Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the

Tamil film industry Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood ...

. She has worked as an actress in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

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 ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

films. She made her cinematic debut with the 1980, Tamil film. ''

Nenjathai Killathe ''Nenjathai Killathe'' () is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mahendran. The film stars Suhasini, Sarath Babu, Pratap and Mohan. It focuses on a girl who is torn between the man she loved, and the ma ...

''. Suhasini then won

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

for her performance in '' Sindhu Bhairavi'' (1985). Suhasini has won 4 Filmfare Awards, 2 Kerala State Awards, 2 Tamilnadu State Awards and 2 Nandi Awards.

Early life

Her paternal cousins

Anu Hasan Anu Haasan (born Anuradha Chandrahaasan on 16 July 1970) is an Indian actress and TV anchor. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed '' Indira'' (1995) and has since appeared in many Tamil films, playing minor roles. She hosted the c ...

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Born in the Haasan family, she is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika Thakur. ...

and

Akshara Haasan Akshara Haasan is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil and Hindi-language films. The daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur, and the younger sister of Shruti Haasan, she made her film debut with the comedy drama ''Shamitabh' ...

have also since become actresses. Suhasini attended the Municipal Elementary School in Paramakudi, before moving to Madras aged 12 to live with her grandmother and uncle

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

Film career

As an actress

She made her film debut in 1980 with the Tamil movie ''

''. In her first movie itself, she won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The awards were first given in 1967 and discontinued after 1970. The awards were giv ...

. She was introduced to Malayalam cinema through Padmarajan's ''

Koodevide ''Koodevide?'' ( en, Where is Your Nest?) is a 1983 Malayalam drama film, written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Mammootty, Suhasini and Rahman, who makes his debut. The plot is loosely based on a Tamil novel by Vasanthi. The film was ...

'' (1983), which also featured

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

. She appeared in the

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fun ...

nominated feature film ''

Vanaprastham ''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...

'' (1999), which starred

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...

. She has acted with Vishnuvardhan in ''

Bandhana ''Bandhana'' is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around t ...

'' (1984), '' Suprabhatha'' (1988), ''

Muthina Haara ''Muttina Haara'' () is a 1990 Indian Kannada-language war-drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini Maniratnam in the lead roles. K. S. Ashwath, Kavya and Ramkumar feature in supporting roles. The film spe ...

'' (1990), ''

Himapatha ''Himapatha'' is a 1995 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Suhasini and Jaya Prada. The film was widely popular for the songs composed ...

'' (1995), ''

Hendithghelthini Hendthigheltheeni (Kannada: ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿಗ್ಹೇಳ್ತೀನಿ) is a 1998 Kannada comedy film written and directed by Dinesh Baboo. It stars Vishnuvardhan, Suhasini in leading roles. Kashi, Vanishree, Baby Ramya, Tara, B. V ...

'' (1998), ''

Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige ''Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige'' (), is a 2007 Kannada-language film directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar starring Vishnuvardhan. The film depicts the challenges faced by the people living in rural areas of India.http://www.rediff.com/movies/ ...

'' (2007) and '' School Master'' (2010). She won the

for her role in the 1985 Tamil film '' Sindhu Bhairavi'', directed by

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

. She has worked in '' Swathi'' (1984), Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal '' Ezhuthapurangal'' (1987), ''

Amrutha Varshini ''Amruthavarshini'' () is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film written, photographed and directed by Dinesh Baboo. It stars Ramesh Aravind, Suhasini and Sharath Babu, with Nivedita Jain appearing in a cameo role. It features Ram ...

'' (1997), ''

Nuvvu Naaku Nachav ''Nuvvu Naaku Nachav'' () is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar who co-wrote the film with Trivikram Srinivas. It is produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore under the Sri Sravanthi Movies studio. The fi ...

'' (2001), '' Theerthadanam'' (2001) and '' Gabbar Singh'' (2012) among others.

As a director

In 1991, Suhasini directed the anthology mini-series '' Penn'' (1991) shown on Madras Doordarshan. The series featured eight standalone episodes examining the lives of South Indian women, and starred several of her contemporaries such as

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films. She has won several ...

Raadhika Raadhika Sarathkumar is an Indian actress, entrepreneur, producer and politician who works predominantly in Tamil cinema along with Telugu cinema as well as a few Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. She is the founder and CP of the Radaan Media ...

and Amala as protagonists. Her film '' Indira'' was shown in film festivals globally in countries including Belarus and Japan. In November 1997, Suhasini directed a short television film titled ''Swayamvaram'' featuring

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is an Indian actress, model and singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, South cinema, and Television. Early life Suchitra was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra into a Telugu speaking family to V. Krishnamoorthi, former co ...

and

Rajiv Menon Rajiv Menon (born 20 April 1963) is an Indian filmmaker who has worked as a film director, director and cinematographer in several Indian regional film industries. After making his breakthrough as a film cinematographer with Mani Ratnam's drama ...

. The script had been written by Sujatha and commissioned by Revathi and

Suresh Menon Suresh Menon (born 10 January 1967) is an Indian actor, comedian and television personality. Career Menon has appeared in movies including Grand Masti, ''Phir Hera Pheri'', '' Partner'', ''Fool N Final'', '' Krazzy 4'', '' Deewane Huye Pagal' ...

. Suhasini directed a segment titled "Coffee, Anyone?" in

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

's ''

Putham Pudhu Kaalai ''Putham Pudhu Kaalai'' () is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language anthology film, consisting of five short film segments, directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj. The film features an ense ...

'' (2020). Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, the segment was set against the backdrop of the 21-day

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

in March 2020 in India, and featured Suhasini in the leading role alongside her cousins

and

, and her mother Komalam.

Other work

Suhasini and her husband

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 ...

have been involved in the running of their

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

Madras Talkies Madras Talkies is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by director Mani Ratnam and his brother G. Srinivasan as partners in 1995. Madras Talkies has actively involved in production of films and television serials, which are d ...

since 1997.

Honorary Consul

Suhasini was appointed the Honorary Consul Of the Grand Duchy Of Luxembourg in 2015. She held the post until 2020.

Goodwill and Brand Ambassador

Naam Foundation

Suhasini founded Naam Foundation in 2010 with the objective to empower single women.

Personal life

Suhasini married film director Mani Ratnam on 26 August 1988 and the couple has a son, Nandan, born in 1992.

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

– '' Sindhu Bhairavi'' (''

'') (1986) ;

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 ...

* Best Actress – Kannada – ''

Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu ''Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu'' () is a 1983 Indian Kannada language film directed by K. Balachander and produced by Chandulal Jain. It revolves around Kavitha (Suhasini) who wonders when she will have time to live her own life, as she is too busy ...

'' (1983) * Best Actress – Telugu – '' Swati'' (1984) * Best Actress – Kannada – '' Suprabhatha'' (1988) * Best Actress – Kannada – ''

'' (1990) ; Kerala State Film Awards *

– '' Ezhuthapurangal'' (1987) * Best Actress – '' Theerthadanam'' (2001) ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

– ''

'' (1980) ;

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 ...

– '' Swati'' (1984) * Best Supporting Actress – ''

'' (2001) ;

South Indian International Movie Awards 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 ...

* Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Kannada – ''

Sachin! Tendulkar Alla ''Sachin! Tendulkar Alla'' (English: Not Sachin Tendulkar) is a 2014 Indian Kannada film featuring Master Snehith, cricketers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, Suhasini Maniratnam and Sudharani. Directed by Mohan Shankar and produced by BN Ga ...

'' (2014)

Filmography

Kannada

Telugu

Tamil

Malayalam

English

Hindi

Television

* ''Hasini Pesum Padam'' (

Jaya TV Jaya TV HD is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV HD is also broadcast to the expatriate Tamil community via various media partnerships. Hemant Sahai of HSA had Jaya TV HD as his first client. Jaya TV ...

) as Host * ''Autograph'' (

) as Host * ''Weekend with Stars'' ( Zee Tamil TV) as Host * ''Ninaivu Kurippugal'' (

DD Podhigai DD Podhigai is Doordarshan's Tamil language channel. It is broadcast both terrestrially and via satellite. History Doordarshan Kendra Chennai's (''சென்னை தொலைக்காட்சி நிலையம்'') Regional sate ...

) as Host * ''Bigg Boss 4'' (

Star Vijay Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

) as Herself and Guest * ''

Modern Love Hyderabad ''Modern Love Hyderabad'' is an Indian Telugu-language romantic anthology streaming television series produced by Elahe Hiptoola and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, Venkatesh Maha, Uday Gurrala and Devika Bahudhanam. It stars Nithya Menen, A ...

'' (2022;

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

)

References

External links

*
Suhasini
on MFC {{DEFAULTSORT:Suhasini Mani Ratnam Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Tamil film directors Tamil-language film directors Indian women film directors Tamil screenwriters Kerala State Film Award winners 1961 births Living people Indian atheists Indian Tamil people Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Best Actress National Film Award winners M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute alumni Indian film actresses Nandi Award winners 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors Indian women screenwriters Actresses from Chennai Tamil actresses Hindi screenwriters 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Chennai Screenwriters from Chennai Women writers from Tamil Nadu Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Kannada cinema