Shobana

Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam, Telugu films, in addition to Tamil, Hindi, English and Kannada films. She is a recipient of two National Film Awards, one Kerala State Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, Shobana received the Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu Government. She established herself as one of the leading South Indian actresses of her time.
In a career spanning over four decades, Shobana has starred in 230 films across several languages. She has earned two National Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993) and the English film Mitr, My Friend (2001). The former also won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress. Additionally, she received two Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for her performance in Innale (1990) and Thenmavin Kombath (1994).
Shobhana is also a Bharatanatyam dancer who received her training under Chitra Visweswaran and Padma Subrahmanyam. She emerged as an independent performer and choreographer in her twenties and currently runs a dance school, Kalarpana, in Chennai. In 2006, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri for her contributions towards the arts. In 2013, she received Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, also known as Kalarathna, for her contributions to the performing arts. She received honorary doctorates from Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation in 2018, Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute in 2019 and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in 2022. Shobana was awarded Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2025.
Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai was born on March 21, 1970, into a Nair family in Kerala to Chandrakumar Pillai and Anandam Chandrakumar Pillai. She is the niece of the renowned Travancore sisters—Padmini, Lalitha and Ragini—who were celebrated for their expertise in classical Indian dance. Actor Vineeth and actress Parvathy Kurup are her cousins.
Shobana made her debut as a child artist. In 1980, she won the Best Child Artiste Award for her role in the Tamil movie, Mangala Nayagi, a remake of the Hindi film Saajan Bina Suhagan.
She also starred in the Telugu film Bhakta Dhruva Markendaya in 1982, an acclaimed all children film made in both Tamil and Telugu. As an adult, she was introduced to the film industry through the Malayalam film April 18 (1984), by director Balachandra Menon. In the same year, she debuted in the Tamil film industry with Enakkul Oruvan (1984), directed by SP Muthuraman. She did come back to act in occasional Tamil films opposite Satyaraj (Mallu Vetti Minor, Vaathiyar Veetu Pillai), Bhagyaraj (Ithu Namma Aalu) and Vijayakanth (Ponmana Selvan, En Kitta Mothathey) in the early 90s – these roles were generally glamorous in which Shobana generally acted as the beautiful, posh and haughty city girl who is eventually charmed by the village boy.
Her other major films include Rudraveena (1988), Meleparambil Aanveedu, Kanamarayathu (1984) Ithiri Poove Chuvanna Poove, Yathra (1985), Anantaram (1987), Nadodikkattu (1987), Vellanakalude Nadu (1988), Idhu Namma Aalu (1988), Siva (1989), Innale (1990), Kalikkalam (1990), Thalapathi (1991), Pappayude Swantham Appoos (1992), Manichitrathazhu (1993), Thenmavin Kombath (1994), Minnaram (1994), Mazhayethum Munpe (1995), Hitler (1996), Agni Sakshi (1999), Dance like a Man (2003), Makalkku (2005), Thira (2013) and Varane Avashyamund (2020). From Aviduthe Pole Ivideyum to Upaharam, Shobana did sixteen movies in a single year, 1985. Shobana also acted in the Tamil period film Kochadaiiyaan (2014).
In Rudraveena (1988), alongside Chiranjeevi and Gemini Ganesan, she played classical dancer Lalitha Sivajyothi, who belongs to a lower caste and is denied entry into the temple. In Abhinandana (1988), she paired with Karthik, and essayed his love interest, who aspires to become a classical dancer. In Kokila (1990), she paired with Naresh, and In Alludugaru (1990) she starred opposite Mohan Babu and was a remake of Malayalam film Chithram. 1 April Viduthala and Rowdy Gari Pellam were other Telugu films in 1991.
Shobana won her first National Film Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in AM Fazil's Manichitrathazhu. Her portrayal of Ganga Nakulan and alter-ego Nagavalli in the film was described by critics as "spell binding".
Following her National Award win in 1993, Shobana became highly selective about her films.
Shobana is a Bharatanatyam dancer. She started her own dance school, "Kalipinya" in 1989 and got it registered in 1992.
She has worked on collaborative ventures with the likes of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram and Mandolin Srinivas. Her recitals abroad include those at the World Malayalee convention, in the United States in 1985 and 1995, in Kuala Lumpur before the King and Queen of Malaysia, numerous cities in the United States, Europe, South East Asia and Australia. Shobana started performing in the Soorya Music & Dance festival organised by Soorya Krishnamoorthy from the year 1994.
In 1994, Shobana founded a school for classical dance Bharatanatyam in Chennai named Kalarpana.
She remains unmarried and in 2011, adopted a daughter, becoming a single mother.