Renuka Menon (born 3 November 1983) is a former Indian actress who has predominantly appeared 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 ...

and

Telugu-language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian langua ...

films as well as some

Tamil-language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

films. She made her acting debut in '' Nammal'' (2002). Her notable films include '' Daas'' (2005), '' Vargam'' (2006) and ''

Kalabha Kadhalan ''Kalaabak Kadhalan'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language thriller film directed by debutant Igore, starring Arya (actor), Arya, Renuka Menon, and Akshaya (actress), Akshaya. This film was a low-budget production, and the soundtrack ...

'' (2006). In 2006, Menon retired from acting and currently runs a dance school in California.

Early and personal life

Renuka was born on 3 November 1983 in

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 ...

and also she pursued her

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

degree in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

. She married Suraj Menon, a US-based software engineer, on 21 November 2006. They have two daughters, Swathi and Anika.

Career

2002-2004: Early debut and its recognition

At the age of 19, Renuka made her acting debut through '' Nammal'' opposite Jishnu Raghavan,

Sidharth Bharathan Sidharth Bharathan (born 26 May 1983) is an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director who prominently works in Malayalam films. He hade his acting debut in '' Nammal'' (2002) and directional debut in '' Nidra'' (2012).

and

Bhavana ''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retri ...

. It was commercially successful and well received by critics. Then she acted in several films ''Mayamohithachandran'', ''

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

'' and '' Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum'' along with Prithviraj. Then, she made her Telugu-language debut in ''

Anandamanandamaye ''Anandamanandamaye'' is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy drama film in Telugu directed by Srinu Vaitla and produced by Ramoji Rao. It was released on 5 February 2004 under the banner of Ushakiran Movies. The film featured Akash a ...

'' along with

Jai Akash Jai Akash, also known as Akash, is an Indian actor, who acted in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He is famously known for the film '' Anandam'' (2001). Career Jai Sathish, of Sri Lankan Tamil origin settled in London, sent his modelling phot ...

and it received positive reviews from critics.

2005-2006: Foray into other industries

In 2005, Menon made her debut Tamil-language and Kannada film debuts in ''

February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...

'', alongside Bharath, and ''

News News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

'' opposite

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

, respectively. Later that year, she starred in another Tamil film, '' Daas'' opposite

Jayam Ravi Ravi Mohan (born 10 September 1980), better known by his former stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his lead acting debut in ''Jayam (2003 film), Jayam'' (2003) ...

and it was praised by critics. In 2006, she acted in the Malayalam film '' Vargam'', paired with Prithviraj again after '' Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum'', following which, she appeared in the Tamil film ''

'' opposite

Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...

and in the multi-starrer ''

Pathaaka ''Pathaaka'' () is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by K. Madhu. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Renuka Menon, Sai Kumar and Lalu Alex in lead roles. The film has musical score by Tej Mervin. Plot George Thariyan, the ...

''.

Filmography

Films

TV shows

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Renuka 1983 births Living people Malayali people Actresses from Alappuzha Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Indian Hindus Indian film actresses Indian female dancers 21st-century Indian actresses