Monisha Unni (24 January 1971 – 5 December 1992) was an Indian actress, known for her works Predominantly in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

films and in a few Tamil films. Monisha was 16 when she became the youngest actress ever to receive the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

for '' Nakhakshathangal'' (1986), her debut feature film. Along with Sharada, Shobhana,

Meera Jasmine Jasmine Mary Joseph,
, rediff.com; 1 August 2004. known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian ac ...

, and Surabhi Lakshmi. Monisha Unni is one of six Malayalam actresses who have won the National Film Award for Best Actress. In her short career, Monisha collaborated with directors such as

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...

, Hariharan,

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...

, Ajayan, Kamal and Sibi Malayil.

Early life

Monisha Unni was born in Panniyankara,

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

, in 1971 to Narayanan Unni and Sreedevi Unni. She completed her schooling at St. Charles High School, Bangalore, and Bishop Cotton Girls School,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. She then completed her graduation in psychology at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.Weblokam Profile of Monisha
. Weblokam.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-20. She had an elder brother, Sajith Unni.

Death

Monisha Unni was working on the Malayalam film ''Cheppadividya'' when she died in a car accident. On 5 December 1992, a car carrying Monisha and her mother Sreedevi Unni collided with a KSRTC bus at X-Ray Bypass Junction near

Cherthala Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and acts as a satellite town of Kochi. It is located north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 20 ...

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

district of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. She was 21 years old. Monisha was sleeping on the back seat when the accident occurred. Her mother, Sreedevi was thrown out of the car, but escaped with bruises and fractures. Monisha, however, died within minutes due to

cervical fracture A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of neck bones or pie ...

of her spine. Reports said Monisha was bleeding through her nose and ears. Although she was taken to the nearby KVM hospital, she had died. The driver of their Ambassador car too died in the accident. After conducting an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

at Government Medical College, Alappuzha, her dead body was taken to her home in Bengaluru, where she was cremated. Thousands attended her funeral.

Career

Malayalam novelist

, who is also a screenwriter and film director, was a family friend of Monisha. M. T. was responsible for Monisha's entry into films. She made her debut in '' Nakhakshathangal'' (1986), which was written by M. T. and directed by Hariharan. The film portrayed a love triangle involving three teenagers. Monisha's portrayal of Gowri, the film's female protagonist, won her the

in 1987.

Filmography

References

External links

Monisha at MSI
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unni, Monisha Indian film actresses People from Kozhikode district Actresses in Malayalam cinema 1971 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Kerala Best Actress National Film Award winners Road incident deaths in India 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Mount Carmel College, Bangalore alumni