Rashmika Mandanna

Rashmika Mandanna (born 5 April 1996) is an Indian actress who works in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.

She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards and a Filmfare Award South.

She was featured by Forbes India in their 30 Under 30 list of 2024.

Rashmika Mandanna was born on 5 April 1996 into a Kodava Hindu family to Suman and Madan Mandanna in Virajpet, a town in Kodagu district of Karnataka and has a younger sister.

Her father is the owner of a coffee estate and a function hall called Serenity in Virajpet, Karnataka whilst her mother is a housewife.

Her family had struggled financially, having difficulties finding a home and being able to pay rent.

As a child, Rashmika attended Coorg Public School, a boarding school located in Gonikoppal, in which she excelled academically.

However, during this time period, she expressed feeling "misunderstood" because of communication challenges, resulting in her "crying in [her] room for hours" and struggling to connect with peers.

She credits her mother as the stabilising influence in her life, labelling her as her "biggest strength".

She studied for a bachelor's degree in Psychology, Journalism and English Literature at the M. S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Bangalore.

Despite initial hesitation about Rashmika's pursuit of an acting career due to her unassertive personality, her parents eventually granted her permission to follow through with it.

Rashmika made her acting debut with the Kannada film Kirik Party (2016), and had her first Telugu film release in the romantic comedy Chalo (2018).

In 2016, Rashmika made her acting debut in the Kannada romantic-comedy Kirik Party which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year in Kannada.

Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India praised her in the film stating, "Rashmika Mandanna as Saanvi is easily that pin-up girl in college and she breathes her path".

She earned the SIMA Award for the Best Debut Actress.

In 2017, she appeared in two commercially successful Kannada films, Anjani Putra and Chamak, however, in the former The Indian Express ' Manoj Kumar R thought Rashimka to be reduced to "a hero's arm candy", while in the latter Suresh commended her as a "revelation".

A turning point in her career came with the romance Geetha Govindam (2018), which earned her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – South.

She played the leading lady in the action comedies Devadas (2018) and Sarileru Neekevvaru (2020), and the romance Bheeshma (2020), with her performance in the latter earning critical acclaim.

Her first Tamil release came in the action drama film Sulthan (2021).

She gained wider success for playing the leading lady in the action film Pushpa: The Rise (2022).

Following a supporting role in the period drama Sita Ramam (2022), she expanded to Hindi cinema and had her highest-grossing release with the action thriller Animal (2023).

Expanding to Telugu cinema in 2018, Rashmika starred in the comedy-drama Chalo opposite Naga Shourya.

The Hindu’s Stivathsan Nadadhur reviewed, "the makers try to slot Rashmika Mandanna into the lively-bubbly space of a female lead and she makes a confident Telugu debut".

The film was a commercial success at the box office.

Rashmika then played the title role of Geetha, a strong-willed and independent woman in the Telugu Venky Kudumula-directed romantic comedy Geetha Govindam opposite Vijay Deverakonda.

Made on a shoestring budget, the film grossed over ₹132 crore, her highest grossing film to that point.

Despite this, the movie was subject to mixed reviews from critics with Firstpost 's Haricharan Pudipeddi stating, "another reason why the film works in spite of a very done-to-death plot is due to the refreshing on screen chemistry of Deverakonda and Rashmika, who make it an enjoyable watch".

She earned the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress - South along with the Zee Cine Telugu Award for Favourite Actress.

Rashmika's final release of 2018 was the Sriram Adittya directorial, Devadas.

Although a commercial success, she was said to be "deprived of speaking lines," by Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express.

In 2019, Rashmika returned to Kannada movies with the commercially successful Yajamana opposite Darshan.

Regardless of being awarded the SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Critics) – Telugu, the age gap between the two leads was criticised by Karthik Keramalu of Film Companion. Rashmika's second and ultimate film release of the year was the Telugu romantic action drama, Dear Comrade where she portrayed the role of a talented cricketer who, following sexist remarks and discrimination, loses her passion for the sport.

In preparation for the role, she underwent five months of "rigorous physical training" to authentically capture the body language of a cricketer before filming commenced.

The project marked her second with Devarkonda, however, they were not able to replicate the success of their previous film, ultimately failing at the box office thus marking Rashmika’s first commercial failure.

Along with this, the movie caused controversy over a scene featuring a kiss between Devarkonda and Rashmika.

She defended the scene in response to the public outcry stating, "the particular scene in the film demanded it and I should do justice to my role. No movie should be judged solely on the basis of a lip-lock scene. It should be seen as a whole".

Rashmika’s first of two releases in 2020 was opposite Mahesh Babu in the Telugu film Sarileru Neekevvaru, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing Telugu films.

Despite its success at the box office, the film faced criticism from critics with Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu noting, "this isn't a part by which Rashmika can be judged because all she gets to do is fawn over Mahesh".

In the same year, she starred in the Telugu film Bheeshma opposite Nithiin which received critical and commercial acclaim.

In 2021, her first release was in the Dhruva Sarja-starrer Pogaru.