Revathi - Biography

Biography

Revathy was born as Asha Kelunni Kutty in Kochi to Major Kelunni, a major in the Indian Army, and Lalitha Kelunni.Her father's house is in Kalladikkode, Palakkad.House name is "Malankattil".There are many relatives of her living in here. She has one sister named Bindu. In 1983, while living in and attending school in Chennai, Tamil Nadu she was spotted by noted Tamil director Bharathiraja, who was searching for a new heroine for his next film, and went on to play the heroine of Mann Vasanai which became a Silver Jubilee hit. Since then, she has acted in over one hundred films in all four major South Indian languages as well as Hindi. Revathi has co-starred with leading Malayalam film actor Mohanlal in films like Devasuran and Kilukkam.

Over the course of her career, she has earned numerous awards both regionally and nationally, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for three consecutive years (1992–1994) for Thevar Magan, Marupadiyum, and Priyanka respectively, the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal, the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Thevar Magan, as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Ankuram. Alongside many that include awards from the Film Fans Association, the Tamil Nadu State Government, Cinema Express, and other organizations.

Mitr, My Friend (2002) was her first full-length directorial venture. An Indian English film, a rarity at the time of its making, Mitr garnered an award for Best Regional Film (English) at the National Awards and got Shobana her second national award for best actress. Her next film as a director, Phir Milenge (2004), created waves as one of the first Hindi movies to deal with the sensitive subject of AIDS. She was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, as well as the Malayalam anthology film Kerala Cafe. Revathy was also one of the judges for the acting talent competition "Mammootty, the best actor award" on Asianet, along with reputed Malayalam film director Renjith.

Apart from films, she has been involved in a variety of social organisations, the most notable being the Banyan, the Ability Foundation, the Tanker Foundation, and Vidyasagar, and has also served as a member of several film festivals including the Chennai International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India.

She is trained in the dance form of Bharatanatyam, having studied since the age of seven and performed her arangetram in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1979. She started dating cinematographer and director Suresh Menon in early 1980s. The duo got married with the blessings of their parents in 1986. However, marital relations ran into rough weather following differences between them. They started living separately since 2002. Revathy and Suresh Menon then filed separate petitions, seeking mutual split, before the court. The couple was granted divorce on April 22, 2013, by Chennai Additional Family Court.