Nilambur Ayisha

Nilambur Ayisha Biography

Nilambur Ayisha is a noted character artist associated with Malayalam cinema who predominantly worked in the era of 1960s and 1970s. Kandam Becha Kottu, the first colour film in Malayalam, in 1961 was her debut film. Still active in the film industry, her latest movie is Compartment released in 2015. In 2011 she received Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for the movie - Oomakkuyil Padumbol. She also received Premji award the same year for her contributions to Malayalam cinema. She is born in Nilambur of Malappuram district and that’s why ‘Nilambur’ tag is added to her name.

It was in the 1950s when theater was still a taboo to Muslim girls in Kerala. Once, someone hurled a stone that caught her right between the eyebrows while she was on stage. It was a time when men used to portray female roles on stage. She was a fire band on stage who portrayed numerous powerful roles on stage. Ayisha made her stage debut at the age of 16 with playwright E.K. Ayamu’s ‘Ijju Nalloru Manushyan Aavan Nokku’ (1953) – a socially relevant subject. It was EMS who suggested her name to play the title role of Jameela. While KPAC was making high ripples across Kerala with their powerful stage plays, similar move happened in Malabar as well. Ayisha has performed over 2500 stage shows in Kerala, Pune, Mumbai etc.

Ayisha hailed from a rich family with a lot of servants and even an elephant. Ayisha’s father and brother were interested in the arts. A great patron of arts, her father supported her. In those days, after 4 pm all servants and family members used to gather together where they performed music, dance, acts etc. It was after her father’s death, members of her community stood against theatre activism. The family lost everything and poverty prompted young Ayisha to get on the stage. She studied till class V only.

In those days, artists couldn’t expect money for their performances. Instead they need to go door by door asking people to watch plays, as a sort of activism. She worked with stalwarts such as K.T. Mohammed, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Khan Kavil and P.J. Antony and has received S.L. Puram State Prize for her overall contribution to theatre. Still active with films and theatre, she attends theater workshops as well.

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Updated: January 18, 2016