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 Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

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,

. She has worked as a child artist for

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

. She learned dance but later moved onto mono-act. She topped the mono-act competitions in the Kerala School Kalolsavam for nine consecutive years. She obtained her graduate degree in Law from The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (N.U.A.L.S), Kochi.

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 Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...

's novelette. She was closely associated with the theatre groups in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

from her school days. It was while doing her Plus Two education that she travelled to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

for the

Ancient Greek Theatre Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre wa ...

Festival to represent

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

under the banner ‘Lokadharmi’ which were the only team from the Asia- Pacific region. The play was based on the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

character

Medea In Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the ...

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 Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

. 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 Mandodari ( sa, मंदोदरी, , lit. "soft-bellied";) was the queen consort of Ravana, the king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. The ''Ramayana'' describes Mandodari as beautiful, pious, and righteous. She is extol ...

. 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 ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം, IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the ...

''.

Film

Muthumani made her film debut in Sathyan Anthikkad's, '' Rasathanthram'' opposite

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appe ...

, 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 language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

films. Some of her notable roles were in ''

Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty ''Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty'' is a 2013 Indian Malayalam comedy film written and directed by Ranjith and starring Mammootty in the lead role of an Achayan from Kozhencherry, Central Travancore and also in a cameo as himself. The cast inclu ...

'', '' How Old Are You?'', '' Oru Indian Pranayakadha'', '' Njaan'' 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 The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to iss ...

. She is now focusing on, Prerana, a life-skill training centre, which "gives need-based training for students, teachers and corporates." She is married to screenwriter/director Arun P. R., who director the 2019 Malayalam Movie

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

Filmography

Television career

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

Asianet News Asianet News (formerly Asianet Global) is an Indian free-to-air Malayalam-language news channel owned by Asianet News Network. Asianet News Network operates as a subsidiary of Jupiter Entertainment Ventures (Jupiter Capital Ventures). The ch ...

) as Anchor *''Chakkarapanthal'' ( Mathrubhumi News) as Anchor

Dubbing credit

* for 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)