Nithya Menen

Acting

Nithya Menen

Born 1988-04-08 · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Nithya Menen is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. Born on April 8, 1988, in Bangalore, Karnataka, into a Malayali family, she completed her schooling at Poorna Prajna Education Centre and graduated in Journalism and Communication from Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Initially aspiring to pursue cinematography and filmmaking, she enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, before transitioning into acting. Having first appeared on screen as a child artist in the French-Indian film *Hanuman* (1998), she made her debut as an adult lead in K. P. Kumaran's Malayalam film *Aakasha Gopuram* (2008) opposite Mohanlal and entered Kannada cinema with *Josh* (2009). She made a breakthrough Telugu debut in B. V. Nandini Reddy's romantic comedy *Ala Modalaindi* (2011) opposite Nani, winning the Nandi Award for Best Actress. Over an acclaimed multi-industry career, Menen established herself as one of Indian cinema's finest performers, celebrated for her naturalistic screen presence, expressive acting, and selective script choices. She delivered memorable performances across South industries in films such as Santosh Sivan's historical epic *Urumi* (2011), Anwar Rasheed's *Ustad Hotel* (2012), Vikram K. Kumar's *Ishq* (2012), *Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde* (2013), Anjali Menon's cult ensemble *Bangalore Days* (2014), Kranthi Madhav's *Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju* (2015), Trivikram Srinivas's *S/O Satyamurthy* (2015), Mani Ratnam's acclaimed romantic drama *O Kadhal Kanmani* (2015), Vikram K. Kumar's sci-fi thriller *24* (2016), Koratala Siva's *Janatha Garage* (2016), Atlee's *Mersal* (2017) alongside Vijay, and Prasanth Varma's *Awe!* (2018). She made her Hindi cinema debut portraying satellite engineer Varsha Pillai in the blockbuster space drama *Mission Mangal* (2019). Alongside acting, she is a trained vocalist who has sung playback for numerous hit tracks in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Menen achieved massive critical and pan-Indian recognition, winning the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Shobana in Mithran R. Jawahar's slice-of-life hit drama *Thiruchitrambalam* (2022) alongside Dhanush. On streaming platforms, she earned wide praise starring in Amazon Prime Video's psychological thriller series *Breathe: Into the Shadows* (2020–2022), the comedy-drama series *Kumari Srimathi* (2023), and SonyLIV's sitcom *Masterpeace* (2023). Her filmography extends to Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi's romantic drama *Kadhalikka Neramillai* (2025) opposite Jayam Ravi, Pandiraj's family entertainer *Thalaivan Thalaivii* (2025) alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Dhanush's directorial *Idli Kadai* (2025), and Shekhar Kapur's drama *Masoom: The Next Generation* (2026).

Acting credits

Bachelor Party poster
5.6

Tony, a former outlaw, decides to lead a quiet life with his wife and newborn child. However, their peaceful household is disrupted after the return of a dangerous gangster, Prakash.

Bachelor Party

2012

N.T.R: Kathanayakudu poster
5.2

Based on the journey of the legendary Telugu actor, filmmaker and ex-Chief Minister Late Taraka Rama Rao Nandamuri.

N.T.R: Kathanayakudu

2019

Mersal poster
7.3

A few individuals in the medical profession are murdered or kidnapped, and the cop investigating the case suspects a doctor and arrests him. But is he the one who is behind these crimes? And why are they being committed?

Mersal

2017

Appavin Meesai poster
NR

After the demise of his father, a 14-year-old is forced to drop out and work in a far away city, on his way back home he loses his money but is determined not to return home until he finds his thief in spite of all odds.

Appavin Meesai

O Kadhal Kanmani poster
7.0

Aadi and Tara fall in love but both hate the idea of marriage and plan to separate when their lives take them to different countries. However, as they grow closer, their emotions are not easily managed.

O Kadhal Kanmani

2015

Malli Malli Idhi Rani Roju poster
6.9

An unfortunate incident separates a state-level athlete from his lover, who then moves to Malaysia. Years later, she returns to India but certain misunderstandings threaten to keep them apart.

Malli Malli Idhi Rani Roju

2015

Gamanam poster
7.3

The lives of six individuals across the city change just as the city is reeling under floods. Will they all make it safely to the other side?

Gamanam

2021

Josh poster
NR

Rockey, the son of a middle-class couple, falls in love with Meena and ignores his studies. While his friends pass with flying colors, Rockey is love-struck. When he comes to know he cannot win over Meena, he falls in love with Meera who also rejects him. Aside from Rockey's path, "Josh" also follows Robo Meena, Meera, and Sneha's path who struggle with their studies. In this coming-of-age story, the decisions each student takes will drastically impact who they become by the end of the film.

Josh

2009

Ala Modalaindi poster
6.7

Gowtam works as a reporter for a television channel. He is nursing a heart break after his girlfriend dumped him for another guy. He attends the wedding of his girlfriend where he meets the another girl Nitya dumped by the groom (her boy friend). They hit off well and become instant friends. Nitya stays in Bangalore and Gowtam stays in Hyderabad. They keep bumping in to each other over a period of years. Though both these people like each other, the fate intervenes to separate them at crucial moments. The rest of the story is all about how this couple finally realises that they are made for each other after few years of courtship.

Ala Modalaindi

2011

Bangalore Days poster
7.6

A fun roller coaster ride about three young people, Aju, Divya and Kuttan who are cousins, reach Bangalore to dream, discover & explore!

Bangalore Days

2014

Idli Kadai poster
6.7

A simple man's search for success leads him to rediscover his roots.

Idli Kadai

2025

Poppins poster
4.2

An adaptation of the Sahitya Akademi award-winning play, 18 Natakangal, the story revolves around six couples, exploring different facets of their marital relationship

Poppins

2012

Bheemla Nayak poster
5.8

A sub-inspector and the egoistic son of an ex-MP get in an egotistical war when the former arrests the latter for bringing in liquor from Telangana to AP.

Bheemla Nayak

2022

Thiruchitrambalam poster
7.4

A guy-next-door tries to find romance in his life while also dealing with his personal problems. How long will it be before he realises what he is looking for is right next to him?

Thiruchitrambalam

2022

Kerala Cafe poster
6.7

Ten interconnected short stories unfolding around a roadside railway café in Kerala, where travelers from diverse backgrounds pass through, their lives briefly intersecting amid themes of migration, relationships and modern struggles.

Kerala Cafe

2009

Ustad Hotel poster
7.5

When his father refuses to support his choice of a career, an aspiring chef tries to fulfil his dream by helping his grandfather run his small eatery.

Ustad Hotel

2012

Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty poster
4.0

Manju, a village belle becomes popular after she participates in a reality show that records her day-to-day life events and telecasts it to the world

Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty

2012

Thalaivan Thalaivii poster
6.8

Two headstrong lovers navigate a turbulent relationship where passion and conflict intertwine, creating an intense emotional bond through their shared journey.

Thalaivan Thalaivii

2025

Skylab poster
8.2

Gauri, Anand and Ramarao are some of the many inhabitants of an eccentric village -Banda Lingampally. When the people of Banda lingampally hear that a Space station, Skylab, is falling right on their village, chaos ensues and it doesn't take long for this tragic turn of events to turn into a comedy.

Skylab

2021

24 poster
7.2

Scientist turned Entrepreneur Dr. Sethuraman tries to safeguard his newly invented time travel device from falling into the hands of his Evil Twin Brother Aathreya.

24

2016

Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde poster
6.7

Karthik works in a software company. He falls in love at first sight with a girl Sruthi who attends his friend’s wedding. He gets hold of the phone number of the girl and while noting it down he makes a mistake. And he ends up calling another girl. Meanwhile Sruthi falls in love with Karthik’s colleague Madhu. The rest of the story is all about comedy of errors and how Karthik finds about his true love.

Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde

2013

Makaramanju poster
6.5

The film tells the story of Raja Ravi Varma at a certain stage in his life. He is in the process of painting a masterpiece. The theme of his painting is Pururavas, the legendary king who fell in love with the heavenly nymph Urvashi, who later agrees to become his wife on certain conditions, but disappears without a trace when she discovers that the conditions were violated. Pururavas wanders all around to find her and ultimately does get united with his lover. Ravi Varma, during his work, finds himself attracted to his model Sugandha Bhai and this relationship begin to acquire certain shades of the legend of Urvashi and Pururavas. Together they are thrown into a torrent of love and passion from which they find it difficult to scape.

Makaramanju

2011

Okka Ammayi Thappa poster
4.0

In an attempt to free their jailed terrorist boss, Aslam, a group of terrorists plants a bomb on a flyover in Hyderabad. Their idea is to cause a traffic jam on the flyover and blackmail the government into releasing Aslam. Krishna is an average young man who goes out to withdraw money from an ATM. Unfortunately, he along with Nithya Menen and many others get caught in the traffic jam on the same flyover. What happens next? Watch to find out

Okka Ammayi Thappa

2016

Aakasha Gopuram poster
NR

The film, in Malayalam and made by the Indian film maker K P Kumaran, AkashaGopuram is set among the Indian immigrant community in London and tells the story of Albert Samson (Mohanlal), a middle-aged architect who has clawed his way to prominence.

Aakasha Gopuram

2008