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 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 ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

films. At the age of 17, she won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) 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 wi ...

for her role in the 1979 Tamil film '' Pasi''. She also received three

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...

: for Best Actress (1978), Best Supporting Actress (1977) and Best Child Artist (1971); and two

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassin ...

for Best Actress in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

(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, due to 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 also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomina ...

parents in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

, 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 M. ...

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

Early life

Shoba was born on 23 September 1962, to K. P. Menon and

Prema Menon Prema was an Indian actress in Malayalam cinema. She acted mainly in supporting and character roles as a mother, during the 1960s and 1970s and appeared in more than 50 films in her career. She is the mother of actress Shobha. Personal life Pre ...

an 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 Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film ''Thattungal Thirakkappadum'' directed by actor

J. P. Chandrababu Joseph Panimayadas Chandrababu Rodriguez (1927–1974) was an Indian actor, comedian, director, singer and dancer, whose Chaplinesque-style on-screen movements and singing style made him popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. He had ...

. In the film she was credited as Baby Mahalakshmi where she played the role of Lakshmi opposite actress

Savitri Savitri or Savithrri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitr *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Brah ...

, K. R. Vijaya, R. S. Manohar and Chandrababu himself. The following year she made her debut in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippat ...

P. Venu P. Venu (8 November 1940 – 25 May 2011), was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and lyricist with over 20 films to his name.His directorial venture Udhyogastha in 1967 was the first-ever multi-star cast film of the south Indi ...

'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 Udhyogastha ...

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

, with such top actors as

Sathyan Sathyan is a common Indian name and can refer to: * Sathyan (actor) (1912–1971), Manuel Sathyaneshan , Malayalam film actor * Sathyan (Tamil actor) (born 1975), Tamil film comedian and actor * Sathyan (singer) Satyan, (Satyan Mahalingam), ...

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of Indi ...

, K. P. Ummer, Padmini, Sharada,

Sheela Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 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 ...

and

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), 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 Telug ...

; 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 '' Uthrada Rathri'', a film directed by

Balachandra Menon Balachandra Menon ( ml, ബാലചന്ദ്ര മേനോൻ) (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian actor, director and script writer. He made a number of films in the 1980s and 1990s. He has directed 40 films and has acted in over 100. ...

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

Bandhanam ''Bandhanam'' ( en, Bondage) is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by V. B. K. Menon. The film stars Shobha, Sukumaran, Sankaradi and Shubha in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. B. S ...

'' 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. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' direct ...

film ''Aparichita''. In 1979 she received the National Award for Best Actress for the Tamil film '' Pasi'', which was produced by Lalitha, the eldest of the

Travancore sisters Travancore Sisters refers to the trio of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini who were actresses, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. The Travancore sisters learned dancing under Guru Gopinath and Guru T. ...

. 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 ''Ormakal Marikkumo'' () is a 1977 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed and produced by K. S. Sethumadhavan. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Shoba and Vidhubala. The film has musical score by M. S. Viswanathan. Shobha won the Kerala State Film ...

''.

Death

Shobha 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 ...

at the age of 17. She was married to

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

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

Filmography

Malayalam films

* '' Jeevithayaathra'' (1965) * ''

Karuna Karuna may refer to: *Karuṇā, part of the spiritual path in Buddhism and Jainism. * Karuna Kodithuwakku (born 1961), Sri Lankan politician * Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (born 1966), also known as Colonel Karuna *Karuna, Finland Karuna was a ...

'' (1966) * ''Penmakkal '' (1966) * '' Ollathu Mathi '' (1967) * '' Pareeksha '' (1967) * '' Kadal '' (1968) * ''

Adyapika ''Adhyaapika'' () is a 1968 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed and produced by P. Subramaniam. The film stars Madhu, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Vaikkam Mani and Ambika. The film had musical score by V. Dakshinamoorthy. The film was rem ...

'' (1968) * ''

Aparadhini ''Aparaadhini'' is a 1968 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. Bhaskaran and produced by B. S. Ranga. The film stars Sathyan, Sharada, Ambika and Padmini. The film had musical score by M. B. Sreenivasan. Cast * Sathyan * Sharad ...

'' (1968) * ''

Kuruthikkalam ''Kuruthykkalam'' is a 1969 Indian Malayalam film, directed by A. K. Sahadevan. The film stars Sathyan, Madhu, Sheela and Shobha in the lead roles. The film had musical score by Jaya Vijaya. Cast * Sathyan *Madhu * Sheela *Shobha *Abbas *Amb ...

'' (1969) * ''Vettamrigam'' (1969) * ''

'' (1967) – child artist * ''Aval Alpam Vaikipoyi '' (1971) * ''

Yogammullaval ''Yogamullaval'' is a 1971 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by C. V. Shankar and produced by U. Parvathibhai. The film stars Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai, Shobha, Baby and C. V. Shankar. The film had musical score by R. K. Shekhar. Cast ...

'' (1971) * '' Sindooracheppu'' (1971) – Ammalu * '' Makane Ninakku Vendi'' (1971) – Young Sophia * ''

Taxi Car ''Taxi Car'' is a 1972 Indian Malayalam- language detective film, directed and produced by P. Venu. The film stars Prem Nazir, Sadhana, Vijayasree and Vincent in the lead roles. The film had musical score by R. K. Shekhar. Thie film is a ...

'' (1972) * ''Gandharavakshetram'' (1972) – Young Lakshmi * ''

Aradimanninte Janmi ''Aaradimanninte Janmi'' () is a 1972 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed and produced by P. Bhaskaran. The film stars Prem Nazir, Madhu, Sheela and Jayabharathi. The musical score is by R. K. Shekhar. It is a remake of the Tamil film ''Ne ...

'' (1972) – Minikutty * ''

Udayam Udayam may refer to: * ''Udayam'' (film), a 1973 Indian Malayalam-language film * ''Udayam'' (TV series), a 2017–2020 Singaporean reality series {{Disambiguation ...

'' (1973) – Young Geetha * ''Badradeepam'' (1973) – Lekha * '' Ayalathe Sundari'' (1974) – Shobha * ''

Night Duty ''Night Duty'' is a 1974 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by J. Sasikumar and produced by Thiruppathi Chettiyar. The film stars Prem Nazir, Jayabharathi, Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Adoor Bhasi in the lead roles. The film has musical score by ...

'' (1974) – Ammini * ''

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

'' (1975) – Shanthi * '' Chottanikkara Amma'' (1976) * ''Amruthavahini'' (1976) – Rani * ''

Dweep ''Dweep'' is a puzzle game published in 1999 by Dexterity Software. Gameplay Dweep is a purple creature who must negotiate a series of dangerous obstacles to rescue defenseless baby Dweeps. Obstacles include lasers, heat plates, bombs, and lo ...

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1977) – Ammini/Parvathi * '' Nurayum Pathayum'' (1977) * ''

Rajaparambara ''Rajaparambara'' is a 1977 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Dr. Balakrishnan and produced by M. P. Bhaskaran. The film stars Vincent, Jayan, Jayabharathi, Jose Prakash and Shobha in the lead roles. The film has musical score by A. T. Ummer. ...

'' (1977) * ''Pad–aram '' (1978) – Shoba * ''

Randu Penkuttikal ''Randu Penkuttikal'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Mohan from a screenplay by Surasu, which is partially based on the novel of the same name by V. T. Nandakumar. In a later interview, director Mohan said that he never r ...

'' (1978) * ''Wayanadan Thampan'' (1978) * ''Utradaraatri'' (1978) * '' Ulkkadal'' (1978) * '' Ekakini'' (1978) * ''

'' (1978) * ''Lillyppookkal'' (1979) * ''Ishta Praneshwari'' (1979) * '' Ente Neelakasham'' (1979) * ''Shalini Ente Koottukaari'' (1980) * ''Daliapookkal'' (1980) * ''

Aniyatha Valakal ''Aniyatha Valakal'' is a 1980 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Balachandra Menon and produced by N. P. Abu. The film stars Sukumaran, M. G. Soman, Venu Nagavally and Sankaradi in the lead roles. The film has musical score by A. T. Ummer ...

'' (1980) * ''Soorya Daham'' (1980) * ''Yovvanam Daham'' (1980) * ''Manju Moodal Manju'' (1980)

Tamil films

* '' Naanal'' (1965) – child artist * ''

'' (1966) – child artist * '' Iru Kodugal'' (1969) – child artist * '' Punnagai'' (1971) * '' Vairam'' (1974) * '' Achchani'' (1978) * '' Nizhal Nijamagiradhu'' (1978) * ''Oru Veedu Oru Ulagam'' (1978) * ''

Mullum Malarum ''Mullum Malarum'' (; ) is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Mahendran. Produced by Venu Chettiar and V. Mohan, the film stars Rajinikanth, Sarath Babu, Jayalaxmi and Shoba. It marks Mahendran's directorial de ...

'' (1978) * ''Veetuku Veedu Vasappadi'' (1979) * ''

Oru Vidukadhai Oru Thodarkadhai ''Oru Vidukadhai Oru Thodarkadhai'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language film directed by M. A. Kaja. The film was remade in Malayalam as ''Oru Thira Pinneyum Thira''. Plot Thyagarajan and Kamala are in love but are separated due to unforeseen ...

'' (1979) * '' Enippadigal'' (1979) * ''

Chakkalathi ''Chakkalathi'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language film starring directed by Devaraj–Mohan and written Alagapuri Alagappan. The film stars Sudhakar, Shoba, Ambika and Vijayan. It was the debut of Ambika, who later became one of Tamil cinema ...

'' (1979) * ''

Agal Vilakku ''Agal Vilakku'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by R. Selvaraj. The film stars Shoba and Vijayakanth. It was released on 7 December 1979. Plot Navaneetham is an orphan living with her cruel aunt and hapless un ...

'' (1979) * '' Azhiyatha Kolangal'' (1979) * '' Pasi'' (1979) * ''Veli Thandiya Velladu'' (1980) * ''

Moodu Pani ''Moodu Pani'' ( en, The Mist, italic=yes) is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film written, directed and filmed by Balu Mahendra. Starring his then wife Shoba and Pratap, with N. Viswanathan, Ganthimathi, Mohan and Bhanu ...

'' (1980) * ''

Ponnagaram ''Ponnagaram'' is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by K. S. Madhangan in his debut. The film stars Sarath Babu and Shoba. It was released on 4 July 1980, two months after Shoba's death. Plot Cast Production ''Pon ...

'' (1980) * ''Saamanthippoo'' (1980) * ''Mayil'' (1981) – Released posthumously * ''Vaadagai Veedu'' (1981) – Released posthumously * ''Anbulla Athan'' (1981) – Released posthumously

Telugu films

* '' Tharam Marindi'' (1977) * ''

Manavoori Pandavulu ''Manavoori Pandavulu'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Bapu and written by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, dealing with the struggle against the feudal system in their own unique way. The film is remake of Kannada movie ''Paduva ...

'' (1978)

Kannada films

* '' Kokila'' (1977) * ''

Aparichita ''Aparichita'' () is a 1978 Kannada-language romantic mystery thriller film directed by Kashinath, starring Suresh Heblikar, Sobha, M. V. Vasudeva Rao and Mohan. The music was composed by noted composer L. Vaidyanathan. The movie was cri ...

'' (1978) * ''Amara Madhura Prema'' (1982 – Released posthumously)

Awards

; National Film Awards *

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 '' Pasi'' ;

* 1978 – Filmfare Best Kannada Actress Award for ''

'' * 1979 – Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for '' Pasi'' ;

Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State C ...

* 1971 – Best Female Child Artist for ''

'' and '' Aval Alpam Vaikippoyi'' * 1977 – Second Best Actress for ''

'' * 1978 –

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

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 committed suicide