@#@*&Meena (actress)***&

17 min readDec 18, 2020

Meena is an Indian film actress who predominantly works in the South Indian film industry. Meena debuted as a child artist in the Tamil film Nenjangal in 1982 and has later appeared in films produced by various regional industries.[2] Meena has been a superstar for over two decades by pairing up with every bigstar down south [3]

She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and several Hindi films. She is among the few actresses who have been successful in all the South Indian languages. She was one of the leading actresses of Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu cinema in the 90s.[4] She has established herself as a great performer through the decades in the South Indian film industry. In addition to acting, Meena is also a playback singer, TV judge and occasional dubbing artist.[1] She has won two Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Nandi Award for Best Actress, and five Cinema Express Awards. In 1998 the government of Tamil Nadu honoured her with the Kalaimamani award for her acting talent.

Personal life[edit]

Meena was born in Chennai, She was brought up in Chennai by her Tamil father Durairaj and Malayali mother Rajamallika from Chirakkal Palace-Kannur district Kerala.[5] She was enrolled in Vidyodhya schools in Chennai. Because of her busy acting schedule, she had to discontinue schooling in the 8th standard, later taking up private coaching and completing the 10th standard in vidyodaya schools in Chennai. She went on to get her master’s in History from the University of Madras through the open university system in 2006.[citation needed] Meena is a trained Bharathanatyam dancer and speaks six languages: Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English.

Meena married Vidyasagar, a Bangalore-based software engineer, on 12 July 2009 at Arya Vysya Samaj Kalyana Mandapam. The couple later visited Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh. The couple came back to Chennai to hold a reception at Mayor Ramanathan Chettiar Hall, in which all leading southern Indian actors participated. The couple have a daughter, “Nainika Vidyasagar” (born 1 January 2011),[6][7] who made her acting debut at the age of 5 in Theri (2016) alongside actor Vijay.

Career[edit]

Child artist[edit]

Meena started her career in 1982 as a child artist in the film Nenjangal, featuring Sivaji Ganesan in the lead role after Ganesan saw her at a birthday party.[8] Meena was still very young at that time. Her mother Rajamallika brought her to A.M. Ratnam’s office for an offer. Even though she looked chubby, they felt she fitted the bill. She has acted in several films along with Dr. Sivaji Ganesan and Rajinikanth as a child artist.[8] Meena acted in Kollywood by appearing as a child artiste alongside Rajinikanth in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth, in which she acted as a terminally ill child who warms up to Rajinikanth — that became a major pointer in her career growth. After the success of that movie, she became a child artist in South Indian movies. She says of Ganesan that “I feel extremely proud to have been discovered by the legend”. She appeared in over 45 films as a child.[8]

Lead female roles[edit]

Meena has been one of the top star pairing up with every big star down South .[9] She made her debut in Telugu beside Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu, where Meena played his granddaughter Seeta. The film was showcased among the Indian panorama section, at the 1991 International Film Festival of India. The film was made under the banner VMC Productions. She won Nandi Award for Best Actress from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu.

While she made her debut as a leading lady in Tamil film Oru Pudhiya Kadhai and played heroine roles in more than three dozen films, and also starred in Malayalam and Kannada films, her first role in Malayalam that gained attention was in Sandhwanam directed by Sibi Malayil in 1991. She played Suresh Gopi’s daughter in the film. Its success made her famous, which led to roles with senior Malayalam heroes. Meena has expressed a wish to do more films in Malayalam.[8] She says of her transition from being a child star to being a heroine that “Memories as a child are fabulous and I still cherish them. And it is still more special as that phase is over. Now, I am enjoying my stint as a heroine.”[8] She made her Bollywood debut opposite Chunky Pandey in the comedy film Parda Hai Parda (1992).

She has played the role of the leading heroines in Telugu and Tamil films since the early 1990s, often playing characters with unidimensional personality with no negativity or gray shades. She has generally avoided glamorous roles though she has acted in a few like Maaman Magal in Tamil opposite Sathyaraj and She was part of Successful movies Like Putnanja, Swathi Mutthu in Kannada.She has worked with Ravichandran, Vishuvardhan in Kannada Cinema. In the Kannada remake of Autograph as My Autograph, were directed, produced and enacted by Sudeep. In this film, Meena starred Sneha’s role of Divya.

Meena has the unique distinction of starring opposite legendary actors of different generations across various languages. She has acted with Rajinikanth, Dr. Kamal Haasan, Dr. Mohanlal, Dr. Mammootty, Chiranjeevi, Dr. Vishnuvardhan, Krishna, Balakrishna, Ravichandran and other stars like Vijayakanth, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Sathyaraj, Prabhu Deva, Sarathkumar, K. Bhagyaraj, Jayaram, Suresh Gopi, Prashanth,Harish Kumar, Kichcha Sudeep, Raviteja. She had hits with the films Nattamai film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It starred Sarath Kumar, Meena and Kushboo in the lead roles. The film was successful and completed a 175-day run at the box office (1994). She just grabs the continuous offer and the opportunity to act in films like Avvai Shanmughi (1996) with Kamal Haasan, Porkkaalam with Murali (1997), Bharathi Kannamma (1997) with Parthiban and so on. Telugu audience remembers her for a variety of roles that called for mature acting that seemed tailor-made for her. The peppy girl who wins over her unrelenting grandfather with her endearing ways in Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu, the protected sister in Chanti the innocent housewife in Sundarakanda, the renowned poet and devotee ‘Tarigonda Vengamamba’ are but just few of the many characters she played with relative ease and subtle charm. The combo of Victory Venkatesh and Meena is said to be one of the most successful combinations in Tollywood. They have 5 Blockbuster hits to their credit.[10] Another excellent performance in the movie Rhythm (2000). This movie makes the most impact on multiple viewings. Meena was an exceptionally brilliant performance in each scene. Strangely enough, she looks the best in this movie in terms of makeup and this movie had her in her best performance to date. While she picked up Best Actress at the Cinema Express Awards.

Meena has acted both as a child and as an adult opposite Rajinikanth. Her first hit with Rajinikanth was Yejaman, where she plays the role of Vaitheeswari, a simple village girl. She always played the quiet, serious woman. In one Interview Meena said that Rajinikanth was shocked to see her fan following in Telugu after the release of her film Chanti. When Meena and Rajinikanth were shooting for Yejaman in Andhra, she was surrounded by a huge number of fans- mostly female- which shocked Rajnikanth. In one interview in 1992 Rajinikanth himself said that Meena is a superstar in Telugu[11] In her follow-up movie with Rajini, Veera, Meena again dazzled. Romantic-comedy film. Rajinikanth, Meena and Roja (actress) in the lead role. This film was controversial for its climax but went on to become one of the highest-grossing films in 1994. But the film that brought her true recognition and fame was Muthu, one of Rajini’s biggest hits. The movie was successful across Japan. Ranganayaki as the talkative, cheeky street theatre actress won the hearts of the audience. The film was directed by K. S. Ravikumar and produced by K. Balachander, and became the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese, as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja.[47] [48] The film grossed a record $1.6 million in Japan in 1998 and was responsible for creating a large Japanese fan-base for Rajinikanth and Meena. Following the release of Muthu in Japan and its commercial success, Meena’s popularity rose in Japan.

Meena agreed to appear in as herself in the K. S. Ravi — directed film Shahjahan starring Vijay (actor). She has acted with almost all leading actors in South India.[citation needed] A role in Kadha Parayumbol and in its Tamil and Telugu remakes, Kuselan and Kathanayakudu respectively, were well received by audiences. Meena has expressed regret about Kuselan, after her part was overshadowed.[12]

Meena has said that her favorite roles were in Bharathi Kannamma and Shock in Tamil, Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu in Telugu, Sandhwanam in Malayalam and Swathi Muthu in Kannada, “though every film of mine is close to my heart.”[8] Meena became heroine in 1990 and even 2020, she has the highest-grossing movies as lead heroine in Malayalam, and making her most promising heroine after 30 years also.[13][circular reference]. No other heroine has that credit in the history of Indian cinema.

Recent roles[edit]

Meena’s releases in 2009 were Mariyadhai with Vijayakanth, directed by Vikraman, who earlier directed hits like Poove Unakkaga (1996) and Vanathai Pola (2000).[14] and Katha, Samvidhanam: Kunchacko with Sreenivasan.[15] She played in Telugu as Saint Vengamamba in Tarigonda Vengamamba, directed by Uday Bhaskar.[16]

In 2011, she played the role of Narain’s sister in the film Thambikottai, in which Poonam Bajwa is the pair for Narain. Other actors in this movie include Prabhu and Santhanam. Her role in this movie was very good and well accepted.[17][18][19]

After marriage, she paired with Ramesh Aravind in the film Hendtheera Darbar, which was a remake of Varavu Ettana Selavu Pathana that starred Nassar, Radhika, Goundamani, Senthil, Vadivelu and Kovai Sarala.

In 2012, Udaya Bhaskar made a film titled Sri Vasavi Vaibhavam with Meena playing the Goddess’ role in the film which also stars Suhasini, Priyahassan, Suman, Saikiran, Kannada Sridhar, Raghunatha Reddy, and others. Meena plays the lead role in this Telugu devotional film. This marks her re-entry to films after a long period. After being a mother, we will get to see the sizzling Meena in this one. There are many graphic-significant episodes. The film has music by Arjun Sharma. Cinematography is by Raman Ji. Directed by Uday Baskar. The film is said to be released around mid-August.[20]

Meena, all-time favorite actress of actor Vijay, was rumored to have been roped into a movie name Sattam oru iruttarai, which was a remake of the movie under the same name by his father and director, S. A. Chandrasekhar. The movie is said to be produced by actor’s Vijay new launched production house, Ghilli Productions. But since Meena refused the offer, Reema Sen was finalized to play the role of a Police Officer in this film and the sister to the hero.[21] [22] [23]

The actress was approached by a Mollywood director to play Lal’s wife with a woman-centric film with several actresses, including Rima Kallingal. “It had an interesting subject, but I wanted something more for my character. There were a lot of women in the film and everybody’s got a story. I was more interested in a story focussing on a single woman character and that’s why I haven’t signed up for the movie,” she says.[24] Meena who had taken a temporary break from acting will be facing the arc lights once again. It seems she has agreed to star in an ad film, and she is currently shooting near Kovalam with Prakash Raj. The commercial is being directed by producer Siva. Meanwhile, Meena is currently in a Telugu film, Sri Vasavi Vaibhavam. She had played a cameo in J.K. Bharavi’s Jagadguru Adi Shankara-devotional film lastly and did justice to her roles. [25] [26]

After a brief hiatus, Meena returned to Malayalam cinema and will be seen playing the role of wife to Mohanlal in Drishyam (2013). Directed by Jeethu Joseph, she will be portraying the role of a mother of two daughters, of which the elder is pursuing her plus two. The actress will also be seen in Pramod Payyanur’s much-awaited movie, Balyakalasakhi alongside Mammootty. The actress confirmed that she would be playing Drishyam’s remake in Telugu with Venkatesh.[27] Meena will playing a leading role in Allari Naresh’s upcoming movie Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu.[28][29]

Other work[edit]

Music composing[edit]

Meena has been a playback singer for some albums with actor Manoj. She sang a song for the Tamil film Kadhal Sadugudu.[30] Meena has composed music and sung and recorded two pop albums, 16 Vayathinile, and Kadhalism, which she began recording in 2001 with actor Vikram.[31][32] Meena has been a playback singer in the music of D. Imman in the movie sena and the song is “indru intha kalayil en nenjil echo aachu”, a super hit song.

Dubbing[edit]

Meena dubbed for Cheran’s movie Pokkisham. Meena has rendered voice for Padmapriya Janakiraman.[33]

Awards and honours[edit]

YearAwardAward CategoryAwarded Work1998Tamil Nadu Government Honour KalaimamaniArt — Contributions to Tamil film Industry1997Filmfare Awards South Best Tamil Actress Bharathi Kannamma2003Filmfare Awards South Best Kannada Actress Swathi Muthu [34]1993Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress Ejamaan1994Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress Sethupathi IPS1997Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress Porkkaalam2002Tamil Nadu State Film AwardsTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best ActressIvan1991Nandi Award for Best ActressNandi Award for Best Actress Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu1992Nandi Award for Best ActressNandi Award for Best ActressRajeswari Kalyanam1994Cinema Express Awards Cinema Express Award for Best Actress — Tamil Nattamai1995Cinema Express AwardsCinema Express Award for Best Actress — TamilMuthu1996Cinema Express AwardsCinema Express Award for Best Actress — TamilAvvai Shanmugi1997Cinema Express AwardsCinema Express Award for Best Actress — TamilBharathi Kannamma2000Cinema Express AwardsCinema Express Award for Best Actress — TamilRhythm2009Ugadi Puraskar awards
TSR TV9 awardsBest Telugu Actress
Special jury awardTarikonda Venkamamba [35][36]2013Asianet Film Awards
Vayalar AwardsBest Character Actress
Vayalar Film Award for Best ActressDrishyam [37]2014TSR-TV9 Film AwardsSpecial Jury Award for Best ActressDrushyam [38]

Filmography[edit]

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been releasedYearMovie titleRoleLanguageNotes1982NenjangalKidnapped childTamilChild artiste (debut)Enkeyo Ketta KuralDaughter to RajinikanthTamilChild artisteTheerpugal ThiruththapadalamDaughter to SivakumarTamilChild artisteParvaiyin MarupakkamDaughter to the PriestTamilChild artiste1983Thandikkapatta NiyayangalPlayful childTamilChild artisteSumangaliDoll-selling girlTamilChild artisteSiripuram MonagaduBaby MeenaTeluguChild artiste1984ThiruppamBaby MeenaTamilChild artisteIllalu PriyuraluBaby MeenaTeluguChild artisteYaadgarBaby MeenaHindiChild ArtistBava MaradalluBaby MeenaTeluguChild artisteKode TrachuTeluguChild artisteAnbulla RajinikanthRosyTamilChild artisteOru Kochukatha Aarum Parayatha KathaRajaniMalayalamChild artisteManasariyatheMinimolMalayalamChild artiste1985Panneer NadhigalTamilChild artisteUyire UnakkagaNadhiya as a childTamilChild artisteLakshmi VanthachuPlayful childTamilChild artisteRendu Rella AaruBaby MeenaTeluguChild artisteKhooniBaby MeenaTeluguChild artiste1986SirivennelaBaby MeenaTeluguChild artiste1988VasanthiBaby MeenaTamilChild artiste1989Prajala ManishiTeluguChild artiste1990Oru Pudhiya KadhaiMahaTamilDebut as heroineNavayugamSumathiTeluguKartavyamKarunaTeluguDharamaTeluguIndra BhavanamTelugu1991En Rasavin ManasileCholaiammaTamilSeetharamayya Gari ManavaraluSeethaTeluguIdhaya OonjalChithraTamilIdhaya VaasalVaaniTamilSandhwanamRajalakshmiMalayalam JagannatakamJhansiTeluguChengalva PudandaTelugu1992ChantiNandiniTeluguParda Hai PardaMayaHindi Allari PillaNandiniTeluguAllari MoguduNeelambariTeluguSundarakandaNanchariTeluguPresident Gari PellamSwapnaTeluguPellam Chepte VinaliGeethaTeluguBangaru MaamaKasthuriTeluguMoratodu Naa MoguduTeluguAswamedhamDr. BharatiTelugu1993Muta MesthriBuchammaTeluguYejamanVaitheeswari VaanavaraayanTamilAbbaigaruSudhaTeluguAllari AlluduSandhyaTeluguRajeswari KalyanamRajeshwariTeluguKonguchatu KrishnaduTelugu1994Sethupathi IPSChandramathiTamilVeeraDevayanaiTamilThai MaamanMeenaTamilRajakumaranSelviTamilNattamaiMeenaTamilPunya Bhoomi Naa DesamSwathiTeluguAnga RakshakuduMeenuTeluguBhale PellamBharathiTeluguBobbili SimhamVenkatalakshmiTelugu1995Maaman MagalPriyaTamilOru Oorla Oru RajakumariLakshmi PrabhaTamilMarumaganManjulaTamilCoolieVimalaTamilSeral Irumboraiyin Tamil KadhalTamilNadodi MannanMeenakshi,
PriyaTamilMuthuRanganayakiTamilAalu MagaluTeluguChilakapachcha KaapuramRadhaTeluguPutnanjaRoseKannada1996SengottaiMeenaTamilAvvai ShanmugiJanakiTamil1997VallalAnnamTamilMommagaKannadaCheluvaMeenaKannadaPorkkaalamMaragathamTamilPasamulla PandiyareVellayammaTamilBharathi KannammaKannammaTamilVarnapakittuSandra,
AlinaMalayalamMuddula MoguduSirishaTeluguPanjaramTelugu1998UlavuthuraiMeenaTamilNaam Iruvar Nammaku IruvarInduTamilKusruthi KuruppuMeeraMalayalamGillikajjaluSatya bhamaTeluguSuryavamsamSwapnaTeluguHarichandraNandhiniTamil1999Sneham KosamPrabhavatiTeluguPeriyannaShenbagamTamilIraniyanPonniTamilAnandha PoongatreMeenakshiTamilOlympiyan Anthony AdamAngelMalayalamFriendsPadminiMalayalamKrishna BabuRamaTeluguBobbili VamshamTeluguVelugu NeedaluTeluguUnnaruge Naan IrundhalMahalakshimi (Maha)TamilManam Virumbuthe UnnaiPriyaTamil2000Vanathai PolaGowri MuthuTamilPape Naa PranamPriyaTeluguPalayathu AmmanPalayathu AmmanTamilVetri Kodi KattuValli MuthuramanTamilDoublesMeenaTamilRhythmChitraTamilMaayiBhuvaneswariTamilDreamsNirmala MathanMalayalamMaa AnnayyaWifeTeluguThenaliMeena (Herself)TamilSpecial AppearanceAnbudanShanthiTamilGuest appearance2001RishiInduTamilCensorHindiGuest appearanceCitizenSevaliTamilSri ManjunathaGoddess ParvathiKannada
TeluguRakshasa RajavMeeraMalayalamAmmayi KosamAnjaliTeluguDasuTeluguShahjahanMeenaTamilSpecial appearanceGrama DevatheAngala ParameswariKannada2002Angala ParameswariAngala Parameswari AmmanTamilDhayaThulasiTamilSimhadriya SimhaKannadaDevanUmaTamilIvanMeena KumariTamilNamma Veetu KalyanamMeenaTamilPadai Veetu AmmanPadai Veetu Amman,
Muthu MaariammanTamilVillainThangamTamil2003PaaraiMallikaTamilSwathi MuthuLalithaKannadaMr. BrahmachariGangaMalayalamSimhachalamSimhachalam’s wifeTeluguGame for LoveKannada2004ShockMaliniTamilPuttintiki Ra ChelliWifeTeluguAnbu SagotharanTamilBharath Simha ReddyTeluguSwamyTeluguGowdruKannadaGuest appearanceAalukkoru AasaiEshwariTamilNatturajavuMayaMalayalam2005Mahasadhvi MallammaMallammaKannadaKannammaKannammaTamilPrayatnamTeluguUdayananu TharamMadhumathi UdayabhanuMalayalamChandrolsavamIndulekhaMalayalam2006My AutographDivyaKannadaKarutha PakshikalSuvarnnaMalayalam2007Kadha ParayumbolSridevi BalanMalayalamBlack Cat [39]MeenakshiMalayalamGoalSam’s motherMalayalamCameo2008KuselanSridevi BalakrishnanTamilKathanayakuduSreedeviTeluguMagic LampAnupamaMalayalamManidhanTamil2009MariyadhaiRadhaTamilKatha, Samvidhanam: KunchackoAnn MaryMalayalamVengamambaSaint VengamambaTelugu2010DasannaMalliTeluguHendtheer DarbarRadhaKannada2011ThambikottaiShanmugapriyaTamil2012Sri Vasavi VaibhavamTelugu2013Sri Jagadguru Aadi SankaraGangadeviTeluguDrishyamRani GeorgeMalayalam2014BalyakalasakhiMajeed’s motherMalayalamDrushyamJyothiTelugu2015Mama Manchu Alludu KanchuSuryakanthamTelugu2017Katha Veendum ParayumbolSridevi BalanMalayalamMunthirivallikal ThalirkkumbolAnnyammaMalayalam2018SaakshyamViswa’s motherTelugu2020ShylockLakshmi AyyanarMalayalam2021Drishyam 2

Rani GeorgeMalayalamFilming[40]Annaatthe

TamilFilming

Television[edit]

YearTitleRoleLanguageChannelNotes1990Anbulla Amma (co-starring with actress Manorama)UnknownTamil DoordarshanTV serial2005HousefullShow HostTamil Jaya TVTV show2006–2008LakshmiLakshmiTamil Sun TVTV serial2007Mastana Mastana season 1JudgeTamil Sun TVDance show2009KalyanamMeera/SujathaTamil Sun TVTV serialTarikonda VenkamambaTarikonda VenkamambaTelugu SVBC TVTV serialBoys VS Girls season 2JudgeTamil Vijay TVDance show2011Jodi Number One Season 5Special JudgeTamil Vijay TV2012Nee Kongu Bangaram GanuHostTelugu MAA TVTV showVeeraJudgeTelugu ETV TeluguDance showSuper KudumbamJudgeTamil Sun TVTV showAnubandhaluSharadaTelugu Gemini TVTV serial2013Bharthakkanmarude SradhakkuJudgeMalayalam AsianetTV show2014Super KutumbamJudgeTelugu Gemini TVDance show2015Manada Mayilada season 10JudgeTamil Kalaignar TV2016Dance DanceSpecial JudgeKannada Star Suvarna2017Junior SeniorJudgeTamil Zee TamilReality show2019LolluppaJudgeTamil Sun TVTV ProgrammeExtra JabardasthJudgeTelugu ETV TeluguKaroline KamakshiKamakshiTamil Zee5Web Series