The Biography

Malavika Mohanan is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, and Telugu cinema. Born on August 4, 1993, in Payyanur, Kannur district, Kerala, into a Malayali family, she was raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She is the daughter of renowned Indian cinematographer K. U. Mohanan. She completed her schooling in Mumbai and graduated with a degree in Mass Media from Wilson College. Passionate about visual arts and fashion, she engaged in modeling and ran a fashion blog called *The Daily Apple* before venturing into cinema. She made her acting debut opposite Dulquer Salmaan in the Malayalam romantic drama *Pattam Pole* (2013), followed by the critically acclaimed road movie *Nirnayakam* (2015), which won her the Jaycey Special Jury Award. In 2016, she made her Kannada debut in *Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi*. Mohanan achieved a major artistic breakthrough when Iranian auteur Majid Majidi cast her as Tara in his acclaimed Hindi drama *Beyond the Clouds* (2017), premiering at the BFI London Film Festival and earning her widespread critical recognition. She made her Tamil cinema debut in Karthik Subbaraj's action blockbuster *Petta* (2019) alongside Rajinikanth, followed by headlining Lokesh Kanagaraj's smash-hit action thriller *Master* (2021) opposite Vijay and the investigative thriller *Maaran* (2022) with Dhanush. Mohanan broadened her portfolio across diverse industries and platforms, starring in the Malayalam romantic comedy *Christy* (2023), the Hindi neo-noir action thriller *Yudhra* (2024), and the Disney+ Hotstar medical comedy-drama series *Heart Beat* (2024). She earned widespread acclaim for her intense, physically transformative performance as the fierce tribal chieftain Aarathi in Pa. Ranjith's period action drama *Thangalaan* (2024) alongside Vikram. Her filmography extends to her Telugu debut in Maruthi's horror-comedy *The Raja Saab* (2025) opposite Prabhas, the multi-starrer Malayalam espionage thriller *Patriot* (2026), and P. S. Mithran's spy action thriller *Sardar 2* (2026) alongside Karthi.