Jalaja

Jalaja (born 13 December 1961) is an Indian actress in Malayalam films, who was active during the 1970s and 1980s. She had won Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1981 for the movie Venal directed by Lenin Rajendran. Her family roots are from Kollam and Alappuzha district, Kerala.

Personal life
Jalaja was born on 13 December 1961 to Malayali couples Prof. Thakazhiyil Vasudevan Pillai and Saraswathiyamma in Kuala Lumpur. She studied there till her fourth grade and then migrated to India, due to the Civil war in Malaysia.

She had her primary education from Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Madras, Ambalappuzha English Medium School and her Pre-degree from St. Joseph's College for Women, Alappuzha. She did her bachelor's degree and Masters in English Literature from Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram.

She is married to Prakash Nair since 3 September 1993 and has settled in Bahrain after marriage. They have a daughter Devi. She was a jury member for the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards.

Awards
Kerala State Film Awards:


 * 1981 Best Actress - Venal
 * 1981 Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Venal

Television serials

 * Indraneelam (Surya TV)
 * Verukal (Asianet) as Amlu - based on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's Novel Directed by T.N. Gopakumar
 * Ammuvukku Kalyanam as Gayathri (DD Tamil) - Tamil Serial