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Santha Devi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Damayanthi 1927 Kozhikode, Kerala, India |
| Died | November 20, 2010 (aged 82–83) Kozhikode |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1954–2010 |
| Spouse(s) | Balakrishnan (divorced) Kozhikode Abdul Kader |
Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam-language film and stage actress. In a career of about sixty years, she acted in more than 1,000 plays and about 480 films.
Santha Devi was born in Kozhikode in 1927 to Thottathil Kannakkuruppu and Karthiyayani Amma.
She made her acting debut in the 1954 drama Smarakam and her cinema debut in Minnaminungu (1957), directed by Ramu Karyat. She acted in over 480 movies including Moodupadam, Kuttikkuppayam, Kunjalimaraykkar, Iruttinte Athmavu, Sthalathe pradhana payyans and Adwaitham. The 2009 Kerala Cafe, produced by director Ranjith, was her last movie.
Devi died on 20 November 2010 evening in a hospital in Kozhikode.
She had five brothers and four sisters. At the age of 18 she married her uncle's son, Balakrishnan, a railway guard. He divorced Devi after the couple had a son, Suresh Babu. Later, she married Kozhikode Abdul Kader, a popular Malayalam playback singer and had one more son, the late Sathyajith.
Devi won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1978), the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship (2003), the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Yamanam (1992), and the Kerala Film Critics Association Award in 1979 and Kerala State Award for Best Actress in State plays[further explanation needed] in 1983 for Deepasthambham Mahashcharyam.