Monisha Unni

Biography:

Actress Monisha Unni (24 January 1971 – 5 December 1992) was well-known in Malayalam and Tamil movies. When Monisha won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her first feature film, Nakhakshathangal (1986), at the age of 16, she became the youngest actress in history. Of the six Malayalam women who have received the National Film Award for Best Actress, Monisha Unni is one along with Sharada, Shobhana, Meera Jasmine, Surabhi Lakshmi, and Shobha.

Monisha worked with filmmakers including M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Hariharan, Priyadarshan, Ajayan, Kamal, and Sibi Malayil throughout her brief career. Monisha Unni was born in 1971 to Narayanan and Sreedevi Unni in Panniyankara, Kozhikode. She finished her education at Bishop Cotton Girls School and St. Charles High School in Bangalore.

She graduated from Mount Carmel College in Bangalore with a degree in psychology. Sajith Unni was her older brother. Monisha Unni passed away in a car accident while she was working on the Malayalam movie Cheppadividya. A car transporting Monisha and her mother Sreedevi Unni was involved in an accident on December 5, 1992, in the Alappuzha area, close to Cherthala. Monisha passed away from her wounds, but her mother managed to escape with some bruises and fractures.

Monisha’s family friend was Malayalam novelist M. T. Vasudevan Nair, who is also a screenwriter and film director. The reason behind Monisha’s debut in movies was M. T. In the M. T. and Hariharan-directed film Nakhakshathangal (1986), she made her screen debut. Three teenagers were involved in a love triangle in the movie. Monisha was awarded the 1987 National Film Award for Best Actress for her depiction of the movie’s female lead, Gowri.