The role of an Indian wife in Mitr my friend is really a gift Revathi gave to Shobhana. Revathi is equally a good artist, actress and dancer, like Shobhana and could have taken up the role herself. They are ardent art loving friends for a long time. It is all art, dance and understanding of a perfect kind as artists that remained between them. So when Revathi wanted to direct an "all women crew film" she had no doubt who would fit for the leading lady role. It was Shobhana's gain. A national award comes her way. For Shobhana this is achievement repeated.

Shobhana had earlier won the national award for the best actress for her role in ,Manichitrathazhu in 1994. She had portrayed the character of a young wife Ganga, whose psyche was strongly displaced by the ghost of Nagavalli a woman believed to have been killed by the head of the family years ago.

Her performance in that role - the dual role was unique in the sense that no separate costume was used to identify Ganga from Nagavalli - was superb. She has been doing a number of roles really different from usual ones that the mainstream cinemas give the female artists. Her latest memorable character was the one in Agnisakshi directed by Shyamaprasad.

Shobhana had played a number of roles that Keralites would relish repeatedly. Such as those in Rangam and Kanamarayath by IV Sasi, Innale by Padmarajan, Sasneham by Satyan Anthikad, Tenmavin Kombath by Priyadarsan, Manivathurile Aayiram Sivarathrikal by Fazil, Ulladakkam and Mazhayethum Munpe by Kamal, Melepparambil Aanveedu by Rajasenan, Pakshe by Mohan, Yatra by Balu Mahendra, Mayamayooram by Sibi Malayil. In fact after Sarada and Sheela it is Shobhana who did more roles that imbibed the Malayalee ethos.

Shobhana came to films as a child artist in Mangalanayaki in Tamil. Her first film In Malayalam was April 18 by Balachandramenon. She was just 14 when she became the heroine of that film.

In Agnisakshi Shobhana did a period role of a Namboodiri woman that too 40 years of the character's life span from age 20 to 60. She with her movements and expressions excelled in that role. The costumes of the period added to her histrionics talents.
She is not after roles any more but if she identifies a good script and a character she would readily agree to do it. She at present running her dance academy in Chennai and touring places to present dance recitals.

Murali who entered as a villain in to Malayalam films through a Hariharan directed film Panchagni written by M T Vasudevan Nair is basically a theatre person. He graduated from the theatre to screen. His roles were negative ones in commercial and mainstream films and intellectually high potential roles in art and parallel films. In fact his first film Njattadi, directed by Gopi as one belonging to the latter category. Unfortunately it did not get a theater release.

His association with the progressive and art film movements gave him enough opportunities in stage and screen. Late G Aravindan gave him a role in Chidambaram in which Bharath Gopi, Smita Patil, and Sreenivasn acted. He acted in Meenamaasathile Sooryan by Lenin Rajendran. His political leanings were clear in his acting career also. A leftist by conviction he was made a candidate for the assembly elections by the CPM.

He is seen participating in many party organized cultural programmes all over the state.

His noted films are Aadharam and Kaanakkinaavu by Sibi Malayil, Chambakkulam Thachan by Kamal, Amaram and Chamayam by Bharathan. Though he does not belong the world of handsome leading men, he had been cast in a few hero roles like Neeyetra Dhanya against Karthika a young heroine of that time.
The role of Uppan Raghavan a fisherman by birth in Amaram brought out the vigor and strength of Murali. In Chamayam most of the time he appears as a passionate stage director who is love with drama. One scene that is remembered by the Malayalam filmgoers is the one he is seen dancing in tune with the wild drumbeats. The song sequence starts from a local toddy shop and ends up on the nearby beach. The song 'Angekadappurathorolakkudayeduth Naalum Kootti Murukkithuooiyathaaraanu? Aaranu? Is reverberating in ardent filmgoers.

Now busy with a lot of roles in TV serials he finds time to devote time to Dramas, which are serious ones.

Recently he has become a most wanted artist in Tamil. The role of Police officer in Gemini in Tamil has opened him a door in Tamil film field. He is presently engaged in three more Tamil films. The remake of Gemini in Telugu will take Murali there also.