Biography

Mamta Mohandas ( മംമ്ത മോഹന്‍ദാസ്) (born 14 November 1985 in Bahrain) is an Indian film actress and playback singer. She has mainly acted in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil films.

Background

Mamta was born in Bahrain into a Malayali family. She attended the Indian School, Bahrain until 2002. She pursued a bachelor's degree at Mount Carmel College Bangalore. She modeled for print ads for companies such as IBM and Kalyan Kendra and modeled on the ramp for the Mysore Maharajah and Raymonds. Mamta is trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music.

 

Career - (Acting)

Mamta débuted in the 2005 Malayalam film Mayookham, directed by Hariharan. Although the film did not do well at the box office, Mamta attracted attention for her sensitive portrayal of Indira.
Subsequently, she acted alongside Mammootty in Bus Conductor, with Suresh Gopi in the films Adbutham (2006) and Lanka (2006), and alongside Jayaram in Madhuchandralekha (2006). She also played the heroine in Baba Kalyani with Mohanlal. Later that year, she debuted in the Tamil film industry, starring in the Karu Pazhaniappan-directed film Sivappathigaram opposite Vishal Krishna, which turned out to be only an average grosser.

In 2007 she acted with Mammootty in the blockbuster film Big B. She eventually stepped into the Telugu film industry as well, when she appeared in a supporting role in the film Yamadonga, directed by SS Rajamouli. The film became one of the biggest hits of the year. She had lent her voice for a couple of songs in this film too. In 2008, she appeared in 7 films, predominantly in Telugu-language films. Her first release was her debut Kannada film Gooli. She then starred her first in the film Krishnarjuna, essaying the lead female role finally, which however did not well at the box office. Victory was her next assignment as lead actress, but that film also failed at the box office, following which she appeared in a cameo role in her only Tamil release that year, Kuselan, alongside Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. Three more Telugu releases featured Mamta, including Homam, directed by JD Chakravarthy and Srinu Vaitla's King (2008 film) opposite Nagarjuna. In both these films she also performed as a playback singer in several songs.

In 2009, she made a comeback to Tamil and Malayalam as she starred in the comedy film Guru En Aalu alongside Madhavan, and the thriller film Passenger, sharing screen space with Dileep and Sreenivasan, respectively. While the former had an average run at the box office, the latter was declared a surprise sleeper hit in Malayalam. In 2010, she worked with Jayaram in the critically acclaimed Kadha Thudarunnu directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. Other projects in 2010 included Musafir with Rahman, Ragupati Raghava Raja Ram with Prithviraj, and the Telugu film Kedi with Nagarjuna.

Singing

Besides acting, Mamta is known as an acclaimed playback singer in Indian films as well. Mamta, who is trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music, first sang playback in the Telugu film Rakhee, singing the title song under Devi Sri Prasad's direction, making her debut in the Telugu film industry as a singer before making her acting debut in Telugu. She went on to win the 2007 Filmfare Best Telugu Female Playback Singer Award for that song.

Subsequently, she was asked to sing several songs for composer Devi Sri Prasad, including the chartbuster "Akalesthe Annam Pedtha" for the Chiranjeevi-starrer Shankardada Zindabad (later dubbed as Daddy Mummy in the Tamil film Villu), "36-24-36" for the film Jagadam, "Mia" for Tulasi, and "Ghanana (Funny)" and the title song for the film King, in which she herself acted. Other music directors she has worked with include M. M. Keeravani (for her own films Yamadonga and Krishnarjuna, also Chandamama), R. P. Patnaik (for Andamaina Mansulo), Chakri (for Victory), Nithin Raikwar (for her own movie Homam) and Thaman (for Jayeebhava).

In Tamil, she sang the song "Kaalai Kaalai" in the film Kaalai, which starred Silambarasan in the lead role. She sang a song called "Idai Vazhi" for the comedy film Goa under noted composer Yuvan Shankar Raja's direction. Both songs featured her singing alongside Benny Dayal. Soon she will be heard for the first time in her mother tongue, Malayalam, for her forthcoming movie with Prithiviraj, titled Anwar. She has also recorded a song for her upcoming film Thriller.

Cancer battle

Mamta is a cancer survivor. She battled Hodgkin's lymphoma with positive energy and confidence. She had to cut her hair off for the chemotherapy sessions but in spite of being bitter, she said she always wanted a new hairstyle. In some parts of her movie Anwar, she managed to conceal the difference with wigs. Not many were aware of this situation until late 2010. On her 25th birthday, Mamta arranged a special flight for her and underprivileged children to travel.

2011 – Preyasi ( Telugu )