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Mirnaa Menon
Mirnaa Menon in 2024
Born	Sayana Santhosh
Other names	Athira Santhosh, Adhiti Menon
Occupations	Actress model
Years active	2016–present

Mirnaa Menon is an Indian actress who acts in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She started her film career as Adhiti Menon and debuted in the 2016 Tamil film Pattathaari. After appearing in the Malayalam film, Big Brother (2020) and the Telugu films Crazy Fellow (2022) and Ugram (2023), she landed a pivotal role in her highest-profile project till date, Rajinikanth's Jailer (2023).

Early life

Mirnaa is a Malayali, hailing from Idukki, Kerala. Her parents are Santhosh Kumar and Shobana Santhosh and she has two sisters. She studied at the Sacred Heart High School in Ramakkalmedu.

Career

Before pursuing a career in acting, Mirnaa has worked as a software developer in Dubai but since she had always wanted to be become an actress, she came back to Kerala. Mirnaa had her start in television with her original name when she made appearances in a reality show and a series named Dhathuputhri. In October 2015, Mirnaa accepted to play the female lead in the Tamil film Nedunalvaadai, taking the screen name Athira Santhosh. During the making of the film she was reported to have attempted suicide. She alleged that she was harassed and tortured by its director Selvakannan and that she took the decision to end her life when she received no support from the police or the film authorities. After she left that project, she changed her name to Adhiti Menon and got cast in the Tamil film Pattathaari, which released by late 2016 and marked her film debut. Although the film opened to negative reviews, her performance won her appreciation, with The Times of India writing "Adhiti is expressive and is a promising find".

Even prior to the release of Pattathaari, she signed on to be part of Ameer's Santhana Devan. The film, which was reported to be a period piece revolving around Jallikattu and to feature Arya and his brother Sathya, entered principal photography by early 2017, with Mirnaa also participating in major parts of the shooting; however, the film has been miring in production hell and although news about a revival of the project emerged by 2021 again, the film has not been released yet. Her next release was the Tamil comedy Kalavani Mappillai. The film was the directorial debut of Gandhi, son of director Manivasagam, and featured Mirnaa alongside Attakathi Dinesh. Writing about Mirnaa, Anupama Subramanian from Deccan Chronicle noted that she "looks pretty and has given a decent performance".

By mid-2020 she underwent a name change once again, rechristening herself to Mirnaa. She debuted in the Malayalam and Telugu film industry with Big Brother that starred Mohanlal and Aadi Saikumar's Crazy Fellow (2022), respectively. Big Brother, on which Mirnaa worked for almost 100 days, was Siddique's final film and ended as a critical and commercial failure. About Mirnaa's performance in Crazy Fellow, The New Indian Express's critic said that she "impresses with her realistic portrayal". Her first 2023 release was Allari Naresh's Ugram. Her character in the film saw her playing a 20-year-old college student and also a mother to a 3-year-old baby. Mirnaa then portrayed a young Muslim widow observing iddah in KM Sarjun's Burqa. She and her co-star Kalaiyarasan were both lauded for their performances in Burqa. Later that year, she appeared in a supporting role in the Nelson-directed Jailer starring Rajinikanth. Her biggest project to date, Jailer, which featured her as the daughter-in-law to Rajinikanth's character, fetched positive reviews from critics and went on to become one of Tamil cinema's highest-grossers of all time.

Filmography

Films

Web series

References

1. "Will lady luck shine on Pattathari actress Adhiti Menon, who is Mirnaa now?". The Times of India. 22 May 2020.
2. ^ "Will lady luck shine on Pattathari actress Adhiti Menon, who is Mirnaa now?". The Times of India. 22 May 2020.
3. Sidhardhan, Sanjith (14 December 2019). "When Siddique sir finalised me, I didn't know it was for a Lalettan film: Mirnaa". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
4. ^ "Ameer is a perfectionist, says Adhiti". The Times of India. 11 August 2017.
5. ^ "Newcomer Mirna Menon is in love with Idukki".
6. ^ "What made Adhiti attempt suicide, actress reveals".
7. "Actor Athithi suicide attempt: Is misogyny hurting women in South Indian film industries?". 5 October 2016.
8. "International Women's Day 2017: Kerala actress' molestation shows all Indian women are vulnerable". 6 March 2017.
9. "Actress Aditi Says Harassment from Selvakannan Left Her Feeling "Suicide Was the Only Way Out"". 3 October 2016.
10. "Pattathari Movie Review". The Times of India.
11. "Adhiti signs Ameer's Sandhanadevan". 3 December 2016.
12. "Ameer's 'Santhana Devan' to revive soon". The Times of India. 8 September 2021.
13. "Aditi Menon on a roll". 8 February 2018.
14. "Dinesh in a rural comedy". September 2018.
15. "Kalavaani Maapillai movie review: Can be enjoyed only in parts". 11 November 2018.
16. ^ Adivi, Sashidhar (7 November 2021). "Finding her way into Telugu films: Mirnaa". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
17. "Mohanlal romances Mirnaa Menon in 'Kando Kando' song from 'Big Brother'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
18. "Big Brother movie review: Mohanlal kicks off 2020 with the world's most boring film". 16 January 2020.
19. "Big Brother movie review: Siddique, why did you make this movie?". 16 January 2020.
20. "Hindi-dubbed version of Mohanlal's Malayalam film 'Big Brother' is a hit on YouTube". The Hindu. 2 June 2021.
21. "'Crazy Fellow' movie review: A comedy of errors that entertains, mostly". 15 October 2022.
22. Suganth, M. "Sarjun's film with Kalaiyarasan and Mirnaa will have only two characters". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
23. "Burqa Review : Powerful writing and great visuals make Burqa a good watch". The Times of India.
24. "Burqa review: Sincere, mature debate on religion, repression and humanity". 8 April 2023.
25. "Mirnaa Menon about working with Rajinikanth in 'Jailer'". The Times of India. 13 April 2023. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
26. "'Jailer' box office collection day 12: Rajinikanth starrer overtakes Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan 1'". The Times of India. 22 August 2023.
27. "Jailer box office collection: Rajinikanth film becomes second fastest Tamil movie to gross ₹550 crore worldwide". 22 August 2023.
28. "Will lady luck shine on Pattathari actress Adhiti Menon, who is Mirnaa now?". The Times of India. 22 May 2020.
29. "Mirnaa: I don't want to be stuck doing films in just one language". The Times of India. 11 June 2021.
30. "Mohanlal romances Mirnaa Menon in 'Kando Kando' song from 'Big Brother'". The Times of India. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
31. "Mirnaa comes on-board Allari Naresh starrer Ugram". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
32. "A dignified debate on cultural practices: Director Sarjun KM speaks to TNM about Burqa". The News Minute. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
33. "'Jailer' actress Mirnaa on Rajinikanth's role: His character will be loaded with mass, class, and stylish elements". The Times of India. 2 June 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
34. "Shabeer and Mirnaa's mystery drama revolves around natural birthing process". The Times of India. 8 June 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
35. The New Indian Express (7 June 2023). "Shabeer Kallarakkal and Mirnaa to headline Birthmark". Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
36. "Anantham on Zee5". 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.

External links

• Mirnaa Menon at IMDb
• Mirnaa Menon on Twitter

• 21st-century Indian actresses
• Living people
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema