Shweta Menon

Shweta Menon Biography

Swetha Menon is a successful model and actress of Indian screen. Most recently she has become popular through the roles she played in Malayalam movies – Salt and Pepper, Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha and unreleased Blessy movie.

Swetha Menon was the lady who finished 4^th during Femina Miss India competition in 1994; exactly the same year Aiswarya Rai and Sushmitha Sen were selected for the first two positions. Before entering modeling industry she has worked in a few Malayalam movies. Her debut was through Anaswaram as heroine opposite Mammootty in the year 1991.  This movie was a hit. She worked for a few more movies before she shifted to Mumbai. Welcome to Kodaikanal, Nakshatrakoodaram and Kausalyam were those three Malayalam movies. Then she returned to industry, but through Bollywood movies for less significant roles and as item girl. She has done item numbers for Ishq and Yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar.

But the decision to return back to Malayalam movies when she was 30+ was the best decision she made in her career. She returned through an item number in Kakkakuyil. Two or three years passed by, with less significant special appearances and item numbersin low budget movies. In 2006, she did the role of a human activist in Mayor Ravi’s movie Keerthi chakra. She did character roles for Rock and Roll, Paradesi, Abraham and Lincoln, Akasha gopuram and a few more movies.  But Paleri Manikyam was the wakeup call for Swetha. This movie directed by Renjith is considered as a trend setter of Malayalam movies. Mammooty played 3 roles in this movie, both as hero and villain. This movie received good responses as well as critical acclamation. Swetha did the role of Cheeru, the mother in law of the heroine who witness the rape and murder, yet keeps quiet. She received best actress award in State level for her wonderful performance as Cheeru.

Then among a string of movies, Kayam and Rathinirvedam were well noticed. Rathinirvedam is the remake of an old Malayalam movie with the same title, played by Jayabharathi and Krishna Chandran. The movie tells the relationship between elder heroine and younger boy. Same year, Salt and Pepper was released. This movie was a big success and named as the representative of new generation movies of Malayalam. She won her second state awards for this movie. She did a few more movies. The role of a journalist in the movie ‘Thalsamayam oru penkutty’ is one such.

She came into limelight once she acted as pregnant lady while she was carrying and allowed director to shoot her real delivery, with cameras placed inside labour room. She got wide protest from many women organization and the movie ‘Kalimannu’ is not released till now. Many organizations have threatened that they will burn the theatre if those scenes are not censored. Let us wait for its release! 

Published: N/A

Updated: May 21, 2018