Mahalakshmi Menon, best known by her stagename Shobha (23 September 1962 – 1 May 1980), was an Indian actress best known for her work 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

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

films. At the age of 17, she won 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 her role in the 1979 Tamil film ''

Pasi Pasi may refer to: * Pasi (caste), a Hindu caste of northern India * Pasi (film), ''Pasi'' (film), a 1979 Tamil film * Pasi (given name) * Pasi (surname), a surname of the Pasi community * Pasi, Papua New Guinea, a settlement near the coast of San ...

''. She also received three Kerala State Film Awards: for Best Actress (1978), Best Supporting Actress (1977) and Best Child Artist (1971); and two

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

for Best Actress in

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 ...

(1978) and Tamil (1979) films. Considered one of the finest talents to have emerged in the Indian film world, her promising career was unexpectedly cut short as she committed suicide in 1980, for unknown reasons. Her popularity resulted in considerable public scrutiny of the events that led to her death and also various conspiracy theories. The 1983 Malayalam film '' Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback'' is supposedly based on her life and death. Born to

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

parents in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, she started her career in the Tamil film industry, making her debut as a child artist in ''

Thattungal Thirakkappadum ''Thattungal Thirakkappadum'' () is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language thriller film directed by J. P. Chandrababu. Savitri Ganesh, K. R. Vijaya, Shoba (credited as Baby Mahalakshmi), Chandrababu and Manohar star, while A. V. M. Rajan, Cho and ...

'' (1966). Her first film as the main lead actress was in the 1978 Malayalam film ''

Uthrada Rathri ''Uthrada Rathri'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Balachandra Menon in his directorial debut, produced by L. Rajalekshmi Kunjamma, and starring Madhu, Shobha, Sukumaran and Nangasserry Sasi. The film has musical score by Jaya Vijay ...

''.

Early life

Shoba was born on 23 September 1962, to K. P. Menon and Prema Menonan actress credited by the mononym Prema, in the Malayalam film industry, from 1954 to 1981.

Career

In 1966, Shoba made her screen debut in

thriller film ''Thattungal Thirakkappadum'' directed by actor J. P. Chandrababu. In the film she was credited as Baby Mahalakshmi where she played the role of Lakshmi opposite actress Savitri, K. R. Vijaya, R. S. Manohar and Chandrababu himself. The following year she made her debut in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

in P. Venu's ''

Udhyogastha ''Udhyogastha'' is a 1967 Indian Malayalam film, directed by P. Venu and produced by P. K. Devadas and P. S. Das. The film stars Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. The film was scored by M. S. Baburaj. Plot Vimala is ...

'', where she was credited as Baby Shoba. The film has been touted as the first "multi-starrer" of

, with such top actors as Sathyan,

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 6 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the hist ...

K. P. Ummer Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer (11 October 1930 - 29 October 2001) was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from the early sixties until the lat ...

, Padmini, Sharada,

Sheela Sheela Celine (born 24 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as heroine ...

and

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telugu movies opposite N. ...

; the huge hit, in a film targeted to all ages, brought Shoba wide attention as a child actor. In 1978 she was cast as a heroine in ''

'', a film directed by

Balachandra Menon Balachandra Menon (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian actor, director and script writer. He made a number of films in the Malayalam films of the 1980s, 1980s and Malayalam films of the 1990s, 1990s. He has directed 40 films and has acted in o ...

. She received the Kerala government's Best Actress award for the 1978 films ''

Bandhanam ''Bandhanam'' () is a 1978 Cinema of India, Indian Malayalam language, Malayalam film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by V. B. K. Menon and P.K.Bhaskaran Nair. The film stars Shobha, Sukumaran, Sankaradi and Shubha (actress), Shu ...

'' and '' Ente Neelakaasham''. The same year she earned the Best Actress award by Filmfare for the

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

film ''Aparichita''. In 1979 she received the National Award for Best Actress for the Tamil film ''

'', which was produced by Lalitha, the eldest of the Travancore sisters. She also received the Filmfare Best Actress award for ''Pasi'' and received the Second Best Actress award from the Kerala government in 1977 for the film '' Ormakal Marikkumo''.

Death

Shobha is alleged to have committed

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered to ...

at the age of 17. She was married to

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan Tamil cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil ...

. The 1983 Malayalam film '' Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback'' directed by K. G. George is loosely based on her life and death.

Filmography

Malayalam films

Tamil films

Kannada films

Telugu films

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

–

for ''

'' ;

* 1978 – Filmfare Best Kannada Actress Award for '' Aparichita'' * 1979 – Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for ''

'' ;

Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a cinema of kerala, motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs (Kerala), Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and sin ...

* 1971 – Best Female Child Artist for '' Yogammullaval'' and '' Aval Alpam Vaikippoyi'' * 1977 – Second Best Actress for '' Ormakal Marikkumo'' * 1978 – Best Actress for '' Ente Neelakasham''

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1962 births 1980 deaths Kerala State Film Award winners Best Actress National Film Award winners Actresses from Kerala Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Filmfare Awards South winners 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian child actresses Actresses in Kannada cinema Suicides by hanging in India 1980 suicides Child actresses in Malayalam cinema Artists who died by suicide