Menaka (actress)

Menaka
Menaka
Born	Padmavathi Iyengar; Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupations	Actress; Film producer;
Years active	1980–1987; 2005–present
Spouse	G. Suresh Kumar (m. 1987)
Children	2 (incl. Keerthy Suresh)
Parents	Rajagopal; Saroja;

Padmavathy Iyengar, better known by her stage name, Menaka, is an Indian actress and film producer.[1] She made her debut in the 1979 Tamil film Ramayi Vayasukku Vanthutta. In an acting career spanning from 1980 to 1987, Menaka appeared in over 125 films as a heroine, mostly in Malayalam. She also appeared in few Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She married Malayalam film producer G. Suresh Kumar.[2] After 19 years, she made a comeback through the television serial Kaliveedu.[3] At 8th SIIMA, she received SIIMA Lifetime Achievement Award.[4]

Early life

Menaka, whose real name is Padmavathy, was born into a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district, India.[5] She was the only daughter among the four children of Rajagopal and Saroja. Both her parents were school teachers. Her mother Saroja taught at the Lourdes Girls' Higher Secondary School in Perambur, Madras.[6][7]

Career

Menaka had become one of the highest-paid actresses in South Indian cinema when she decided to retire from acting post-marriage.[6] After 24 years, she made a comeback as a film actress in 2011 with Fazil-directed Living Together, in a character role.[8]

Personal life

Menaka married film producer G. Suresh Kumar at Guruvayur Temple on 27 October 1987. They have two daughters — Revathy and Keerthy Suresh.[5] Initially they settled in Chennai and later moved to Thiruvananthapuram. Keerthy is a film actress and Revathy is an assistant director.[9][10]

Filmography

Malayalam

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
2021	Bhramam	Uday's yesteryear co-star
2021	8½ Intercuts: Life and Films of K.G. George	Herself		Documentary
2017	Ima	Raadhu		Short film
2015	Njan Samvidhanam Cheyyum	Shobha	Balachandra Menon
2013	Abhiyum Njanum	Devika	S. P. Mahesh
2013	Kutteem Kolum	Subadra	Guinness Pakru
2013	Pakaram	Parvathi
2012	Orkut Oru Ormakoot	Veni
2012	Vaadhyar	Subhadra	Nidheesh Sakthi
2011	Living Together	Valsala	Fazil
1994	Chanakya Soothrangal	Leela
1987	Kottum Kuravayum
1987	Kilippattu
1987	Neeyethra Dhanya	Shobha
1987	Onnaam Maanam Poomaanam	Rema
1986	Amme Bhagavathi	Parvathy
1987	Kottum Kuravayum	Vimala
1987	Poovittu Poovittu (Thammil Kandappol)
1986	Varshangal Poyathariyathe	Lakshmi
1986	Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam	Sujatha	Sibi Malayil
1986	Snehamulla Simham	Vilasini	Sajan
1986	Ayalvasi Oru Daridravasi	Kaveri	Priyadarsan
1986	Naale Njangalude Vivahum	Indu	D. Sasi
1986	Ponnum Kudthinu Pottu	Sethubhai	Suresh Babu
1986	Revathikkoru Pavakkutty	Indu	Sathyan Anthikkad
1986	Yuvajanotsavam	Nirmala	Sreekumaran Thampi
1986	Aalorungi Arangorungi	Marykutty
1986	Viswasichalum Illenkilum	-
1986	Oppam Oppathinoppam	Rajamma	Ambaat Soman
1986	Bharya Oru Manthri	Jayadevi
1986	Malarum Kiliyum	Maya
1986	Bhagavaan
1986	Hello My Dear Wrong Number	Shobha
1986	Kulambadikal	Susan	Cross Belt Mani
1985	Akkare Ninnoru Maran	Nandini	Gireesh
1985	Boeing Boeing	Sreekutty	Priyadarsan
1985	Parayanumvayya Parayathirikkanumvayya	Shalini	Priyadarsan
1985	Mounanombaram	Indu
1985	Vellam	Ambika	Hariharan
1985	Mukhyamantri	Anu	Alleppy Asharaf
1985	Ormikkan Omanikkan	-	Sasikumar
1985	Sammelanam	Shalini	C. P. VijayKumar
1985	Oru Nokku Kanan	Sandhya	Sajan
1985	Archana Aaradhana	Aradhana	Sajan
1985	Edanilangal	Bhanu	I. V. Sasi
1985	Anakkorumma	Devi	M. Mani
1985	Soundarya Pinakkam	Malini
1985	Principal Olivil	Malathi
1985	Ambada Njaane!	Devayani
1985	Ee Thalamura Ingane	-
1985	Ozhivukalam
1985	Oro Poovilum
1985	Kandu Kandarinju	Ammini	Sajan
1984	Muthodumuthu	Achimol (Aswathy)	M.Mani
1984	Engane Undasane	Sunanda	Balu Kiriyath
1984	Mainakam	Jaya	K. G. Rajasekharan
1984	Manase Ninakku Mangalam	Sobha	A. B. Raj
1984	Piriyilla Naam	Sherly	Joshi
1984	Poochakkoru Mookkuthi	Revathi	Priyadarsan
1984	Appunni	Ammu	Sathyan Anthikkad
1984	Swanthamevide Bandhamevide	Indulekha	Sasikumar
1984	Thirakil Alppam Samayam	Saphiya	P. G. Viswambaran
1984	Ethirppukal	Lakshmi	Unni Arammula
1984	Amme Narayana
1984	Sooryane Mohicha Penkutty
1984	Oru Thettinte Katha	-
1984	Veendum Chalikkunna Chakram	Prameela	P. G. Vishwabaran
1984	Velichamillatha Veedhi	Lekha	J. Kallan
1984	Onnum Mindatha Bharya	Asha Thampi	Balu Kiriyath
1984	Aagraham	-	Rajasenan
1984	Krishna Guruvayoorappa	Unni's wife
1984	Paavam Poornima	Poornima	Balu Kiriyath
1984	Vepralam	Beena	Menon Suresh
1984	Aayiram Abhilashangal	-	Soman Ambattu
1984	Odaruthammava Aalariyam	Shobha Govind	Priyadharsan
1984	Karimbu	Princy	K. Vijayan
1984	Vellam	Ambika	Hariharan
1984	Koottinilamkili	Radhika	Balu Kiriyath
1984	Adiyozhukkukal	Madhavi	I. V. Sasi
1984	Thirakal	Rekha
1983	Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla	Herself
1983	Rathilayam	Makutty
1983	Engane Nee Marakkum	Sobha	M. S. Mani
1983	Pourusham	Janu	Sasi Kumar
1983	Justice Raja	Thulasi	R. Krishnamoorty
1983	Thalam Thettiya Tharattu	Sindhu	A. B. Raj
1983	Thavalam	Ramani	Thampi Kannamthanam
1983	Arabikadal	–	Sasikumar
1983	Astapahi	Radha	Ambili
1983	Nadi Muthal Nadi Vare	Thulasi
1983	Shesham Kazhchayil	Lathika
1983	Eettillam	Abitha
1983	Rugma	Elizabeth
1983	Kolakomban	Dr.Leela	Sasikumar
1983	Kathi	-
1983	Oru Mottu Virinjappol	-
1983	Arunayude Prabhatham
1982	Ponnum Poovum	Subhadra	A. Vincent
1982	Ente Mohangal Poovaninju	Sridevi	Bhadran
1982	Drohi	-	P. Chandrakumar
1982	Kanmanikkorumma/Ushnabhoomi	Usha
1982	Kaalam	Jaya	Hemachandran
1982	Rakthasakshi	Geetha
1982	Aayudham	Usha
1982	Adarsham	Malathy
1981	Veshangal	-
1981	Kolangal	Kunjamma	K. G. George
1981	Ahimsa	Safiya	I. V. Sasi
1981	Munnettam	Indu	Sreekumaran Thampi
1981	Guha	Suvarna
1981	Visham	Shobha
1981	Veliyettam	Jaanu
1981	Oppol	Malu	K. S. Sethumadhavan

Tamil

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1980	Ramayi Vayasukku Vanthutta	Ramayi	Ventanipatti	Debut movie
1980	Savithri	Savithri	Bharathan
1980	Oli Pirandhathu	Kalyani	Durai
1981	Keezh Vaanam Sivakkum	Gayathri	V.Srinivasan
1981	Kaalam	Jaya	R. S. Somanathan
1981	Netri Kann	Menaka	S. P. Muthuraman
1981	Mayil	-	Durai
1982	Om Shakti	Kanniamma / Amman	S. A. Chandrasekhar
1982	Thooku Medai	Bhavani	Amirtham
1982	Nijangal	Menaka	K. S. Sethumadhavan
1982	Iniyavale Vaa	Shakunthala	N. C. Chakravarthy
1982	Nirantharam	Rani	R. K. Murthy
1982	Nalanthana	Raji	Durai
1982	Panchavarnam		Manimaran
1983	Neethibathi	Geetha	R. Krishnamurthy
1983	Urangatha Ninaivugal	Menaka	R. Bhaskaran
1985	Maappillai Singam	Gouri	Cumbum Durai
1985	Engirunthalum Vazhga		R. Selvaraj
1985	Kadivalam	Revathi	Ram Sankar
1986	Unakkaagave Vaazhgiren	Shakunthala	K. Rangaraj
2012	Mattuthavani		Pavithran

Telugu

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Punnami Naagu	Poornima	Paired with Chiranjeevi
1988	Indra Dhanussu

Kannada

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1984	Samayada Gombe	Lakshmi	Dorai–Bhagavan	Paired against Srinath, played as Dr.Rajkumar's sister
1993	Ranjitha		K. V. Jayaram

As producer

Year	Title	Director	Notes
2022	Vaashi	Vishnu G. Raghav
2009	Seetha Kalyanam	T. K. Rajeev Kumar	starring Jayaram, Jyothika, Indrajith Sukumaran and Geethu Mohandas.[11][12]
2002	Kuberan	Sundar Das
2002	Shivam	Shaji Kailas
2001	Achaneyanenikkishtam	Suresh Krishna	Guest appearance by Mohanlal
2000	Pilots	Rajiv Anchal
2000	Cover Story	G. S. Vijayan
1997	Aaram Thamburan	Shaji Kailas
1995	Thakshashila	Sreekuttan
1994	Kashmeeram	Rajiv Anchal
1993	Butterflies	Rajiv Anchal
1992	Australia	Rajiv Anchal	Unreleased film
1991	Vishnulokam	Kamal

Television

All shows are in Malayalam unless noted otherwise

Serials

Year	Title	Role	Channel	Notes
1993	Scooter		DD Malayalam
2005	Kaliveedu		Surya TV
2006	Ammathottil		Surya TV
2007	Chitrasalabham		Amrita TV
2007-2008	Ammakkayi		Surya TV
2009	Monoottante Onam		Surya TV	Telefilm
2013	Rajakumari	Durga Sivalingam	Sun TV	Tamil serial
2016	Sundari	Sethu Lakshmi	Mazhavil Manorama

TV shows

Year	Title	Channel	Role
	Samagamam	Amrita TV	Herself
2010	Thillana Thillana	Surya TV	Judge
2011	Vivel Big break	Surya TV
2011	Hairomax Mrs.Kerala	Asianet
2012	Lunars Comedy Express	Asianet Plus
2013	Veruthe Alla Bharya 2	Mazhavil Manorama
2013	Travel to Kanchipuram	Manorama News	Host
2013	Varthaprabhatham	Asianet News	Herself
2013	Jeevitham Ithuvare	Jaihind TV	Herself
2013	Manassiloru Mazhavillu	Kairali TV	Herself
2014	JB Junction	Kairali TV	Herself
2017	Komady Circus	Mazhavil Manorama	Jury
2017	Onnum Onnum Moonu	Mazhavil Manorama	Herself
2018-2020	Comedy stars season 2	Asianet	Judge
2018	Comedy stars Plus	Asianet Plus	Judge
2021	Red Carpet	Amrita TV	Mentor
2022	MY G Flowers Oru Kodi	Flowers TV	Participant

References

"Movies Nostalgia". Manorama Online. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
Malayalam actress Menaka returns to acting – Malayalam Movie News Archived 26 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Indiaglitz.com (9 March 2005). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
Kerala News – Menaka Archived 18 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Kerals.com (26 September 2005). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
"SIIMA 2019 winners full list: Dhanush, Trisha, Prithviraj win big". The Indian Express. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Shevlin Sebastian (13 May 2013) Menaka was treated like a queen Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
സിനിമ എങ്ങനെ ഞാന്‍ മറക്കും – articles, infocus_interview – Mathrubhumi Eves Archived 26 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Mathrubhumi.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
A Complete Online Malayalam Cinema News Portal Archived 5 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Cinidiary. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
Menaka is back in front of the camera Archived 7 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Sify.com (29 October 2010). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
ഞാന്‍ കീര്‍ത്തി; മേനകയുടെ മകള്‍ Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. mangalam.com (16 August 2013). Retrieved 11 October 2016.
ഞാന്‍ കീര്‍ത്തി; മേനകയുടെ മകള്‍ Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. mangalam.com (16 August 2013). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
Palicha, Paresh C. "Seetha Kalyanam disappoints". rediff.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
"Sita Kalyanam: Don't attend this". bangaloremirror.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.

External links

Menaka at MSI
Menaka at IMDb

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Movies Nostalgia". Manorama Online. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[2] Malayalam actress Menaka returns to acting – Malayalam Movie News Archived 26 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Indiaglitz.com (9 March 2005). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[3] Kerala News – Menaka Archived 18 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Kerals.com (26 September 2005). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[4] "SIIMA 2019 winners full list: Dhanush, Trisha, Prithviraj win big". The Indian Express. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[newindianexpress1-5] Shevlin Sebastian (13 May 2013) Menaka was treated like a queen Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[mathrubhumi-6] സിനിമ എങ്ങനെ ഞാന്‍ മറക്കും – articles, infocus_interview – Mathrubhumi Eves Archived 26 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Mathrubhumi.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[7] A Complete Online Malayalam Cinema News Portal Archived 5 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Cinidiary. Retrieved 11 October 2016.

[8] Menaka is back in front of the camera Archived 7 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Sify.com (29 October 2010). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[9] ഞാന്‍ കീര്‍ത്തി; മേനകയുടെ മകള്‍ Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. mangalam.com (16 August 2013). Retrieved 11 October 2016.

[10] ഞാന്‍ കീര്‍ത്തി; മേനകയുടെ മകള്‍ Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. mangalam.com (16 August 2013). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[11] Palicha, Paresh C. "Seetha Kalyanam disappoints". rediff.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.

[12] "Sita Kalyanam: Don't attend this". bangaloremirror.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.