Nithya Menen

Nithya Menen

Menen in 2015
Born (1988-04-08) 8 April 1988[1]
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India[1]
Occupation Actress, playback singer
Years active 2005–present

Nithya Menen[2][3][4] is an Indian film actress and playback singer. She has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada language films, as well as an English film.

Early life

Nithya Menen was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka to a Malayali family and studied journalism at the Manipal Institute of Communication.[5] She once said in an interview that she never wished to become an actress but a journalist, as she was "an idealist",[6][7] but felt journalism was "not what it used to be".[8] She then decided to become a filmmaker as she could express her ideas "better through films",[7][9] and enrolled for a course in cinematography at the FTII Pune. During the entrance examination, she met Nandini Reddy, who "brainwashed"[10] and convinced her to take up acting.[11] Vamshidhar Reddy would later turn director and sign Nithya for the lead female role in her first project.

Career

Menen appeared first on screen as a child artist when she was ten in the Indian English language film, The Monkey Who Knew Too Much (1998), playing the younger sister to Tabu's character.[12] In 2006, she started her acting career as a lead actor with the Kannada film 7 O' Clock directed by Kannada's top cinematographer Santosh Rai Pataje.[13] The 2008 off-beat film Aakasha Gopuram, directed by National Film Award-winning director K. P. Kumaran, marked her Malayalam debut, in which she was paired with Mohanlal. She was in the midst of her 12th class exams when she was offered the role, after Mohanlal had spotted her on the front cover of a tourism magazine, Stark World Kerala.[2][6] Her performance was well received, with critics writing that she shows "sparkle in her debut venture" and "makes her entry in an impressive role",[14][15] though the film, based on the Norwegian play The Master Builder, got mixed reviews and was a financial failure.[14][15] She next made a come back into Kannada films with the super hit film Josh. She played a supporting role in the film, which received rave reviews,[16][17][18] and became a commercial success as well, with her performance garnering her a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 57th Filmfare Awards South.

In 2011, her first release was Nandini Reddy's romantic comedy Ala Modalaindi, which was Nithya's maiden Telugu venture as well.[4] The film opened to favourable reviews by critics and turned out to become a sleeper hit,[19] while Nithya received critical praise for her performance. Idlebrain's Jeevi in his review cited that she "epitomized Nitya character with her fabulous performance", "looks beautiful in all kinds of dresses" and was "the best debut in recent years of Telugu cinema after Samantha in YMC",[20] while another critic wrote that she was a "charming find" and "...quite the Genelia replacement that our cinema so badly needs right now."[21] She eventually won the Nandi Award for Best Actress for her performance and received a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress at the 59th Filmfare Awards South.[22] Further more, she also sang two songs for the soundtrack album of the film, tuned by Kalyani Malik.[5][23] Nandini Reddy, later, went on to describe Nithya as "the discovery of the decade".[19] Following Ala Modalaindi, she starred in Santosh Sivan's historical fiction Urumi as part of an ensemble cast.[24] She portrayed a Chirakkal princess named Bala, playing the love interest of Prabhu Deva's character,[24] which gained positive remarks, with a Sify review claiming that she "looks pretty and is a scene stealer".[25] Nithya quoted that much of her character was based on "Santosh's perception of who I am", with Sivan stating that he had written that role for her and that only she could play it.She received a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 59th Filmfare Awards South[24] She next appeared in ad-filmmaker Jayendra's bilingual venture 180/Nootrenbadhu, made and released in Tamil and Telugu, in which she played a photo journalist named Vidhya.[26] She described the character as "bubbly, full of life, nosey, wide-eyed and innocent in life" and to be similar to herself.[26] Later the year, she was seen in Sibi Malayil's Violin in Malayalam and the Gautham Menon-produced Veppam in Tamil.

Her first 2012 release was the Telugu romance film Ishq with Nitin Reddy.She received the CineMAA Award for Best Actress(jury) while received best actress nomination at the same event and at the SIIMA Awards.She acted in Karmayogi, a Malayalam adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. For the Kannada film Aidondla Aidu she had sung and also choreographed one of the songs, titled "Payasa".[27] She was seen in two Malayalam projects, T. K. Rajeev Kumar's Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty, in which she portrayed a village woman whose daily life is filmed and broadcast as a reality show for a month,[28] and Ustad Hotel directed by Anwar Rasheed.[29]

In 2013, she starred in three Telugu films, Okkadine, Jabardasth and Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde and one Kannada movie Mynaa. She played a character with two shades in Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde and she dubbed for her as well as for the character of her co-star Isha Talwar.For this movie,she received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress at the 61st Filmfare Awards South.[30] In 2014, she made a cameo in the Malayalam movie Bangalore Days, which became the highest grosser of that year.[31] Her Kannada film Mynaa which won the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Kannada [32] in which she plays a character of a physically challenged girl, became a huge blockbuster hit completing 100 days in many centers across Karnataka and her performance was well praised by the critics. She has paired up with Sharwanand for the 2015 Telugu movie Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju. She did a minor role in the film S/O Satyamurthy, directed by Trivikram'. She appeared opposite Dulquer Salmaan in two films in 2015, 100 Days of Love, a romantic Malayalam film and OK Kanmani, bilingual film directed by Mani Ratnam'. Dulquer and Nithya's on-screen chemistry was praised in the reviews of both films [33][34]

Her upcoming releases include Vikram Kumar's 24 and K. S. Ravikumar's bilingual project titled Kotigobba 2.[35]

Filmography

As actress

Year Film Role Language Sources
2006 Seven O' Clock Anu Kannada
2008 Akasha Gopuram Hilda Varghese Malayalam
2009 Josh Meera Kannada
2009 Vellathooval Jiya Malayalam
2009 Kerala Cafe Nithya Malayalam
2009 Angel John Sofia Malayalam
2010 Apoorvaragam Nancy Malayalam
2010 Anwar Asna Malayalam
2011 Aidondla Aidu Gowri Kannada
2011 Ala Modalaindi Nithya Telugu
2011 Urumi Chirakkal Bala Malayalam
2011 180 Vidya Telugu
2011 Nootrenbadhu Tamil
2011 Violin Angel Malayalam
2011 Veppam Revathy Tamil
2011 Makaramanju Model Malayalam
2012 Ishq Priya Telugu
2012 Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty Manjula Ayyapan Malayalam
2012 Karmayogi Moonumani Malayalam
2012 Ustad Hotel Shahana Malayalam
2012 Doctor Innocent aanu Anna Malayalam
2012 Bachelor Party Neethu Malayalam
2012 Poppins Major Prathap Varma's wife Malayalam
2013 Okkadine Shailaja Telugu
2013 Jabardasth Saraswati Telugu
2013 Myna Myna Kannada
2013 Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde Shravani Telugu
2014 Malini 22 Palayamkottai Malini Tamil
2014 Bangalore Days Natasha Francis Malayalam
2015 Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju Nazira Telugu
2015 JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai Nithya Tamil
2015 100 Days of Love Sheela Malayalam
2016 Raja Dhi Raja Nithya Telugu
2015 S/O Satyamurthy Valli Telugu
2015 Kanchana 2 Ganga Tamil
2015 O Kadhal Kanmani Tara Kalingarayar Tamil
2015 Rudramadevi Muktamba Telugu
2015 Appavin MeesaiFilm has yet to be released Tamil Completed[36][37]
2016 24Film has yet to be released Tamil Completed [38]
2016 Mudinja Ivana Pudi Film has yet to be released Tamil Filming[39]
Kotigobba 2 Film has yet to be released Kannada
2016 Iru Mugan Film has yet to be released Tamil Filming[40]
2016 Janatha Garage Film has yet to be released Telugu Pre-Production

As playback singer

Year Song Film Language Composer
2010 Payasa Aidondla Aidu Kannada Abhijit-Joe
2011 Edo Anukunte Ala Modalaindi Telugu
Malayalam		 Kalyani Malik
2011 Ammammo Ammo Telugu
Malayalam 		Kalyani Malik
2012 Oh Priya Priya Ishq Telugu Anoop Rubens
2012 Payasam Poppins Malayalam Ratheesh Vegha
2013 Arere Arere Jabardasth Telugu S. Thaman
2013 Doore Doore Neengi Natholi Oru Cheria Meenalla Malayalam Abhijith
2013 Modala Maleyante (Duet) Myna Kannada Jassie Gift
2013 Thu Hi Rey Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe Telugu Anoop Rubens
2013 Hi my name is malini Malini 22 Palayamkottai Tamil Arvind & Shankar
2013 Kanneer Thulilye (Duet) Tamil
2013 Madharthamma (Immigrant Mix) Tamil
2013 Hi my name is malini Malini 22 Telugu
2013 Navve Kaluva (Duet) Telugu
2013 Yennali (Immigrant Mix) Telugu
2016 Laalijo 24 (2016 film) Telugu A. R. Rahman

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 "Nithya Menon profile, photo gallery – South Indian Actresses". cinebasket. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Nithya Menen Latest Photos". TFPC. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "'I'm not inclined towards commercial cinema'". Rediff. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  4. 1 2 Narasimham, M. L. (22 July 2010). "Arts / Cinema : Charm of romantic comedies". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Nithya Menon | BV Nandini Reddy – Interviews". CineGoer.com. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  6. 1 2 "'I love to do intelligent films like Kerala Cafe'". Rediff.com. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Nithya plays a journalist in next". The Times of India. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "I forced myself to learn Telugu: Nithya". The Times of India. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "I've never wanted to be an actress: Nithya". The Times of India. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  10. ↑ Eliot, Jemima Margaret (22 February 2011). "I forced myself to learn Telugu: Nithya". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Manigandan K. R. (3 April 2011). "Nithya plays a journalist in next". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Gupta, Rinku (6 April 2011) Nithya Menen enters Kollywood. The New Indian Express. Retrieved on 29 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Nithya Menon in ‘Jogaiah’-Kannada Movie News. M.indiaglitz.com (18 May 2011). Retrieved on 2016-04-29.
  14. 1 2 "Akasha Gopuram Malayalam Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Movie Review:Aakasha Gopuram". Sify. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  16. ↑ Kumar, G. S. (10 April 2009). "Josh movie review". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "Josh Kannada Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  18. ↑ "Movie Josh Review | Akshay Alok Jagannath". One India. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Overwhelmed by response for Ala Modalaindi". Rediff. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  20. ↑ "Ala Modalaindi film review – Telugu cinema Review – Nani & Nitya Menon". Idlebrain.com. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  21. ↑ "Ala Modalaindi Review - Ala Modalaindi Movie Review on fullhyd.com". Fullhyderabad.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  22. ↑ Nandi awards 2010 announced – Telugu cinema news. Idlebrain.com (5 August 2011). Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  23. ↑ "First look: Nandini Reddy's Ala Modalaindi". Rediff.com. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 "Urumi was difficult to shoot for". Rediff. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  25. ↑ "Movie Review:Urumi- Review". Sify. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  26. 1 2 Nithya Menen: The character I play in 180 is like me – Rediff.com Movies. Rediff.com (22 June 2011). Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  27. ↑ "I am enjoying my own space". Rediff. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  28. ↑ "When life becomes a TV show for Nithya Menen". The Times of India. TNN. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  29. ↑ Sidhardhan, Sanjith (13 November 2011). "Nithya Menen forges ahead". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  30. ↑ Nitya Menen dubs for Isha Talwar in GJG – Telugu cinema news. Idlebrain.com (20 April 2013). Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  31. ↑ No Hyderabad days yet. Bangalore Mirror (6 January 2015). Retrieved on 30 April 2015.
  32. ↑ Myna reality check! – Kannada Movie News. Indiaglitz.com (12 March 2012). Retrieved on 2016-04-29.
  33. ↑ '100 Days of Love' Movie Review: A Breezy Romantic Comedy Flick Featuring Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen. Ibtimes.co.in (20 March 2015). Retrieved on 30 April 2015.
  34. ↑ Review : Ok Bangaram / Ok Kanmani / O Kadhal Kamnai Movie, Story, Public Talk. Aptoday.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2015.
  35. ↑ "Nithya Menon To Romance Kichcha Sudeep In 'Kotigobba 2'". Filmibeat. 30 July 2015.
  36. ↑ "Nithya Menen exclusive interview". The Times of India. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  37. ↑ "I cannot do a film like Thuppakki, Rohini, Appavin Meesai". Behindwoods. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  38. ↑ "Nithya Menen to star opposite Suriya in 24". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  39. ↑ "Nithya Menon in bilingual film". www.kaumudi.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  40. ↑ Nithya Menon opposite Vikram. Chitramala.in (14 December 2015). Retrieved on 2016-04-29.
  41. ↑ "The Hyderabad Times Film Awards 2011". The Times of India. 24 June 2012.
  42. ↑ "Aadminte Makan Abu chosen best film by Thikkurissy foundation". IBN Live. Press Trust of India. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  43. ↑ Telugu actress Nithya Menon. Telugugo.com (16 July 2011). Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  44. ↑ "BHARATA MUNI 25th FILM AWARDS 2011 ANNOUNCED". 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012.
  45. ↑ Smitha (13 February 2013) TTK Prestige-Vanitha film award declared. entertainment.oneindia.in

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