Actor · Telugu cinema
Suhasini Maniratnam
Suhasini Maniratnam movies: 83 Telugu films on file, 1981–2024. Earliest on file: Kotha Jeevithalu (1981). Latest release: Honeymoon Express (21 June 2024).
- Films on file
- 83 (83 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1981–2024
- Born
- 15 August 1961 · August birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Gabbar Singh, Varudu, Legend
- Record
- Q467973 on Wikidata
Suhasini Maniratnam (née Charuhasan) is an Indian actress, director and producer who works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for K. Balachander’s Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1985), and in Telugu both the Nandi and Filmfare Best Actress awards for Swathi (1984). Her many Telugu films run from Kotha Jeevithalu (1981) to character roles in recent hits such as Gabbar Singh (2012).
She was born on 15 August 1961, according to Wikipedia and Wikidata. Wikipedia says she was born at Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, citing The New Indian Express; Wikidata lists Chennai. Her father is the lawyer and actor Charuhasan, and Kamal Haasan is her uncle. She moved to Madras at 12, studied at Queen Mary’s College, and became the first woman to graduate in cinematography from the Madras Film Institute.
Career
Director Mahendran spotted her while she was working as a camera assistant, and she made her debut in the Tamil film Nenjathai Killathe (1980), which won her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. Her first Telugu film on our records is Kotha Jeevithalu (1981), followed by Manchu Pallaki (1982), Challenge and Intiguttu (1984) with Chiranjeevi, and Swathi (1984).
Through the mid-1980s she was a leading Telugu heroine, in films such as Sravanthi (1985), Chantabbai and Sirivennela (1986), Lawyer Suhasini and Aradhana (1987), and Manchi Donga, Ramudu Bheemudu and Varasudochhadu (1988). In Malayalam she debuted in Padmarajan’s Koodevide (1983), and in Kannada she made several films with Vishnuvardhan.
Her later Telugu work is in character roles: Pelli Pandiri and Egire Paavurama (1997); Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001), for which she won a Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress; Rakhi (2006); Leader and Varudu (2010); Gabbar Singh, as the hero’s mother; Baadshah and Minugurulu (2013); a cameo in Legend (2014); Tholi Prema and Touch Chesi Chudu (2018); Yatra and Suryakantham (2019); and Entha Manchivaadavuraa (2020).
She directed the Doordarshan series Penn (1991) and the feature film Indira (1995). With her husband she has run the production company Madras Talkies since 1997, and she founded the Naam Foundation for single women in 2010. She was honorary consul of Luxembourg from 2015 to 2020.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Actress for Sindhu Bhairavi (Zoom).
- Nandi Awards: Best Actress for Swathi and Best Supporting Actress for Nuvvu Naaku Nachav, per Wikipedia.
- Filmfare Awards South: Best Actress – Telugu for Swathi, and three Best Actress – Kannada awards, per Wikipedia.
- Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress for Ezhuthapurangal and Theerthadanam, per Wikipedia.
Upcoming films
No upcoming Telugu film of hers is on our records. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch her films
- Entha Manchivaadavuraa: Disney+ Hotstar, from 16 February 2020, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Baadshah: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
- Varudu: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
She married the director Mani Ratnam on 26 August 1988, according to Wikipedia, citing The Times of India. They have a son, Nandan.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Suhasini Maniratnam appears in 83 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1981 to 2024. The earliest of them is Kotha Jeevithalu (1981), and the most recent release is Honeymoon Express (2024). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Gabbar Singh (2012), Varudu (2010) and Legend (2014). Other recent releases on file are Dhamaka (2022), Malli Modalaindi (2022) and Maestro (2021).
Brahmanandam and Chandra Mohan are the most frequent co-stars, each sharing 16 films with Suhasini Maniratnam, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (14) and Chiranjeevi (11). Among directors, A. Kodandarami Reddy cast Suhasini Maniratnam most often, in six films; next are S. V. Krishna Reddy (5) and Dasari Narayana Rao (3). Music on nine of them is by K. Chakravarthy, with Ilaiyaraaja (8) and Mani Sharma (8) next. Creative Commercials produced three of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 61 different directors, 43 music directors and 178 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 58 of them; they average 146 minutes, and the longest is Lakshmi Narasimha at 185 minutes. Nine of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1980s (30), 1990s (5), 2000s (22), 2010s (21) and 2020s (5). 1987 is the busiest single year, with six films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.