Karthika (Malayalam actress)

Sunanda Nair, better known by her stage name Karthika is an Indian former actress who worked predominantly in Malayalam movies and a few Tamil movies. She was one of the popular lead Malayalam actresses during 1984-1988.She is well known for her portrayal of Charumathy in Nayakan (1987).^[1][2]

Karthika
Born	Sunanda Nair Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984–1988
Known for	Thalavattam (1986) Nayakan (1987)
Spouse	Dr. Sunil Kumar ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	1
Parent	Captain P. K. R. Nair (father)

Early life

Karthika was born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to Captain P. K. R. Nair, a retired army officer, Ex Servicemen Corporation Chairman and leader of Ex-Service Congress affiliated to the Indian National Congress. Her mother is a homemaker. She has a sister, Sujatha Balgovind.^[3] She is a trained classical dancer and Kathakali artist. She is also an amateur Tennis player.^[4]

Film career

Karthika made her cinema debut as a junior artist. Her first film was in 1984, Oru Painkilikatha directed by Balachandra Menon. She played one of the group dancers in the movie. However, she got a heroine role in the very next year. Her second film is Manicheppu Thurannappol. In the movie, she played one among the female leads along with Jalaja.^[5]

She has worked in twenty films, among which two films are Tamil films and the rest are Malayalam films. Adiverukal, Thalavattam, Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam, Neela Kurinji Poothappol, Ente Entethu Mathram, Desatanakkili Karayarilla, Kariyilakkattu Pole and Adukkan Entheluppam are the films performed by her in 1986. In 1987, she worked in films like Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha, Gandhinagar 2nd Street, Unnikale Oru Kadha Parayam, Neeyethra Dhanya, January Oru Orma and Ivide Ellavarkkum Sukham. David David Mr. David and Avanikunnile Kinnari Pookkal are the films performed by her in 1988 and 1989 respectively.^[6]

She made her Tamil debut in 1987 through Nayagan with Kamal Haasan, Saranya Ponvannan and Nizhalgal Ravi. The film directed by Mani Ratnam. Her second and final Tamil film was with Sathyaraj in Poovizhi Vasalile directed by Fazil.

At the peak of her career, Karthika decided to quit the film industry. She married Dr. Sunil Kumar and went to the United States. The couple has a son, Vishnu. She is now settled in Thiruvananthapuram. ^[7]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes	Ref.
1979	Prabhaathasandhya	Young Usha	Malayalam	Child artist	[citation needed]
1984	Oru Painkilikatha	Dancer		Uncredited junior artist	[citation needed]
1985	Manicheppu Thurannappol	Karthika		Debut	[citation needed]
1986	Desatanakkili Karayarilla	Nirmala			[8]
	Kariyilakkattu Pole	Shilpa			[9]
	Ente Entethu Mathrem	Sheela			[citation needed]
	Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam	Meera			[10]
	Adiverukal	Sreedevi			[11]
	Gandhinagar 2nd Street	Maya			[12]
	Thalavattam	Savithri			[13]
	Adukkan Entheluppam	Vimala			[citation needed]
	Neela Kurinji Poothappol	Sandhya Varma			[citation needed]
1987	Poovizhi Vasalile	Yamuna	Tamil		[14]
	Nayakan	Charumathi			[15]
	Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha	Abhirami	Malayalam		[citation needed]
	Ivide Ellavarkkum Sukham	Gigi Varma			[citation needed]
	Unnikale Oru Kadha Parayam	Animol			[16]
	January Oru Orma	Nimmy			[17]
	Neeyethra Dhanya	Shyama			[citation needed]
	Neela Kurinji Poothappol	Sandhya			[citation needed]
1988	David David Mr. David	Karthika			[citation needed]
1991	Aavanikunnile Kinnaripookkal	Indu			[citation needed]

Personal life

Karthika married Sunil Kumar in 1988. She has a son, Vishnu Sunil Jaikumar, a Veterinary Surgeon & Radiologist.^[18][19]