Santha Devi, Indian actress has died she was , 85

Santha Devi  better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress has died she was , 85. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films.^[1]

(1927 - 20 November 2010),

Biography

Santha Devi was born in Kozhikode in 1927 as the daughter of Thottathil Kannakkuruppu and Karthiyayani Amma as the seventh daughter of their 10 children. She did her studies from Sabha school and then B.E.M school. She got married at the age of 18 with her uncle's son Balakrishnan who was a Railway guard, but the relationship did not last long. He left Santha Devi after the couple had a son. Later, she got married to Kozhikode Abdul Kader, a popular Malayalam playback singer. He was a Christian during the time of their marriage and later changed his religion to Islam. She has two kids in her second marriage, Suresh Babu and the late Sathyajith.

She made her debut as an actress through a 1954 drama Smarakam written by Vasu Pradeep and directed by Kundanari Appu Nair. She made her cinema debut in Minnaminungu (1957) directed by Ramu Karyat. She has acted in over 480 movies including Moodupadam, Kuttikkuppayam, Kunjalimaraykkar, Iruttinte Athmavu, Sthalathe pradhana payyans and Adwaitham. Kerala Cafe, produced by director Ranjith, was her last movie where she enacted the role of a forlorn grandmother with no one to look after her. Besides movies, she was also active in television serials. Her most memorable roles are from Manasi and Minnukettu.
Santha Devi died on 20 November 2010 evening in a private hospital in Kozhikode.^[2]

Awards

She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Yamanam (1992) directed by Bharath Gopi.^[3] She has received the Kerala State award for best Stage actress in 1968 for her role in Kudukkukal. In 1968, she received award from Thrissur Fine Arts Society and in 1973 she received best actress award again. In 1978, her acting in Ithu bhoomiyanu and Inquilabinte makkal fetched her Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Acamedy's award for best actress. She won the Kerala Film Critics Association Award in 1979 and Kerala State Award for Best Actress in State plays in 1983 for Deepasthambham Mahashcharyam.^[1]
In 1992 she got Film critics award again. Santha Devi was awarded Premji award and later in 2005 the life time achievement award from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.

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