Nilambur Ayisha

Nilambur Ayisha is a theater and film actress of the Malayalam entertainment industry. Her first name comes from the place where she belongs to. She is seen as one of the most inspiring personalities of the industry. She started her career as a theater artist. Ayisha, a Muslim woman, entered the stage when it was taboo for a Muslim woman to do so. Despite people pelting stones at her during her performance, Ayisha remained unflinching. She belonged to a rich family, but some section of the society was not acceptable to a woman taking part in plays.

Though she admitted of not having much of a talent, she loved being on the stage. And that is what matters, right? The plays she starred in were all about social changes and were a huge crowd puller nonetheless. Her father died, her family went into a big financial loss and the opposition from her community rose each day. But the determined woman never escaped from all it. She was a victim of child marriage too. At the age of 13, she was made to marry a 47-year old man! But the brave woman called off the marriage at the fifth day. And she did raise a baby, though.

Her love for acting consumed all of her, leaving no space for a love life. She did not limit herself to plays. Her foray into films has been memorable too. She has acted in about 30 films till now. She has also been part of a Hindi film, Elephant Queen (1962) starring Azad and Helen. In 2015 itself, she was seen in two films- Alif and Compartment. Nilambur Ayisha has certainly inspired generations with her struggle to fight for her passion. She is nothing short of a revolution. With the kind of respect, women are getting in the entertainment industry today; this might be making her proud today!