Rima Kallingal

Born in Thrissur, Kerala Rima Kallingal began practising dancing when she was three years old. A dancer by profession, she has been a part of a dance company called Nritarutya and has had performances on national and international stages. She studied at Stanes Schools, Coonoor up to Fifth grade. She completed her schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalayas, Thrissur, graduating in 2001. She holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from the Christ University, Bengaluru. She is also skilled in Taekwondo (Korean martial art), Chao (Manipuri martial art) and Kalari. She was a semi-finalist of the Asianet reality show Vodafone Thakadhimi. She moved to Bengaluru to pursue a modelling career and later participated in the Miss Kerala beauty pageant, in which she became the first runner-up, losing to Shree Thulasi in a tie-breaker. She was spotted by director Lal Jose on a magazine cover, who cast her as a goat herder role in a Tamil film Mazhai Varappoguthu. The project didn't materialise, but she was offered the lead female character of Varsha by director Shyamaprasad for Ritu, which eventually marked her acting debut. She was 25 when she acted in the film. In 2012, she acted in the film 22 Female Kottayam which became a big success, commercially as well as critically. She received praises and won many awards for her portrayal of Tessa. She also won the Kerala State Government award for Best Actress. After 22 Female Kottayam she said that she had made some mistakes in her career and stated "Yes, I have done a few films I never should have, but I am determined not to repeat those mistakes". In 2013, Kallingal turned television anchor with the Mazhavil Manorama show "Midukki". Following which the Kerala Film Chamber imposed a ban on her which was later revoked. In 2014, she set up her own Dance institute; Mamangam in Kochi, Kerala which was shut down in 2021 like several other businesses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.