Shwetha Menon (born 23 April 1974) is an Indian actress, model,

television anchor A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

and beauty pageant titleholder. She has won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted 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

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Films. She won two

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 Cha ...

for Best Actress and two Filmfare Award South. She participated in '' Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1''. Starting her career as an actress in Malayalam feature films in the early 1990s, she ventured into modeling and became noted, after participating and winning at several

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

s, which led to her debut in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. It was the film ''

Ishq ''Ishq'' () is an Arabic word meaning 'love' or 'passion', also widely used in other languages of the Muslim world and the Indian subcontinent. The word ''ishq'' does not appear in the central religious text of Islam, the Quran, which instead u ...

'' (1997) where she received notable attention as the dancer for the song, "Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai", featuring

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...

and

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...

and also in '' Bandhan'' (1998). Following appearances in over 30 Hindi films, in which she generally conveyed a glamorous image, her acting career took a turn by the mid-2000s, with her returning to Malayalam cinema and accepting substantial roles. She received critical praise and several accolades including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009) and '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011). In 2018, she contestant in the Malayalam reality TV series ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally availabl ...

'' and was eliminated after 36 episodes aired on

Asianet Asianet may refer to: JioStar channels * JioStar, is an Indian media conglomerate wholly owned by Disney India. ** Asianet, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** As ...

, hosted by the veteran actor

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

. She simultaneously appeared in commercial films, television reality shows and parallel films.

Early life

Shwetha Menon was born on 23 April 1974 in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

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 T. V. Naranankutty and Sarada Menon who hail from

Valanchery Valanchery is a major municipal town in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is situated about southeast to Calicut International Airport, Karipur International Airport and southwards to the district headquarters, and forms a part of Malappu ...

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

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 ...

. Her father served in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

while her mother remained a housewife. She studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, East Hill, Kozhikode.

Career

Films

She started her career as an actress in the

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

'' Anaswaram'' (1991), directed by Jomon, playing the female lead opposite

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

, after which she focused on modeling. She competed in the Miss India contest in 1994 and finished third runner-up behind

Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (; born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress and beauty pageant titleholder, who was crowned Miss Universe 1994, becoming the first Indian people, Indian woman to win the title. Sen has since predominantly worked in Hindi films, ...

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (; Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films. Rai won the Miss World 1994 pageant and later established herself as one of the most-popu ...

and Fransesca Hart. She became the first Gladrags female super model in 1994 (

Kelly Dorjee Kalden Sonam Dorji (born 4 January 1971), known professionally as Kelly Dorji, is a Bhutanese actor, model, and artist who works primarily in Cinema of India, Indian movies. Early life Dorji's father is Lynpo Paljor Dorji, widely known as Dasho ...

was the male super model) and then, Miss Asia Pacific semi-finalist in 1994 in Manila Cebu Island,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. She subsequently made her debut in

and appeared in over 30 films; some of her Bollywood films include ''

Asoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was Emperor of Magadha from until his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large p ...

'' (2001), '' Maqbool'' (2003) and ''

Corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

'' (2006). Menon returned to Malayalam in 2006 with ''Thantra'' and then went on to do famous Malayalam films such as ''Keerthi Chakra'' (2006) and the award-winning ''Paradesi''. Her performance as Sarojini, a middle-class woman who fights against extreme odds, in ''

Madhya Venal ''Madhya Venal'' is a 2009 Malayalam film produced by Jahangir Shamz under the banner of Xarfnet Movies. The movie is directed by Madhu Kaithapram starring Manoj K. Jayan and Shweta Menon. Plot Sarojini is a house wife and is also a social wor ...

'' earned her a special mention by jury chairman Bahman Ghobadi, a famous

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian director at the

International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

. In 2010, she won the Kerala State Government's Best Actress for her portrayal of Cheeru, a village woman in the film ''Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' directed by Ranjith. She won the

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. ...

Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam-language free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal an ...

Special Jury Award and the Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same film. In 2011, Shweta Menon starred in the remake of '' Rathinirvedam'' an Erotic Movie, playing the titular character, originally played by

Jayabharathi Jayabharathi (born 28 June 1954 as Lekshmi Bharathi) is an Indian actress and two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film), Nationa ...

. In the same year, she got the Kerala State Award for '' Salt N' Pepper''. For her next movie, ''Naval Enna Jewel'', Shweta Menon has undergone a remarkable makeover as an elderly man. In 2010, Menon approached a local court and the Women's Commission in Kerala after the distributor of her movie tied up with Musli Power, a sex stimulant drug, to jointly promote the movie. "Met with Women's Commission regarding the ''Kayam'' ad and they offered me full backing. Thank you all and I hope justice will be done," she tweeted.

Television

Besides working in films, she has anchored several TV, stage and film awards shows. Menon rose to popularity after presenting the musical programme, ''Star Wars'' on

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment free-to-air television channel owned by PTC Network via holding company G-Next Media Pvt Ltd . It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. Hist ...

in 2008. She won the

Asian Television Award The Asian Television Awards, founded in 1996, is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, it comprises 56 categories across news, documentaries and curre ...

for Best Anchor for the same program. In Hindi, she hosted the group band based show, '' Razzmatazz'' on

Zee TV ZEE TV also known as Z TV is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 1 October 1992 as the oldest privately owned television channel in India. History ...

with actor

Arshad Warsi Arshad Khan (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is the recipient of List of roles and awards of Arshad Warsi, several awards including a Filmfare Award from five nominations and is noted for acting in varied f ...

. The next television show she did was ''

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

'' in 2008 on Colors. In 2010, she anchored the Malayalam reality show, ''Honeymoon Travels'' on Surya TV. The show became an instant hit for Shwetha's accented Malayalam and her attempts to read from the original script without a formal learning in the language. Recently, she appeared as a contestant with her father in the game show, ''Deal or No Deal'' on Surya TV. She was the anchor of the family-based

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

''Veruthe Alla Bharya'' on

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment Free-to-air television channel owned by Malayala Manorama. The channel’s headquarters is at Aroor, Alappuzha in Kerala, India. History The channel has been on air sin ...

. She has participated in the popular game show ''Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran'' on

. She was running popular comedy reality show ''Minto Goal Comedy Stars'' on

in 2015. She has acted in many

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

. She was a contestant in the season 1 of the reality TV show ''

'' aired on Asianet, from which she was eliminated after 36 episodes. In 2019 she made her TV comeback as the host for a family talent hunt show on Mazhavil Manorama titled ''Kusurthi Kudumbam''.

Personal life

Shwetha was married to Bollywood model, Bobby Bhonsle, but it ended up in divorce. On 18 June 2011, she married Sreevalsan Menon, a native of

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 ...

, who works in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The ceremony took place at the Neythalappurath Sastha Ayappa temple,

, Kerala. She has a daughter, whose delivery was recorded on camera as part of the film '' Kalimannu''.

Controversies

Shwetha Menon was charged with insulting the Indian flag at a fashion show on 5 January 2004. The show was organized by NIFD at a resort, where Menon walked the ramp allegedly with the tricolour wrapped around her body. In 2011, she filed a case against Kunnath Pharmaceuticals' managing director K. C. Abraham for misusing stills from her film '' Kayam'' (2011) for promoting their Ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Extra. The Ernakulam Central Police arrested Abraham. Shwetha allowed her delivery to be recorded for Blessy's film '' Kalimannu'' (2013). The act was condemned for commercializing the most private affair of a woman by the Kerala Film Exhibitors. On 4 November 2013, she filed a case against N. Peethambara Kurup of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in a

groping Groping is a form of sexual harassment involving the intentional inappropriate touching of another person commonly without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies. Touching a consenting person's body d ...

incident. Shweta later dropped her complaint against Kurup, saying the 71-year-old leader tendered a "personal apology" to her hours after she lodged the

FIR Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

against him.

Awards

;

* 2009 – Best Actress – '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' * 2011 – Best Actress – '' Salt N' Pepper'' ;

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 ...

* 2009 – Best Actress – Malayalam – ''Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' ;

South Indian International Movie Awards The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and hono ...

* 2012 – SIIMA Award for Actress – Special Appreciation – '' Rathinirvedam'' * 2013 – SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – '' Ozhimuri'' ;Other Awards * 2009 –

for Best TV Anchor * 2009 – Special Mention at

by Jury Chairman, Bahman Ghobadi about performance in '' Madhyavenal'' * 2010 –

–

Special Jury Award – ''Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' * 2010 – Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress – ''Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' * 2013 – Asianet Film Awards for Best Character Actress – '' Ozhimuri'' * 2013 –

Asiavision Awards Asiavision Awards have been held annually since 2006 to honor the artistes and technicians of Indian cinema and television & is organized under the leadership of renowned journalist Nissar Syed. More than 40,000 people across United Arab Emirates ...

– Outstanding Performance – '' Kalimannu'' *2018 : Milan Film Festival 2018 – Best Supporting Actress -Naval Enna Jewel

Filmography

Films

Web series

Television

Dubbing artist

In 2017, she lent her voice for the role of a police officer played by Raashii Khanna in

film ''

Villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Shweta Living people 1974 births People from Malappuram district Actresses from Kerala Indian film actresses Femina Miss India winners Kerala State Film Award winners Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Kendriya Vidyalaya alumni 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Chandigarh Indian television actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Hindi television Female models from Kerala Female models from Chandigarh Bigg Boss (Malayalam TV series) contestants Actresses in Kannada cinema Artists from Kerala