- Nithya Menen
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Nithya Menen Born Nithya Menen
Bangalore, Karnataka, India[1]Occupation Actress, playback singer Years active 2008–present Nithya Menen (Malayalam: നിത്യ മേനോന് )[2][3][4] is an Indian film actress, who works mainly in the Malayalam film industry. She has also acted in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films and tried playback singing.[5]
Contents
Early life
Nithya Menen was born in Bangalore, Karnataka into a Malayali family and studied journalism at the Manipal Institute of Communication.[6] She also studied in Bangalore. Her father's family is from Calicut and her mother's is from Palakkad. She once said in an interview that she never wished to become an actress but a journalist as she was "an idealist",[7][8] but felt journalism was "not what it used to be".[9] She then decided to become a filmmaker as she could express her ideas "better through films",[8][10] and enrolled for a course in cinematography at the FTI Pune. During the entrance examination, she met Nandini Reddy, who "brainwashed" [11] and convinced her to take up acting.[12] Nandini Reddy would later turn director and sign Nithya for the lead female role in her first project.
Career
Nithya Menon appeared first on screen as a child artiste when she was eight in the Indian English language film, Hanuman (1998), playing the younger sister to Tabu's character.[13] The 2008 off-beat film Aakasha Gopuram, directed by National Film Award-winning director K. P. Kumaran, marked her debut in a leading role, 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.[3][7] 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 her Kannada debut with the film Josh. She essayed 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.[2] The film opened to favorable 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.[22] Further more, she also sang two songs for the soundtrack album of the film, tuned by Kalyani Malik.[6][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.[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.
She is currently working on half-a-dozen projects; Karmayogi, a Malayalam adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet is in post-production stages, while she is currently shooting for the Telugu romance film Ishq and Aidondla Aidu in Kannada, for which she had sung and also choreographed one of the songs, titled "Payasa".[27] She has signed on two Malayalam projects, T. K. Rajeev Kumar's Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty, in which she portrays a village woman whose daily life is filmed and broadcast as a reality show for a month,[28] and Usthad Hotel to be directed by Anwar Rasheed.[29]
Filmography
Year Film Role Language Notes 1998 Hanuman English Cameo appearance
As child artiste2005 Seven O' Clock Anu Kannada 2008 Akasha Gopuram Hilda Varghese Malayalam 2009 Josh Meera Kannada Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Kannada Vellathooval Jiya Malayalam Kerala Cafe Nithya Malayalam (segment Happy Journey) Angel John Sofia Malayalam 2010 Apoorvaragam Nancy Malayalam Anwar Asna Malayalam 2011 Ala Modalaindi Nithya Telugu Winner, Nandi Award for Best Actress Urumi Bala Malayalam 180 Vidya Telugu Nootrenbadhu Tamil Violin Angel Malayalam Veppam Revathy Tamil Makaramanju Malayalam Karmayogi Moonumani Malayalam Post-production Ishq Telugu Post-production Aidondla Aidu Kannada Filming 2012 Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty Manju Malayalam Filming Usthad Hotel Malayalam Filming References
- ^ "Nithya Menon profile,photo gallery - South Indian Actresses". cinebasket. http://www.cinebasket.com/nithya-menon/. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
- ^ a b M. L. Narasimham (2010-07-22). "Arts / Cinema : Charm of romantic comedies". The Hindu. http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article528184.ece. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "'I'm not inclined towards commercial cinema' – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 2011-01-20. http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-south-nithya-menen-on-ala-modalaindi/20110120.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ PNG image. Retrieved on 2011-11-20.
- ^ "Nithya croons in Telugu – Malayalam Movie News". IndiaGlitz. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/article/65053.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "Nithya Menon | Ala Modalaindi Heroine Nithya Menon | Nani | BV Nandini Reddy – Interviews". CineGoer.com. 2010-11-21. http://www.cinegoer.com/telugu-cinema/interviews/interview-with-nithya-menon-211110.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "'I love to do intelligent films like Kerala Cafe' – Rediff.com Movies". Movies.rediff.com. 2010-03-03. http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/mar/03/slide-show-1-south-nithya-menon-on-apoorvaragam.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "Nithya plays a journalist in next – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2011-04-03. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-03/news-interviews/29374848_1_first-film-telugu-film-siddharth. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "I forced myself to learn Telugu: Nithya – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2011-02-22. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-02-22/news-interviews/28625193_1_films-ala-modalaindi-nithya-menon. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "I’ve never wanted to be an actress: Nithya – Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2010-07-30. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-07-30/news-interviews/28310303_1_film-nithya-menon-actress. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ I forced myself to learn Telugu: Nithya – Times Of India. Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2011-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-08-10.
- ^ Nithya plays a journalist in next – Times Of India. Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2011-04-03). Retrieved on 2011-08-10.
- ^ "Nithya Menen enters Kollywood |Nithya Menon|180|Ala Modalaindi | The New Indian Express". Expressbuzz.com. http://expressbuzz.com/entertainment/news/nithya-menen-enters-kollywood/262883.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "Akasha Gopuram Malayalam Movie Review – cinema preview stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes". IndiaGlitz. 2008-08-25. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/review/10003.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "Movie Review:Aakasha Gopuram". Sify.com. http://www.sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14744808&ctid=5&cid=2428. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ G S KUMAR, TNN, Apr 10, 2009, 12.19pm IST (2009-04-10). "Josh movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/kannada/Josh/moviereview/4384074.cms. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "Josh Kannada Movie Review – cinema preview stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes". IndiaGlitz. 2009-04-14. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/kannada/review/10497.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "Movie Josh Review | Shivamani | Rakesh Amit Vishnuprasanna | Akshay Alok Jagannath – Oneindia Entertainment". Entertainment.oneindia.in. 2009-04-13. http://entertainment.oneindia.in/kannada/reviews/2009/movie-josh-review-130409.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b "'Overwhelmed by response for Ala Modalaindi' – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-south-nandini-reddys-debut-film-ala-modalaindi/20110406.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "Ala Modalaindi film review – Telugu cinema Review – Nani & Nitya Menon". Idlebrain.com. 2011-01-21. http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-alamodalaindi.html. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "Ala Modalaindi Review - Ala Modalaindi Movie Review on fullhyd.com". Fullhyderabad.com. http://www.fullhyderabad.com/profile/movies/4021/2/ala-modalaindi-movie-review. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ Nandi awards 2010 announced – Telugu cinema news. Idlebrain.com (2011-08-05). Retrieved on 2011-08-10.
- ^ "First look: Nandini Reddy's Ala Modalaindi – Rediff.com Movies". Movies.rediff.com. 2010-06-21. http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jun/21/south-ala-modalaindi-first-look.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b c "'Urumi was difficult to shoot for' – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 2011-03-31. http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-south-nithya-menon-on-urumi/20110331.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ "Movie Review:Urumi- Review". Sify.com. http://www.sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14966427&ctid=5&cid=2428. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ a b Nithya Menen: The character I play in 180 is like me – Rediff.com Movies. Rediff.com (2011-06-22). Retrieved on 2011-08-10.
- ^ "'I am enjoying my own space'". Rediff.com. 2011-07-01. http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-south-interview-with-nithya-menen/20110622.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
- ^ When life becomes a TV show for Nithya Menen - Times Of India. Times of India. 31 October 2011. Retrieved on 2011-11-20.
- ^ Nithya Menen forges ahead - Times Of India. Times of India. 13 November 2011. Retrieved on 2011-11-20.
External links
Categories:- Indian actors
- Indian film actors
- Malayali actors
- Tamil film actors
- Living people
- 1988 births
- Malayalam film actors
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