Monica (born Rekha Maruthiraj) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n actress, who starred predominantly in

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

films. A child actor in the early 1990s, she mostly appeared in supporting roles, before taking lead roles from the late 2000s on. She is probably best known for performances in the films '' Azhagi'', ''

Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi ''Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language historical-comedy film written and directed by Chimbu Deven. The film stars Vadivelu in his debut as a solo lead actor. Monica and Tejashree play the female leads, while Mano ...

'' and ''

Silandhi ''Silandhi'' () is a 2008 Tamil-language erotic thriller film. Directed by debutant Aathiraj. The movie stars Munna and Monica in lead roles and Riyaz Khan in supporting role. The movie was later dubbed in Telugu as ''Erra Gulabi'' and in Hin ...

''. In 2012, she changed her name to Parvana for

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

films. In 2014, she converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, changing her name to M. G. Rahima, and announced that she had quit acting.

Personal life

On 30 May 2014, Monica embraced

islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

with her new name M. G. Raheema where M is Maruthi Raj (father) and G is Gracy (mother). Monika's father is

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and mother is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Rahima married Malik, a Chennai-based entrepreneur who hails from Salem. Malik is into import and export of electronic items.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monica Indian film actresses Tamil actresses Living people Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Actresses from Tamil Nadu People from Tirunelveli Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Child actresses in Tamil cinema Child actresses in Malayalam cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Tamil television Converts to Islam