Manju Warrier: Lesser known facts

The comeback actress, Manju Warrier, reigned supreme. Be it the '90s or now, when she has made her comeback - the diva has ruled hearts with her charm. After her divorce, Manju reinvented herself in the film industry. Here are some facts about her that you might not be aware of...

Early life

Manju Warrier belongs to a small village, Pullu, in Thrissur district. She was born at Nagercoil on November 1, 1979. Her father, Madhavan Warrier, worked at Nagercoil's regional office of Sundaram Finance. Later on, her father got transferred to Kannur, and she completed her schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalaya and later at Chovva Higher Secondary School. She graduated from SN College. Manju Warrier has an elder brother, Madhu Warrier, who has also been a part of Malayalam cinema.

Acting career at the age of 17

Manju Warrier debuted in the film Sakshyam that was directed by Mohan and released in the year, 1995. She was 17 at the time. Her next film, 1996 release, Sallapam, was directed by Sundardas. This was her first movie with her then husband, Dileep. She has acted in over 25 movies. Many of them were superhits and also received critical acclaim.

Dancing queen

Even during her schooling, Manju had showcased her incredible dancing talent. She had won Kalathilakam twice in the Kerala Youth Festival. Reportedly, she had learnt Kuchipudi from her daughter, Meenakshi's guru, Geetha Padmakumar. In the year 2012, Manju performed Kuchipudi at Guruvayur Temple. She has shown off her dancing skills in several of her films. She has also performed at many live shows over the years.

Writer Manju

In the year 2013, Manju released a book, Sallapam, written by her. She had stated that the book is a series of memoirs of her life. Reportedly, N. Jayachandran had helped her in penning down the book. The preface was written by dubbing artist, Bhagyalakshmi, which made the book even more attractive. The function of the release was organised by DC Books as part of the 18th International Book Festival. Director Sibi Malayil was one of the chief guests at the event.

The male avatar of Manju

For a role in 1998 release, period film, Daya, Manju Warrier disguised herself as a man. This was reportedly the first time that a Malayalam actress had done something like this. Manju was applauded for the role. The film was directed by cinematographer-turned-director, Venu. The story was an adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights. Bollywood director and music composer, Vishal Bhardwaj, had composed the music for this film. Daya won three National Film Awards- Venu won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director, S. B. Satheesan won the Best Costume Designer Award and Vrinda won the Best Choreographer Award. It even won five Kerala State Film Awards- M. T. Vasudevan Nair won Best Screenplay Award, Venu won Best Debut Director Award, S. B. Satheesan won the Best Costume Designer Award, Sameer Chanda won the Best Art Director Award and Beena Paul won the Best Editor Award.

Awards in her kitty

Manju Warrier won the National Film Awards for Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu under the Special Jury Award category in the year 1999. She had won the Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress for the film Ee Puzhayum Kadannu in the year 1996. She has won Filmfare Awards in the South Best Actress category five times. She had won four awards for four consecutive years and one for her comeback film How Old Are You?

Comeback after 15 years

Manju Warrier made a grand comeback after a hiatus of 15 years. Her last film was Pathram that had released in the year, 1999. Her career had taken a backseat after her marriage with actor, Dileep. But after a troubled divorce, she was relaunched with How Old Are You? The movie got amazing reviews from both the critics and the viewers.

Manju and her friendship with actors

Manju Warrier has a huge list of friends from the industry, most of them being her husband's co-stars. Some of them include Geethu Mohandas, Bhavana, Shweta Menon, Bhavana and Poornima Indrajith. Even while she was procuring a divorce, many of her friends came stood by her. According to a TOI report, Bhavana had come out in support of Manju. In an interview with an online forum, the actress had applauded Manju for her grit and determination. However, in her Facebook post, Manju had requested everyone to stop blaming her friends for influencing her decision for divorce. She stated that she is solely responsible for the decisions she made.

No screen space yet with Mammootty

Manju Warrier has starred opposite top actors of Malayalam cinema like Mohanlal, Dileep, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram. But throughout her career, she has never had the chance to pair up with Mammootty. According to Sify.com, Mammootty is not ready to share screen space with Manju due to his proximity with her ex-husband, Dileep.