Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. Jyothika has received several accolades including a National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and the Kalaimamani Award Jyothika is regarded as one of the most prolific actresses in Tamil cinema, and has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by the media.
Jyothika debuted in films with the Hindi film Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1997), directed by Priyadarshan. She starred in her first Tamil film Vaali (1999) and her first Telugu film Tagore (2003), opposite Chiranjeevi. She received her first Filmfare Award for Vaali (1999) as Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. She was awarded the Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for Kushi (2000). A string of successful films followed and gained prominence for her performances in Kushi (2000), Dumm Dumm Dumm(2001), Poovellam Un Vasam (2001), Kaakha Kaakha (2004), Perazhagan (2004), Chandramukhi (2005) and Mozhi, (2007), for the latter three she won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. For the movie, Mozhi, she was in the final three for National Film Award for Best Actress for her outstanding performance, however she lost the award to Umashree for the Kannada film Gulabi Talkies. She has a record of holding maximum number of nominations with 16 for Best Tamil Actress at South Filmfare Awards.
Jyothika left the industry at the peak of her career marrying Tamil actor Suriya on 11 September 2006, after being engaged in a relationship for several years, and with whom she was paired in seven films. She made a comeback in the film 36 Vayadhinile (2015) where her performance was given strong reviews and she received Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – South for the movie. After the success of 36 Vayadhinile, she appeared in a series of women centric movies like Magalir Mattum (2017), Naachiyaar (2018), Kaatrin Mozhi (2018), Raatchasi (2019) , and Ponmagal Vandhal (2020) and also played a lead female role in Mani Ratnam's multi-starrer Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018).
Early life
Jyothika was born on 18 October 1978 to a Punjabi father and a Maharashtrian Muslim mother. Her father is Chander Sadanah, a film producer and her mother is Seema Sadanah. Actress Nagma is her half-sister. She also has a sister Roshini (born Radhika) and a brother Suraj, who is working as an assistant director for Priyadarshan.
Jyothika completed her schooling from the Learner's Academy, Mumbai. She later majored in Psychology at the Mithibai College in Mumbai.
Career
Debut and early career (1998–2002) She made her acting debut in the Hindi film Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, directed by Priyadarshan, but it did not do well commercially. For her fresh debut she was nominated for Best Female Debut at 44th Filmfare Awards, which was lost to Preity Zinta for Dil Se.. and Soldier.
Her first role in Tamil was in Vaali (1999), for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. and Dinakaran Award for the Best Female Debut. Later that year, she starred in Poovellam Kettuppar, in which she played the love interest of the protagonist, portrayed by her future husband Suriya. The success of the film Kushi became a turning point in her career. A string of successful films followed between 2000 and 2002, among them Mugavaree, Dumm Dumm Dumm and Snegithiye. She also acted with Kamal Haasan during this period, in the comedy film Thenali. She was awarded the Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for her role in Kushi. Her role in Rhythm though small, has been widely appreciated. After the success of Kushi, she was signed to play the female lead in Friends, opposite Vijay, but she was replaced by Devayani. She collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the first time by appearing in his production house Madras Talkies' romantic comedy Dumm Dumm Dumm, alongside Madhavan. The film won positive acclaim and became a success not only in Tamil Nadu, but also in Andhra with its dubbed version. She also made an appearance in the Kannada film industry opposite Upendra in Nagarahavu. She had a dual role in this film. Later, she appeared in the Tamil thriller film Snegithiye, directed by Priyadarshan, made in Tamil and Malayalam.