actresses. Since its inception, the award was won ...

for her performance in '' Janumada Jodi'' (1996). She has acted in many Kannada superhit films such as '' Bhoomi Thayiya Chochchala Maga'' (1998), ''

Mungarina Minchu ''Mungarina Minchu'' ( / ) is a 1997 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film directed and written by Rajendra Singh Babu starring Ramesh Arvind, Chippy (actress), Shilpa and Suman Nagarkar. The film is inspired from the 1942 Italian film ''Q ...

'' (1997) and '' Idhu Entha Premavayya'' (1999). Shilpa and Ramesh Aravind pair is considered as one of the best onscreen pairs in

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

. Her best known works in Malayalam-language films include sister of Aadu Thoma (

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

) in '' Spadikam'' and Chandradas's (

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

) estranged daughter in '' Patheyam''. She has also acted in several Malayalam Superhit TV series and her notable works include ''Sthreejanmam'', ''Sthree oru Santhwanam'', ''Sreeguruvayoorappan'' , '' Aakashadoothu'' and '' Santhwanam''.

Career

Chippy made her film debut with the

Bharathan Bharathan Parameshwara Menon Palissery (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) Known mononymously Bharathan was an Indian people, Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film ma ...

directorial '' Padheyam'' in 1993, co-starring

. She has acted in several Malayalam films in supporting roles and a few lead roles. In 1995, she acted as the sister of the iconic goon Aadu Thoma in the film Spadikam starring

. Later she also acted in the 1996 Kannada film, '' Janumada Jodi'', which broke many records in the Kannada film industry and screened for five hundred days. She received the

award from the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

for her role portrayal in the same film establishing herself as a lead actress in the Kannada cinema. Post marriage she shifted her focus into

television serials. She played Mayamma in ''Sthreejanam''. Later she launched her own production house, Avanthika Creations, a subsidiary of her husband M.Renjith's film production company ''Rejaputhra Visual Media''. She produced and played lead roles in Malayalam serials '' Akashadoothu'', '' Vanambadi'', '' Santhwanam'' and in Tamil serials '' Mouna Raagam'' and '' Mouna Raagam 2''.

Personal life

Chippy was born as Divya to Shaji Dharmapal and Thankam Shaji at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, Kerala. Chippy has a sister, Drishya. She was educated at Nirmala Bhavan Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram and at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram. Chippy is married to M. Renjith, a film and television producer who runs Rejaputhra Visual Media. The couple have a daughter named Avantika Renjith.

Filmography

Malayalam

Kannada

Tamil

* ''

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

'' (1998), Geetha

Telugu

* '' Pelli Peetalu'' (1998), Aswini

Television career

;As an actress ;As a Judge * Junior Idol (Jaihind) * Comedy Stars (Asianet) * Super Dancer Junior 5 (Amrita TV) * Red Carpet (Amrita TV) – Mentor ;As a Guest * Flowers oru kodi * Tharapakittu * Thiranottam ;As a Reality show contestant * Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran – 2017

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Renjith, Chippy Living people 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Tamil television producers