Suhasini Maniratnam (; born 15 August 1961) is an Indian actress who works in Telugu, Tamil,

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

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.

Early life

Suhasini's paternal cousins Anu Hasan, Shruti Haasan and Akshara Haasan have also since become actors. Suhasini attended the Municipal Elementary School in Paramakudi, before moving to Madras aged 12 to live with her uncle

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

and her grandmother.

Film career

As an actress

Suhasini made her film debut in 1980 with the Tamil movie '' Nenjathai Killathe''. For her first movie, she won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She was introduced to Malayalam cinema through Padmarajan's '' Koodevide'' (1983), which also featured Mammootty. She appeared in the AFI Fest nominated feature film '' Vanaprastham'' (1999), which starred

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 has acted with Vishnuvardhan in '' Bandhana'' (1984), '' Suprabhatha'' (1988), '' Muthina Haara'' (1990), '' Himapatha'' (1995), '' Hendithghelthini'' (1998), '' Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige'' (2007) and '' School Master'' (2010). 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 1985 Tamil film '' Sindhu Bhairavi'', directed by K. Balachander.

As a director

In 1991, Suhasini directed the anthology mini-series '' Penn'' shown on Madras Doordarshan. The series featured eight standalone episodes examining the lives of South Indian women, and starred several of her contemporaries such as Shobana, Revathi, Radhika and Amala as protagonists. In 1995, she stepped into direction, helming her first film '' Indira''. In November 1997, Suhasini directed a short television film titled ''Swayamvaram'' featuring Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and Rajiv Menon. The script had been written by Sujatha and commissioned by Revathi and Suresh Menon. Suhasini directed a segment titled "Coffee, Anyone?" in Amazon Prime's '' Putham Pudhu Kaalai'' (2020) and featured in the leading role alongside her cousins Shruti Haasan, Anu Hasan and her mother Komalam.

Other work

Suhasini and her husband Mani Ratnam have been involved in the running of their

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

Madras Talkies since 1997.

Honorary consul

Suhasini was appointed the honorary consul Of the Grand Duchy Of Luxembourg in 2015. She held the post until 2020.

Goodwill and brand ambassador

Naam Foundation

Suhasini founded Naam Foundation in 2010 with the objective to empower single women.

Personal life

Mani Ratnam and Suhasini At The Vaanam Kottatum Audio Launch

Suhasini married film director Mani Ratnam on 26 August 1988 and the couple has a son, Nandan, born in 1992.

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 ...

* Best Actress – '' Sindhu Bhairavi'' (1985) ;

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 ...

* Best Actress – Kannada – '' Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu'' (1983) * Best Actress – Telugu – '' Swathi'' (1984) * Best Actress – Kannada – '' Suprabhatha'' (1988) * Best Actress – Kannada – '' Muthina Haara'' (1990) ; Kerala State Film Awards * Best Actress – '' Ezhuthapurangal'' (1987) * Best Actress – '' Theerthadanam'' (2001) ; Kerala Film Critics Association Awards"കേരള ഫിലിം ക്രിട്ടിക്‌സ് അവാര്‍ഡ് 1977 - 2012"
Kerala Film Critics Association. Retrieved 25 January 2023. * Best Actress – '' Koodevide'' (1983) ; Tamil Nadu State Film Awards * Best Actress – '' Nenjathai Killathe'' (1980) ;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

* Best Actress – '' Swathi'' (1984) * Best Supporting Actress – '' Nuvvu Naaku Nachav'' (2001)

Filmography

Order based on number of films that she acted in.

Telugu

Tamil

Malayalam

Kannada

Other language

Television

Web series

References

External links

*
Suhasini
on MFC {{DEFAULTSORT:Suhasini Mani Ratnam Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Tamil-language film directors Indian women film directors Tamil screenwriters Kerala State Film Award winners 1961 births Living people Indian atheists Indian Tamil people Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Best Actress National Film Award winners M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute alumni Indian film actresses Nandi Award winners 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian women screenwriters Actresses from Chennai Tamil actresses Hindi-language screenwriters 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Chennai Screenwriters from Chennai Women writers from Tamil Nadu Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Kannada cinema Tamil television directors Tamil television producers Tamil television writers