Urvashi won the award for the six time, while Beena Chandran bagged the award for her full-length role in a feature film.
Published Aug 17, 2024 | 11:57 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 17, 2024 | 11:57 AM
Kerala State Film Awards 2024: Urvashi and Beena Chandran react. (X)
Actors Urvashi and Beena R Chandran have bagged the Best Actor (Female) Award at the Kerala State Film Awards 2024.
Urvashi won the award for the sixth time. She received her first in 1989 for her performance in Mazhavilkavadi and Varthamanakalam.
In 1990, she won the award for Thalayanamanthram. In 1991, she was honoured with the Best Actress Award for her performances in Bharatham, Mukha Chithram, Kakkathollayiram, and Kadinjool Kalyanam. The actor clinched the award again in 1995 for Kazhakan.
Later, she received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 2005 for Madhuchandralekha.
With the announcement of the latest, Urvashi says she is happy to be recognised for her performance in Ullozhukku (2024). In the film, she played Leelamma, the mother-in-law of Parvathy Thiruvothu’s Anju.
Addressing the media shortly after the awards were announced, Urvashi said an actor gets the first award when the director okays a shot in the film. However, getting recognition from the state government felt like seeing one’s progress report in school.
Urvashi added that she was grateful to all the directors who were part of her success and noted that the overwhelming response from the audience to the film filled her heart.
About Ullozhukku, she said shooting for the movie was a difficult task as the team had to maintain a gloomy atmosphere throughout the film because of its premise. She recounted telling director Christo Tomy that it won’t be easy.
“Crying is an outlet. But in my case, I had to hold back my tears. That was tough. My cheeks and my face would hurt every day as I left the film sets. Nevertheless, the director gave me a free hand and told me to do what I deemed to be perfect for my role,” she remembered.
The veteran actor admitted that the water-logged house and areas became an issue for her to deal with but the team didn’t give up.
Urvashi also appreciated Parvathy Thiruvothu’s performance in Ullozhukku. She said she did well in the emotional scenes because Parvathy had put up an equally brilliant performance.
Beena R Chandran, who shared the Best Actress Award with Urvashi, is a teacher at the CEUP School, Parudur, Palakkad district.
When the awards were announced on 16 August, Beena was busy teaching her students.
Beena Chandran won the award for her portrayal of Geetha, an Anganwadi teacher, in the film Thadavu (The Sentence), directed by Fazil Razaq. Interestingly, she won a Special Jury Mention at the Kerala Film Critics Awards for the same film.
The award comes as a much-deserved recognition for the actor who is a teacher by profession and an artiste by passion. She is part of the theater group Kalapaatasala, Arangottukara. She is a versatile mimicry artist, too.
Earlier, she acted in Sudevan’s critically acclaimed film Crime No 89 (2013) and a couple of short films. Beena Chandran got the state award for her performance in her full-length role in a feature film.
The teacher-actor likes to teach the lessons in the form of skits, drama, and dance. She even runs a kids theater in her school.
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
