Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna (born 8 October 1977) is an Indian actress, producer, and television presenter who works in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

and worked in American television. The daughter of actor

Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films in lead, sup ...

, Manchu holds a bachelor's degree in Theatre from

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and doctor ...

. She has garnered the

SIIMA Award South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

, two

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

, and two State

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

. Manchu made her acting debut with the American television series ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

'', where she played the minor role of Sarasvati Kumar, the love interest of James Lesure. She then appeared in one episode of each of the following series: ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'', ''Late Nights with my Lover'' and '' Mystery ER''. She has also appeared in commercials for

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

AARP AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazin ...

and

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

. In 2006, she directed, produced and acted in ''Perfect Lives'', a short film that was showcased at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theater as part of the ''La Femme Film Festival'' in Los Angeles. She made her Theatre debut as

Miss Trunchbull Agatha Trunchbull, also known as Miss Trunchbull or simply The Trunchbull, the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School (or Elementary School), is the main antagonist in Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel ''Matilda'' and its spinoffs: the 199 ...

in the adaptation of Roald Dahl's ''Matilda'', directed by

Taher Ali Baig Taher Ali Baig is an Indian playwright who has marked his directorial debut in theatre in 2014. He has written, directed and produced various house-full plays at venues like Bangalore Club, Secunderabad Club, Hyderabad Golf Club, Lamakaan ...

in 2016.

Early life and family

Lakshmi Manchu is the only daughter of actor

and Vidya Devi. She has two brothers

Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1982) is an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starred in ...

and

Manoj Manchu Manchu Manoj Kumar (born 20 May 1983) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. He first appeared at the age of ten as a child artist in '' Major Chandrakanth''. He made his film debut in a leading role with ''Donga Dongadi'' in 2004. He re ...

. She was born in Chennai and can speak Tamil, Telugu, and English. Manchu married Andy Srinivasan, an IT professional from Chennai in 2006. The couple has a daughter born through

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

. They are settled in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Career

Having started her career at the age of 4, Manchu has been in 20 feature films in India and few minor television roles in the U.S. She co-owns Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures along with her family members, a production company that has produced fifty-six feature films to date. In December 2011, she was signed on to portray a supporting role in

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

's Tamil film '' Kadal'' after a successful audition. Portraying the role of Celina, a poor village woman, she expected this film to be her breakthrough but hardly got offers in Tamil after the film's release.

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Producer

Television

Acting roles

As a host or judge

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchu, Lakshmi Living people Indian film actresses Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Television personalities from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Malayalam cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Oklahoma City University alumni Indian emigrants to the United States Nandi Award winners Indian women film producers Film producers from Andhra Pradesh People from Chittoor district Actresses in Tamil cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Businesswomen from Andhra Pradesh 1977 births South Indian International Movie Awards winners