Ambika Rao was an Indian actress and assistant director who mainly worked in Malayalam films. She was famous for her role as Baby’s mother in the Malayalam film Kumbalangi Nights (2019). She died on 27 June 2022 after a cardiac arrest.
Ambika Rao in the film ‘Kumbalangi Nights’
Wiki/Biography
Ambika Rao was born on Saturday, 6 July 1963 (age 58 years; at the time of death) in Kerala. Her zodiac sign is cancer.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 4″
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Ambika’s father’s name was Rao Chettan, who was a Marathi artist. She had five siblings, three sisters and two brothers. One of her brothers’ names is Ajith Warrier, who is a Tabla player.
Ambika Rao with her siblings
Husband & Children
The name of Ambika’s husband is not known, but in an interview, she said that she got divorced in 1999. She had two sons, Rahul and Sohan.
Address
According to some media houses, she resided near Thiruvambadi Temple in Thrissur at the time of her death.
Career
Film
Ambika made her acting debut in 2006 with the film Kisan in which she played the role of Ammalu.
Poster of the film ‘Kisan’
She appeared in other movies including Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi (2015), Virus (2019), Safe (2019), Kumbalangi Nights (2019), and Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte (2020). The film Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte was the last film in which she acted before dying.
Poster of the film ‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’
Assistant Director
Ambika made her debut as an assistant director in 2002 with the Malayalam film Krishna Gopalakrishna.
Poster of the film ‘Krishna Gopalakrishna’
She was an assistant director in the film Nagaram in 2007, and Daddy Cool in 2009.
Poster of the movie ‘Nagaram’
In 2016, she directed the film ‘Smarana,’ which was shot in her own flat because she was facing financial issues.
Death
Ambika died on 27 June 2022 in Ernakulam, Kerala due to cardiac arrest. Before her death, she was also diagnosed with Covid-19. In 2017, she was admitted to the hospital after her kidney failure. In 2019, she was diagnosed with dialysis. In 2020, she spent all her savings on her brother, who was suffering from a cardiac arrest and kept her own treatment at a halt. In 2020, she needed money for her own treatment for which she asked for help from her fans. In a social media post, she wrote,
The dialysis has been very taxing on my health; I am unable to work as before. Moreover, the lockdown and subsequent restrictions have seriously affected the film industry and my job opportunities. We need more money to pay for all medical expenses. Hence, I thought of starting a fundraiser on Ketto.org to seek help from the people.”
Facts/Trivia
- Amika’s hobbies included hanging out with friends and painting.
- When she was a child, she went to theatres to watch movies with her father and siblings.
- She made a comeback to movies after her divorce in 1999.
- She worked as a data entry operator and a waiter before making her debut in films.
- She was also asked to teach Malayalam to actors before she became an assistant director. She also taught Malayalam to Usha Uthup for various songs. She was often called by the name ‘The Coach’ on sets because she taught Malayalam to the actors.
- Ambika used to stay alone in a flat in Kochi, and to get rid of the aloofness, she would allow actors to stay at her place while shooting for their films.
