Abhirami(I)

Abhirami, born as Divya to Gopikumar and Pushpa, is an Indian film actress who has made significant contributions to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada cinema. Despite her Tamilian roots, she was born and raised in Trivandrum, Kerala, where her parents worked as bank officials. Abhirami received her primary education at Christ Nagar English High School and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Trivandrum. She pursued her pre-degree at Mar Ivanios College and later graduated in Psychology and Communications from the College of Wooster in Ohio. Following her graduation, her family migrated to the United States where her parents are currently yoga instructors.

Abhirami made her acting debut in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's film *Kathapurushan*. While in college, she worked as a TV anchor for the popular program *Top Ten* on the Asianet channel, which led to her first film offer. She also starred in the 100-episode Malayalam serial *Akshaya Pathram*, directed by Sreekumaran Thampi. She adopted the screen name Abhirami from the character of the heroine in the film *Gunaa*, reflecting her fascination with the role.

In 1999, she had a small role in the Malayalam film *Pathram* and appeared in the series *Mercara* directed by Jude Attipetty. Abhirami then featured in films like *Millennium Stars*, *Njangal Santhushtaranu*, and *Sradha* before transitioning to Tamil cinema. Her first Tamil film, *Vaanavil* (2001), opposite Arjun, was a major hit, followed by successful films such as *Middle Class Madhavan* and *Samudhiram*. One of her most notable roles was in *Virumaandi*, where she portrayed a Tamil village girl from Madurai opposite Kamal Haasan.

Besides Tamil and Malayalam films, Abhirami also appeared in Telugu and Kannada films, earning acclaim in the Tollywood industry. In 2003, she starred opposite Upendra in the film *Raktha Kanneeru* and alongside Shiva Rajkumar in *Sri Ram*. In 2004, Abhirami retired from the film industry and relocated to the United States to further her studies. She later worked as the marketing director for a multinational corporation.

In 2013, Abhirami lent her voice to Pooja Kumar in both parts of Kamal Haasan's *Vishwaroopam* and hosted the talk show *Rishimoolam* on the Tamil television channel Puthuyugam.

Abhirami is married to Rahul Pavanan, grandson of the writer Pavanan. The couple has an adopted daughter named Kalki.