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 Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...

. 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 ''Nakhakshathangal'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and starring Monisha, Vineeth, and Saleema. Monisha, in her film debut, won the National Film Award for Best Actress. The f ...

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

Shobhana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi lan ...

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

, and

Surabhi Lakshmi Surabhi C. M., also known as Surabhi Lakshmi is an Indian film, television, and stage actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2016 for portraying the role of a struggling middle ...

. 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 Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hin ...

Early life

Monisha Unni was born in

Panniyankara Panniyankara has its origin in the 18th century situated in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. The main features are police station, Government Homeopathy, Homeo Dispensary, Sathram Bus stop, Bus Stop and Indian Railways, Southern Railway. Gov ...

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 Sreedevi Unni is an Indian Mohiniyattam, Mohiniyattam dancer and actress best known for her work in the Malayalam cinema and TV serials. She is the mother of Monisha Unni. She came into the industry after the death of her only daughter Monisha. ...

. She completed her schooling at St. Charles High School, Bangalore, and

Bishop Cotton Girls School Bishop Cotton Girls' School, or BCGS, is a private all-girls' school for boarders and day scholars in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The school offers academic scholarships, which aid students from lower income backgrounds to afford tuition and ...

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 Mount Carmel College (MCC) is an autonomous college located in Bangalore, India, affiliated to Bengaluru City University. Its ultimate aim is to empower women with the help of education. MCC has been featured on ‘India Today’ since its conce ...

.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 ...

Government Medical College, Alappuzha A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a mea ...

, 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 ''

'' (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