Manju Warrier

Manju Warrier (born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema.

Manju Warrier was born on 10 September 1978 in Nagercoil city of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu in a Malayali family.

Her family is originally from Pullu village in Thrissur district of Kerala.

Her father, T. V. Madhavan, worked as an accountant at Shakthi Finance's Nagercoil regional office and her mother, Girija (from Thiruvilwamala) was a house wife.

She has an elder brother, Madhu Wariar, who is also an actor and producer.

Warrier did her primary schooling from CSI Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Nagercoil.

After her father was promoted, they returned to Kerala and settled in Kannur district.

She studied at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Kannur and later at Chovva Higher Secondary School.

Manju first appeared in a television serial Moharavam which was telecast on Doordarshan.

She made her acting debut in the Malayalam film, Sakshyam (1995) at the age of 17.

At the age of 17, she debuted in the film Sakshyam (1995).

Her notable films include Thooval Kottaram (1996), Sallapam (1996), Ee Puzhayum Kadannu (1996), and Aaraam Thampuran (1997).

A year later, she acted in the movie Sallapam (1996), co-starring Dileep, whom she later married.

Though her first stint in the industry was only for 3 years, Manju featured in 20 Malayalam films that won her numerous accolades from audiences and critics alike.

She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Ee Puzhayum Kadannu (1996).

Manju won four consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Ee Puzhayum Kadannu in 1996, Aaram Thampuran and Kaliyattam in 1997, Kanmadam in 1998 and Pathram in 1999.

Most of her movies were commercially successful as well, with Aaram Thampuran and Pathram being the highest grossing Malayalam films in the years 1996 and 1999 respectively.

Her last film before she took a sabbatical from films was Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu.

Her other note-worthy films during these years include: Aaraam Thampuran (1997) and Kanmadam (1998) with Mohanlal, Ee Puzhayum Kadannu and Kudamattam with her now ex-husband Dileep, Kaliyattam (1997), Summer in Bethlehem (1998), Pranayavarnangal (1998) and Pathram (1999) with Suresh Gopi, and Dilliwala Rajakumaran (1996), Kaliveedu (1996), Thooval Kottaram (1996), Irattakuttikalude Achan (1997) and Krishnagudiyil Oru Pranayakalathu (1997) with Jayaram.

In 1998, Manju was the lead in the M T Vasudevan Nair film, Daya that went onto win several awards.

Her performance in the film Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu (1999) won a special mention from the jury for the National Film Awards.

Manju took a hiatus from films after marriage to Dileep and on 24 October 2012, Manju returned to the stage to perform a Kuchipudi dance recital at the Navaratri Nritha Mandapam in the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, in front of hundreds of spectators.

Later in July 2013, she acted in a commercial for Kalyan Jewellers with Amitabh Bachchan.

She also acted alongside Nagarjuna Akkineni, Prabhu Ganesan and Shiva Rajkumar in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada versions of the same ad-film.

She continued to appear in many advertisements and stage performances.

The same year she published a book titled Sallapam that was "a series of memoirs of her life".

She made her much awaited comeback to movies after 15 years in 2014 with Rosshan Andrrews's How Old Are You?.

Manju's next film was Sathyan Anthikad's Ennum Eppozhum which reunited her with Mohanlal after a gap of 17 years.

Her next project was Rani Padmini by Aashiq Abu along with Rima Kallingal, released in October 2015.

Despite not faring well at the box office, it has been considered an 'underrated gem' of a movie that celebrates female friendships.

She appeared as an animator in Jo and the Boy, her last release of the year.

In 2016, she had Rajesh Pillai's Vettah, Karinkunnam 6's and Shakuntala, a Drama

In 2017, Warrier had C/O Saira Banu, Villain, and Udaharanam Sujatha.

In 2018, Manju appeared in the lead role in the Kamala Surayya biopic Aami.

Her next film for release was the musical-romantic-comedy drama Mohanlal, in which she played a die-hard fan of Mohanlal.

Though the movie received mixed responses, the actress was appreciated for her comic timing and for understanding how a 'crazy fan lives and breathes.' Her final release of the year was the much-hyped fantasy drama Odiyan, which has the highest opening day collection for a film at the Kerala box office and for a Malayalam film at the worldwide box office.

The movie opened to mixed reviews, but Warrier was praised for being uniformly good as the lonesome Prabha 'who has always known that her fate was written the moment she was born into a particular social class and often summons up the spirit to defy that written word.' She received her sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Aami.

Her first release in 2019 was Lucifer directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Manjusha Radhakrisnan wrote in her review, "To watch top Malayali talent Manju Warrier as a grieving daughter of a political leader, who dies suddenly, leaving a political vacuum in her family and her political outfit, is pure gold. Warrier as a troubled mother and wife Priyadarshani — who unearths a string of dark secrets within her family circles — is heartbreaking. In limited screen-time, she comes across as a paragon of vulnerability and strength — an indication to the strength of her acting prowess."

Lucifer went on to become the first Malayalam film to earn more than ₹200 crore, and is currently the third highest-grossing Malayalam film.