The winner was chosen by a jury chaired by veteran lyricist and director Sreekumaran Thampi, with actress Urvashi, director Balu Kiriyath, and Chalachitra Academy Secretary C. Ajoy as members. The 80-year-old actress becomes the 32nd recipient of this illustrious honour.
The jury noted that Sharada, an extraordinary talent, brought national glory to Malayalam cinema by winning the National Film Award for Best Actress twice for Malayalam films. She is credited with immortalizing the struggles and resilience of Malayali women on screen during the 1960s and 70s. She won her first National Award in 1968 for Thulabharam, followed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Swayamvaram in 1972, and a third for the Telugu film Nimajjanam in 1977. Her iconic roles in films like Triveni, Murappennu, Mooladhanam, and Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam remain etched in the hearts of film lovers.
Born as Saraswati Devi on June 25, 1945, in Tenali, Andhra Pradesh, she adopted the screen name Sharada during her debut in the Telugu film Irumitralu. She entered the Malayalam film industry in 1965 with Kunchacko’s Inapravugal. Her career reached new heights with M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s scripts in Murappennu and Iruttinte Athmavu. Over the decades, she has acted in approximately 125 Malayalam films, including masterpieces like Yakshi, Adimakal, Enippadikal, Elippathayam, and Raappakal. Notably, Sharada was the first Malayalam actress to be honoured with a retrospective section at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2019. (Keralanews.gov)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com