Geetu Mohandas

Biography:

Born on June 8, 1981, as Gayatri Das, Geetu Mohandas is a prominent Indian film actress and director renowned for her contributions to Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. In 2013, she directed the socio-political film “Liar’s Dice,” which garnered two National Film Awards, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was India’s official entry for the 87th Academy Awards (Oscars) by the Government of India, although it did not make the final shortlist.

Geetu’s original name is Gayatri Das, but she is affectionately known as Geetu by her family. She adopted this name as her screen name when she starred in her fourth movie, “Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare,” in 1986 alongside Mohanlal. Geetu, at the age of five, captured Malayalam filmgoers’ hearts by portraying a fatherless child who discovers a father through an anonymous telephone caller. Notable films in her career include “En Bommukutty Ammavukku,” “Thenkasi Pattanam,” “Valkannadi,” “Nammal Thammil,” and the critically acclaimed “Akale,” for which she won the Kerala State Award for Best Actress in 2004.

In 2009, Geetu Mohandas established her film production house, Unplugged, which produced her directorial debut short fiction film titled “Kelkkunnundo Are you listening.” The film received international acclaim, winning three international awards for Best Short Fiction and the National Film Award in India.

Her feature film “Liar’s Dice” received the Hubert Bals fund for script and project development, participated in the world dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, and was India’s official entry for the 87th Academy Awards. Her second feature film, “Moothon,” mentored by the Sundance film lab, won the Global Filmmaker Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019.

Geetu Mohandas, born to Mohandas and Latha in Kochi, studied in India, Malaysia, and Canada. She has a brother, Dr. Arjun Das, who is a nephrologist residing in the US. On November 14, 2009, she married cinematographer Rajeev Ravi in Kochi, Kerala, and the couple has a daughter named Aradhana.