Who was Savithri Sreedharan? The Umma of Sudani from Nigeria dies at 83
Dubai: Savithri Sreedharan, the veteran Malayalam theatre actor who became a household name late in life as Jameela in Sudani from Nigeria, has died. She died at around 4am on Wednesday at her home, Sreedhareeyam, in Mankavu, Kozhikode, after a prolonged period of age-related illness. She had been bedridden for some time. Who was Savithri Sreedharan? To most film audiences, she was simply Umma:…
Savithri Sreedharan, a renowned Malayalam theatre actress, passed away at the age of 83. She became a household name after her role as Jameela in the 2018 film Sudani from Nigeria, where she played the gentle and motherly character that was adored by audiences. Savithri was a seasoned stage actor from Kozhikode who spent over 40 years in Malayalam drama, performing in thousands of productions for various troupes.
She had only one film appearance to her credit, a brief role in 1991, before returning to the stage for another 27 years. After her breakthrough role in Sudani, she went on to act in more than a dozen films, most of them depicting mothers and grandmothers, with the same restraint that made Jameela an iconic character. Savithri received several awards and recognitions for her contributions to Malayalam theatre, including the Kerala State Award for best theatre actress twice, the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, and the National Film Award for Best Character Actress.
Despite her success, she was humble about her achievements and had admitted that she didn't know how to give interviews.
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