Nimisha Sajayan

In this Indian name, the name Sajayan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Nimisha.

Nimisha Sajayan is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam films apart from Tamil and Hindi films. Nimisha made her acting debut with the film Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum directed by Dileesh Pothan.^[1] She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 2018 for her performance in Oru Kuprasidha Payyan and Chola.^[2] She is also a recipient of three Filmfare Award South and three SIIMA Awards.

Nimisha Sajayan
Nimisha Sajayan in 2018
Born	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2017–present

Early and personal life

Nimisha was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India to Late Sajayan Nair,^[3] an engineer, and Bindhu Sajayan. Her mother's ancestral home is in Punalur, Kerala.^[4]

She completed her schooling at Carmel Convent School, Mumbai and graduated from KJ Somaiya College, Mumbai.^[5]

Acting career

Nimisha started her acting career with the film Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, directed by Dileesh Pothan.^[6] She then played the lead role in editor B. Ajithk and Rajeev Ravi's 'Eeda'.^[7][8] She won the 49th Kerala State Film Award for Best actress in 2019 for the movies Oru Kuprasidha Payyan directed by Madhupal and Chola directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan.^[9] Chola premiered at several International Film Festival.^[10]

In 2021, she acted in The Great Indian Kitchen. The film as well as her performance were well received.^[11] The same year, she played lead roles in Nayattu and Malik. In 2022 she was a part of Oru Thekkan Thallu Case, Innale Vare and Heaven. Her upcoming films are Thuramukham and Chera. She made her Tamil debut through A.L Vijay's Mission: Chapter 1 - Achcham Enbathu Illaiyae film but her first release in Tamil was Chithha in 2023.

Filmography

Films

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

List of Nimisha Sajayan film credits and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes	Ref.
2017	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Sreeja	Malayalam		[12]
2018	Eeda	Aishwarya			[13]
	Mangalyam Thanthunanena	Clara			[14][15]
	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan	Hanna Elizabeth			[16][17]
2019	Nalpathiyonnu (41)	Bhagyasooyam			[18]
	Chola	Janu			[19]
	Stand Up	Keerthi			[20][21]
2021	The Great Indian Kitchen	Sreedevi Hareesh			[22][23]
	One	Lathika			[24]
	Nayattu	WCPO Sunitha			[25][26]
	Malik	Rosline			[27]
2022	Innale Vare	Anjali			[28]
	Heaven	Defense councilor		Cameo	[29]
	Hawa Hawai	Jyoti	Marathi
	Oru Thekkan Thallu Case	Vasanthi	Malayalam		[30]
2023	Thuramukham	Umani			[31]
	Footprints on Water	Meera	Indian English		[32][33]
	Chithha	Shakthi	Tamil		[34]
	Jigarthanda DoubleX	Malaiyarasi			[35]
	Adrishya Jalakangal	Miranda	Malayalam		[36]
2024	Mission: Chapter 1	Nancy Kurian	Tamil		[37][38]
	Lantrani	Manasi Gangopandhey	Hindi		[39]
2025	Crazxy	Bobby		Voice role	[40]
	DNA	Dhivya Anand	Tamil		[41]

Short films

List of Nimisha Sajayan short film credits and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Nethram	Rape victim		[42]
2020	Ghar Se	Wife	Hindi short film	[43]
	Draupadi	Mother	Photo Story	[44]

Television

Key

†	Denotes series that have not yet been released

List of Nimisha Sajayan television credits and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes	Ref.
2024	Poacher	Mala Yogi	Malayalam	TV series on Prime Video	[45]
2025	Dabba Cartel	Mala	Hindi	TV series on Netflix	[46]

Awards and nominations

List of Nimisha Sajayan's awards and nominations

Award	Year[a]	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Kerala State Film Awards	2019	Best Actress	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan Chola	Won	[47]
Kerala Film Critics Association Awards		Best Actress	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan	Won	[48]
Filmfare Awards South	2018	Best Actress (Malayalam)	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Nominated	[49]
South Indian International Movie Awards		Best Female Debut – Malayalam		Won	[50]
		Best Actress – Malayalam		Nominated	[51]
Asianet Film Awards		Best Actress		Nominated
	2019	Best Star Couple (shared with Shane Nigam)	Eeda	Won
		Best Character Actress	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan	Nominated
Filmfare Awards South	2019	Best Actress	Eeda	Nominated	[52]
		Best Actress (Critics)		Won	[53]
Vanitha Film Awards	2018	Best Newcomer Actress	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Won	[54]
IFFM Awards	2021	Best Performance Female (Feature)	The Great Indian Kitchen	Nominated	[55]
		Honourable Mention for Best Actress (Feature)		Won	[56]
Movie Street Film Excellence Awards	2018	Best Debutant Actor – Female	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Won	[57]
	2019	Best Actor (Female)	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan	Won
Toronto International South Asian Film Awards		Best Debut Actress	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Won	[58]
South Indian International Movie Awards	2021	Best Actress	Chola	Nominated
		Best Actress – (Critics)		Won
Filmfare Awards South	2022	Best Actress (Malayalam)	The Great Indian Kitchen	Won	[59]
South Indian International Movie Awards		Critics Choice Awards		Won
Filmfare Awards South	2024	Best Actress	Chithha	Won	[60]
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards		Best Actress		Won	[61]

Notes

1. Refers to the year in which the ceremony was held.