Nadiya made her debut in the
Malayalam film Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984), alongside
Mohanlal and
Padmini for which she won the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. This movie was remade in
Tamil as
Poove Poochudava in 1985 with
Padmini and marked her debut in Tamil. Nadiya claims she was considered for the role of
Revathi in
Mouna Ragam, a 1986 Tamil film, but declined due to prior commitments. She then ventured into Tamil and Telugu cinema and became a popular actress in both industries during the 1980s and 1990s. She was a trendsetter even at those times working on her own terms and starred alongside all the big stars of the time such as
Rajinikanth,
Vijayakanth,
Sathyaraj,
Prabhu,
Suresh and
Mohan. In the mid-1990s, she made a brief comeback as an actress, before moving to the
United States. After a successful career in the film industry, Nadhiya took a break from acting and focused on her personal life. However, she made a strong comeback to the big screen in the mid 2000s and continued to impress the audience with her acting prowess. Nadhiya made a successful comeback in the year 2004 with the movie
M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi. Apart from films, Nadhiya has also appeared in some television serials and shows. •
Note: she is credited in Tamil and Telugu as Nadhiya and in Malayalam as Nadhiya Moidu. Short films Television ==Notes==