Malavika Nair

Malvika Nair is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu and Malayalam films. Nair's notable works include Black Butterfly, Cuckoo (2014), Yevade Subramanyam (2015), Taxiwaala (2018), Modern Love Hyderabad (2022) and Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi (2024).

Early life and education Malvika Nair was born in Delhi in a Malayali family. Her family soon moved to Kerala and she attended the Toc-H Public School in Vyttila, Kochi, before returning to New Delhi, where she continued her studies at DAV Sreshtha Vihar. She is a graduate from St Francis College for Women in Begumpet, Hyderabad. She has a master's degree in philosophy from University of Edinburgh.

Career

While studying, Nair 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.

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). Pairing alongside Dinesh, Malavika portrayed Sudhanthirakodi and won critical acclaim for her portrayal. Behindwoods noted her as "effectuated excellence", while Sify.com's review stated she was "superb" and that she "lives the role". Her performance was subsequently rewarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, 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. Malavika's next release was the romantic drama, Kalyana Vaibhogame (2016), opposite Naga Shaurya. It was directed by B. V. Nandini Reddy and the film was praised and her role was well appreciated. Sify wrote that "Malavika Nair who wowed the audiences with her performance in Yevade Subramanyam shines again as modern independent minded girl. She steals the show in many scenes".

In 2018, she starred as Alamelu Gemini Ganeshan in the Savitri biopic, Mahanati, directed by Nag Ashwin, which was successful at the box-office ran of 100 days.

In 2020, she starred in Orey Bujjiga opposite Raj Tarun which was later directly released on Aha due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released Films Year Title Role(s)Language Notes Ref.2012 Ustad Hotel Brief appearance in a song sequence Malayalam Karmayodha Diya Credited as Malavya Puthiya Theerangal Minikkutty Credited as Malavika Sai 2013 Black Butterfly Reena Credited as Malavika Sai 2014 Pakida Kani Cuckoo SudhanthirakodiTamil 2015 Yevade Subramanyam AnandhiTelugu 2016 Kalyana Vaibhogame Divya 2018 Mahanati Alamelu Gemini Ganesan Vijetha Chaithra Taxiwaala Sisira Bharadwaj 2020Orey BujjigaKrishnaveni 2022 Thank You Parvati "Paaru" 2023 Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi Anupama Kasturi Anni Manchi Sakunamule Aryani Devil: The British Secret Agent Manimekala 2024 Kalki 2898 AD Uttara Cameo appearance Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi Pranaya Kannada 2026 Biker Ananya Telugu

Television +YearTitleRoleNetworkNotes 2022Modern Love HyderabadVandana Bharadwaj Amazon Prime VideoSegment: "What Clown Wrote this Script?"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result 2015 Vijay Awards Best Debut Actress Cuckoo Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards Best Actress South Indian International Movie Awards Best Debut Actress – Tamil 2016 Best Female Debut – Telugu Yevade Subramanyam 2019 Filmfare Awards South Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Taxiwaala