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)