Remembering actress Monisha Unni on her 29th death anniversary

Monisha Unni was one of the few actresses in the Malayalam film industry who has earned a name within a few active years in the Malayalam cinema. Securing the National Film Award for best actress at an age of 16 and that too for her debut film ‘Nakhakshathangal’ is something that any actor can only dream of. Also in her short career, she has worked along with several renowned directors such as Sibi Malayil, M.T Vasudevan Nair, Hariharan, Priyadarshan, Ajayan, and Kamal. On December 5th she was met with a car accident. Although her mother Sreedevi Unni, who was traveling alongside her, survived the accident, Monisha Unni succumbed to her injuries. Today, on her 29th death anniversary let’s look into the life journey of one of the most talented actresses Monisha Unni

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Director-writer M.T Vasudevan Nair was actually a family friend of Monisha and it was he who realized the acting potential of Monisha who was only around the age of 16 at that time. M.T Vasudevan Nair recommended her for the film ‘Nakhakshathangal’ which was directed by Hariharan and the script by M.T Vasudevan Nair itself. Monisha got the national award for the best actress for the film and later she also played a major female lead in the film ‘Perumthachan’ and the script for the film was written by M.T Vasudevan Nair itself.

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Before doing the feature film ‘Nakhakshathangal’, Monisha made her debut in a Tamil short film named ‘ Paavayya’ which was released in the year 1984. ‘Paavayya’ was a 16mm B/W short film which was directed by U.S Vaasan and the short film was based on a short story named ‘Vilaivu’ written by K.I Rajanarayanam.

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Monisha had an innate passion for dancing and went for professional training at the age of five. She delivered a two hours solo dance performance on ‘Shiva Varnam’ at the age of nine and it was her first stage performance too.

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Within a short span of six years, Monisha Unni appeared in over 25 films and most of the films were both critically acclaimed and appreciated by the audience. Some of her notable films include ‘Aryan’, ‘Adhipan’, ‘Kuruppinte Kanakku Pustakom’, ‘Perumthachan’, ‘Kadavu’ etc. Here unique acting style was one of the reasons why she was beloved by the audience

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Actress Monisha Unni was shooting for the film ‘Cheppadividya’ when she was met with a car accident. She was traveling with her Mother Sreedevi Unni from Trivandrum to Kochi to catch the morning flight. It was said that Monisha was sleeping on her mother’s lap when the car suddenly crashed into a bus that was coming at high speed. The unexpected turn of events led to the demise of one of the most talented actresses in the Malayalam film industry, Monisha Unni.

(Picture Courtesy : Instagram)