HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Muthumani Somasundaran is an Indian actress who mainly works in Malayalam films. She made her cinematic debut through the Malayalam film '' Rasathanthram'' directed by Sathyan Anthikkad's in 2006.


Early life and education

Muthumani was born in Ernakulam,
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 ...
to Somasundaran and Shirly Somasundaran. They were active in the theatre field, which influenced her to enter into the theatre plays. She went to St. Mary's Convent Girls High School, Ernakulam. She has worked as a child artist for
All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...
. She learned dance but later moved onto mono-act. She topped the mono-act competitions in the Kerala School Kalolsavam. She obtained her graduate degree in law from The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (N.U.A.L.S), Kochi. She holds a Master's and a Doctoral degree in Law from Cochin University of Science and Technology


Career


Theatre

Muthumani joined and actively participated in the Amateur Theatre Wing. She played the central character, Vasundhara in ''Oru Dalit Yuvathiyude Kadana Katha'', based on M. Mukundan's novelette. She was closely associated with the theatre groups in
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
from her school days. It was while doing her Plus Two education that she travelled to
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
for the
Ancient Greek Theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as p ...
Festival to represent
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
under the banner ‘Lokadharmi’ which were the only team from the Asia- Pacific region. The play was based on the Greek character Medea in which she played a 35-year-old mother of two. She won the best actress for the play ''Mukkanji'' at the Theatre Olympiad held in Orissa. She donned the role of Chethu, a masculine woman in the play. That honour eventually got her the role in Sathyan Anthikkad's Malayalam film, '' Rasathanthram''. She also did a play called ''Lanka Lakshmi'' in which she played the Mandodari. She acted in a Malayalam adaptation of '' The God of Small Things'', where she acted as Rahel and as Arundhati Roy. She also played the role of Kannagi in '' Madurai Kandam'', the last segment of '' Silappatikaram''.


Film

Muthumani made her film debut in Sathyan Anthikkad's, '' Rasathanthram'' opposite Mohanlal, in which she played the character who has a crush on the character played by Mohanlal. After that she has acted several notable
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. Some of her notable roles were in '' Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty'', '' How Old Are You?'', '' Oru Indian Pranayakadha'', ''
Njaan ''Njaan'' (Indian English, English: ''"I"'') is a 2014 Cinema of India, Indian Malayalam cinema, Malayalam-language Historical drama, period drama film directed by Ranjith (director), Ranjith with Dulquer Salmaan in a dual role as K.T.N Kotoor a ...
'' and '' Lukka Chuppi''.


Personal life

Muthumani completed her Bachelor's in Law from National University of Advanced Legal Studies. After completing law, she enrolled as an advocate in Kerala High Court, Ernakulam. She is now focusing on, Prerana, a life-skill training centre, which "gives need-based training for students, teachers and corporates." She earned a Master's and a Doctoral degree in Law from Cochin University of Science and Technology She is married to screenwriter/director Arun P. R., who directed the 2019 Malayalam Movie Finals.


Filmography


Television career

*''Njnannu Sthree'' ( Amrita TV) as Anchor *''Kuttikalavara'' (Flowers TV) as anchor *''Chandralekha'' ( Reporter TV) as anchor *''Ithalukal'' ( Asianet News) as Anchor *''Chakkarapanthal'' ( Mathrubhumi News) as Anchor


Dubbing credit

* For actress Padmapriya - '' Iyobinte Pusthakam'' (2014)


References

{{authority control Living people 21st-century Indian women lawyers 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from Kochi Indian film actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian stage actresses Actresses in Malayalam theatre Actresses in Malayalam television Indian television actresses 21st-century Indian lawyers Year of birth missing (living people)