Mamta Mohandas

Early life

Mamta was born on 14 November 1984 in Manama, Bahrain, to Malayali parents (Mohandas and Ganga) from Thalassery, Kannur. She attended the Indian School, Bahrain, until 2002. She then pursued a bachelor's degree in computer science at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

Mamta modeled for print ads for companies such as IBM and Kalyan Kendra and modeled on the ramp for the Mysore Maharajah and Raymonds. She is trained in Carnatic music and in Hindustani music.

Film career

Acting

Mohandas debuted in the 2005 Malayalam film Mayookham, directed by Hariharan. The film did not do well at the box office.

Subsequently, she acted alongside Mammootty in Bus Conductor, with Suresh Gopi in the films Adbutham (2006) and Lanka (2006), and alongside Jayaram in Madhuchandralekha (2006). She also played the female lead in Baba Kalyani with Mohanlal. Later that year, she débuted in the Tamil film industry, starring in the Karu Pazhaniappan directed film Sivappathigaram.

In 2007 she acted with Mammootty in the film Big B. She eventually stepped into the Telugu film industry as well, when she appeared in a supporting role in the film Yamadonga, directed by SS Rajamouli. She had lent her voice for a couple of songs in this film too. In 2008, she appeared in 7 films, predominantly in Telugu-language films. Her first release was her début Kannada film Gooli. She then starred in the film Krishnarjuna, playing the lead female role. Victory was her next assignment as lead actress, following which she appeared in a cameo role in her only Tamil release that year, Kuselan. Three more Telugu releases featured Mamta, including Homam, directed by JD Chakravarthy and Srinu Vaitla's King.

In 2009, she starred in the comedy film Guru En Aalu alongside Madhavan, and the thriller Passenger, sharing screen space with Dileep and Sreenivasan, respectively. The film Passenger, in which she played the role of a television reporter, became a turning point in Mohandas's career. She was initially approached to play the lead role in the 2009 Telugu dark fantasy Arundathi. She refused the offer, and the movie went on to become one of the highest grossers that year. In 2010, she worked with Jayaram in Kadha Thudarunnu directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, for which she won her first Best Actress Award from Filmfare. This film also won her the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress, the Vanitha award for best actress – Malayalam, the Mathrubhumi award for best actress – Malayalam and the Asianet award for the best actress- Malayalam. Other projects in 2010 included Musafir with Rahman, Anwar with Prithiviraj, and Kedi with Nagarjuna. Mamta's first film in 2011 was the Malayalam film Race, in which she played the role of Niya, wife of a cardio surgeon Abey (Kunchacko Boban). The film failed to do well at the box office. Her next release in Malayalam was Naayika. In 2012, she appeared in her third Tamil film, Thadaiyara Thaakka, directed by Magizh Thirumeni. In 2013 she starred in Paisa Paisa with Indrajith. In 2014 she starred in To Noora with Love as a Muslim character.

Mohandas made a comeback to Malayalam movie industry with Ranjith Shankar's Mammooty starrer Varsham. She shared her screen space again with Dileep in Two Countries after doing My Boss with him.

In 2016, Mohandas starred opposite Mammootty in Thoppil Joppan, and in early 2017, she signed Crossroad, an anthology film in which she plays an orthodox Muslim. She also appeared in an extended cameo in Udaharanam Sujatha with Manju Warrier. In mid-2017, she signed Detroit Crossing aka Ranam opposite Prithviraj, but had to opt out because she did not have fresh dates to allocate for the project.

In 2020 Mohandas acted in the crime thriller feature film Forensic in which she played the role of police officer Rithika Xavier IPS.

Singing

Mohandas is trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music, and first sang playback in the Telugu film Rakhi, singing the title song under Devi Sri Prasad's direction, making her debut in the Telugu film industry as a singer before making her acting debut in Telugu. She went on to win the 2006 Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer Award for that song.

Subsequently, she was asked to sing several songs for composer Devi Sri Prasad, including "Akalesthe Annam Pedtha" for the Chiranjeevi-starrer Shankardada Zindabad (later dubbed as Daddy Mummy in the Tamil film Villu), "36-24-36" for the film Jagadam, "Mia" for Tulasi, and "Ghanana (Funny)" and the title song for the film King. Other music directors she has worked with include M. M. Keeravani (for her own films Yamadonga and Krishnarjuna, also Chandamama), R. P. Patnaik (for Andamaina Mansulo), Chakri (for Victory), Nithin Raikwar (for her own film Homam) and Thaman (for Jayeebhava).

In Tamil, she sang "Kaalai Kaalai" in the film Kaalai, which starred Silambarasan in the lead role. She sang "Idai Vazhi" for the comedy film Goa under noted composer Yuvan Shankar Raja's direction. Both songs featured her singing alongside Benny Dayal. She was heard for the first time in her mother tongue, Malayalam, in the 2010 film Anwar. She has also recorded a song for her film Thriller. In the film 'Mohabath', she sang a duet with Hariharan. She sang "Iravil Viriyum" in her 2012 film Arike. She sang "Karuppana Kannazhagi" in the film Aadupuliyattam.

Personal life

Mamta got engaged to Prajith Padmanabhan, a Bahrain-based businessman, on 11 November 2011. The couple got married on 28 December 2011 in Thalassery. They got divorced in December 2012. In June 2024, Mamta revealed that she is in a relationship.

Mamta is a cancer survivor, and has battled Hodgkin lymphoma since 2010. In April 2013, her cancer relapsed and she underwent treatment at UCLA. Since 2014, she has resided in Los Angeles. In 2023, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Vitiligo.

Filmography

Films

Television

• All series are in Malayalam unless otherwise noted.

Discography

Media image and other work

Mamta is considered among the highest-paid Malayalam actresses. In the Kochi Times Most Desirable Women list, she was placed 7th in 2017, 5th in 2018, 8th in 2019, and 17th in 2020. In 2011, she became the brand ambassador of Kochi International Fashion Week. In 2013, she became the brand ambassador for Kerala Strikers in Celebrity Cricket League.

Mohandas started working on television, by hosting the quiz show Kaiyil Oru Kodi in 2012, which was later cancelled. She has also judged two seasons of D 4 Dance. In 2020, Mamta launched her own production company Mamta Mohandas Productions.

Accolades

; Kerala State Film Awards

• 2010: Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress – Kadha Thudarunnu.{{cite news |access-date = 25 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150916102435/http://movies.ndtv.com/regional/adaminte-makan-abu-wins-top-honours-at-kerala-state-awards-600101 |archive-date = 16 September 2015

; Asianet Film Awards

• 2010: Most Popular Actress – Kadha Thudarunnu.
• 2013: Most Popular Actress – My Boss and Arike.

; Filmfare Awards South

• 2006: Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu – Rakhi.
• 2010: Best Actress – Malayalam – Kadha Thudarunnu.

;Vanitha Film Awards

• 2011: Best Actress – Kadha Thudarunnu.
• 2016: Best Star Pair (with Dileep)– Two Countries.
• 2020: Special Performance Female – Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel and Nine.

;Asiavision Awards

• 2016: Woman of the Year.
• 2017: Pride of South India.

; Mathrubhumi - Kalyan Silks Chalachithra Awards

• 2010: Best Actress – Kadha Thudarunnu.

;Asianet Comedy Awards

• 2016: Best Actress - Two Countries.

References

References

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2. (16 May 2012). "Mamta Mohandas — Destiny's Child". [[The New Indian Express]].
3. "Mamta Mohandas, Soubin Shahir, Shine Tom Chacko to team up for VK Prakash's social thriller 'Live'". The Times of India.
4. "'Reports that I'm surrendering to cancer is false,' says Mamta Mohandas".
5. (2 December 2019). "Happy Birthday Mamta Mohandas: Some pretty and cute pictures of the actress-singer". The Times of India.
6. (2 January 2018). "Mamta Signs Up".
7. "Home - Mount Carmel College".
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14. "Mamta in Nayika". The Times of India.
15. (30 November 2012). "Mamta Mohandas and Indrajith team up for Malayalam film 'Paisa Paisa'". [[IBN Live]].
16. Sivalakshmi Roshith. (25 June 2013). "Taking a reality check". [[The New Indian Express]].
17. "Interview with Mamtha Mohandas".
18. Sanjith Sidhardhan. (4 June 2012). "I don't want to be known as a singer: Mamta Mohandas". [[The Times of India]].
19. "വിക്കുണ്ട് വിറ്റുണ്ട് വാനോളം ട്വിസ്റ്റുണ്ട്: ബാലൻ വക്കീൽ റിവ്യൂ".
20. "'My strength comes from my will to survive'".
21. (28 December 2011). "Mamta Mohandas weds family friend". The Times of India.
22. Parvathy S. Nayar. "Pregith and I have decided to part for good: Mamta Mohandas". [[The Times of India]].
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31. (14 January 2020). "Mamta Mohandas to play IPS officer in 'Forensic'". News18.
32. (May 2022). "Thank you for making 'Jana Gana Mana' your film too, Mamta Mohandas tells audience".
33. (28 February 2023). "'Maheshum Maruthiyum' to release on March 10".
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35. (22 October 2022). "Rudrangi Mamta Mohandas first look poster out!". News18.
36. (20 October 2023). "Otta trailer: Resul Pookutty's star-studded directorial debut promises some intense drama".
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51. "Mamta Mohandas to judge D4 Dance".
52. Anand, Shilpa Nair. (17 November 2020). "Mamta Mohandas launches her production house". The Hindu.
53. (2011-01-21). "Asianet's star-spangled event". [[The Hindu]].
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