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{{short description|Indian woman playwright and theatre director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jisha Abhinaya
|image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education =
| occupation = Playwright, theatre director
| spouse = Anil Sincere
| father = Jayan Chetthallur
| mother = Usha
| children = 1
| awards = [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama]] (2019)
}}
'''Jisha Abhinaya''' is an Indian theatre artist, theatre director and playwright from Kerala. Jisha's collection of eight plays, ''Eli Eli Lama Sabakthani'', won the [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama]] in 2019.

==Biography==
Jisha was born in Thrissur, Kerala, to Jayan Chetthallur and Usha, both of whom are theatre artists.<ref name="abhimukham">{{cite web |title=നിശബ്ദമായിരിക്കാന്‍ ആവാത്തതുകൊണ്ട് നാടകം എഴുതുന്നു: ജിഷ അഭിനയ – Abhimukham |url=https://abhimukham.com/jisha-abhinaya-journalist-drama-actor-interview-sreekala/ |website=abhimukham.com}}</ref> She started her career in drama by portraying a tribal girl named Chomi in an amateur drama competition organized by Kozhikode Kala while studying in 5th class.<ref name="abhimukham"/> She won the award for best child actress for that character.<ref name="abhimukham"/>

Jisha and her husband Anil Sincere have one daughter, Abhinaya.<ref name="abhimukham"/>

==Career==
Jisha Abhinaya runs a theatre group, 'Abhinaya Nataka Samithi', in [[Thrissur]].<ref name="NIE">{{Cite web |last=Kannan |first=Arathi |date=2016-11-24 |title=Play it up, women |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2016/Nov/24/play-it-up-women-1541899.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> Jisha who is also a journalist is a sub-editor in Deshabhimani.<ref name="abhimukham"/>

==Plays==
The play, ''Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani'', written and directed by Jisha is themed after the biblical prayer that begins, "[[My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?]]" and features a girl named Anna as the central character.<ref name="deshabhimani">{{cite news |title=പെൺകരുത്തിന്റെ അരങ്ങ‌് |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517000929/https://www.deshabhimani.com/special/news-weekendspecial-14-07-2019/810596 |work=[[Deshabhimani]] |language=ml}}</ref> In the play ''Ente Shareeramaanu Ente Swathantryam'' [meaning:My Body is My Freedom], the characters are Sugandhi, a flower vendor, Sheela, a cleaner, and Kanchana, a sex worker.<ref name="deshabhimani"/> The play ''Otta'', which tells the story of Parimalam and her husband Madhavan, focuses on the selfishness and ego of men.<ref name="deshabhimani"/> The play ''Shyama Madhavam'' is based on [[Prabha Varma]]'s poetry, which evaluates [[Krishna]] as a human being.<ref name="deshabhimani"/> The play is set in the backdrop of the [[Tholpavakoothu]].<ref name="deshabhimani"/> The play ''Suryasomapookkal Vitarumbol'' is a work against the demonstrative devotional industry and godmen.<ref name="deshabhimani"/> The play ''Mulanavukaratodu Chila Suvisheshangal'' is about lives of people where even the body is no longer one's own.<ref name="deshabhimani"/>

''Savithri'', a solo play written, directed, and performed by Jisha Abhinaya, centers on a woman who guards a cemetery and communicates with the dead.<ref name="NIE" /> Using this setting she communicates about social injustice and the blame often placed on women.<ref name="NIE" />

Her one-act play, ''Avan /Aval'' [meaning:He/She], is a play that reveals insights into the life of a transgender person.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jisha Abhinaya's solo play, 'Avan/Aval' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/The-identity-crisis/article15616497.ece |work=The Hindu |date=12 February 2016 |language=en-IN}}</ref> Her play ''Farida'' won the award for best playwriting at the M.G. Soman Foundation Drama Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-30 |title=എം.ജി. സോമൻ ഫൗണ്ടേഷൻ നാടകോത്സവം; ഭൂമധ്യരേഖ മികച്ച നാടകം |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/pathanamthitta/news/localnews-pathanamthitta-17098776- |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=@mathrubhumi |language=en}}</ref>

==Books published==
*{{Cite book |title=Eli Eli Lama Sabakthani |publisher=Fabian Books |year=2019 |language=ml |trans-title=[[My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?]]}} Collection of 8 plays.

==Awards==
Jisha's collection of eight plays, Eli Eli Lama Sabakthani, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 2019 |url=https://ia801802.us.archive.org/15/items/kerala-sahitya-academy-awards-2019/Kerala%20sahitya%20academy%20awards%202019.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2019 announced |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/books/kerala-sahitya-akademi-awards-2019-sahitya-akademi-awards-354950c7 |work=@mathrubhumi |date=16 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref> 'Eli Eli Lama Sabaktani' also received the 2017 [[Edasseri Award]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edasseri Awards |url=https://www.edasseri.org/edasseri_awards2.htm |access-date=2026-03-30 |website=www.edasseri.org}}</ref> and the 2019 [[Muthukulam Parvathy Amma Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=മുതുകുളം പാർവതി അമ്മ സാഹിത്യപുരസ്കാരം ജിഷ അഭിനയയ്ക്ക് |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/ |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=Deshabhimani |language=en}}</ref> She won the VSNS Kavunkara Bhargavi Award for best playwriting in the state-level playwriting competition organized by the Women's Literature State Drama Society (VSNS) in 2026.<ref>{{cite news |title=വിഎസ്‌എൻഎസ്‌ നാടകപുരസ്‌കാരം ജിഷ അഭിനയക്ക് |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/district-news/-14120/vsns-drama-award-for-jisha-abhinaya-61577 |work=Deshabhimani |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jisha, Abhinaya}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian women theatre directors]]
[[Category:People from Thrissur district]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Jisha Abhinaya - Revision history

QLXChristoper at 17:22, 30 March 2026