Jalaja


Jalaja is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema as well as some Tamil films during the 1970s and 1980s. She won Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1981 for the movie Venal directed by Lenin Rajendran. Her family roots are from Kollam and Alappuzha district, Kerala.

Personal life

Jalaja was born on 13 December 1961 to Malayali couple Prof. Thakazhiyil Vasudevan Pillai and Saraswathiyamma in Kuala Lumpur. She studied there before migrating to India during her fourth grade, due to a civil war in Malaysia.
She had her primary education from Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Madras, Ambalappuzha English Medium School and her Pre-degree from St. Joseph's College for Women, Alappuzha. She did her bachelor's degree and Masters in English Literature from Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram.
She is married to Prakash Nair since 3 September 1993 and has settled in Bahrain after marriage. They have a daughter Devi. She was a jury member for the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards.

Awards

Malayalam

Tamil

Television serials

  • Indraneelam
  • Verukal as Amlu - based on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's Novel Directed by T.N. Gopakumar
  • Ammuvukku Kalyanam as Gayathri - Tamil Serial