Lakshmi Manchu

Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna^[1] (born 8 October 1977^[2]) is an Indian actress, film producer, and television presenter who works in Telugu cinema and worked in American television. The daughter of senior actor Mohan Babu, Manchu holds a bachelor's degree in theatre from Oklahoma City University.^[3] She has garnered two Filmfare Awards South and two Nandi Awards.

Lakshmi Manchu
Manchu at Filmfare Awards South, 2012
Born	Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna (1977-10-08) 8 October 1977 (age 47) Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma mater	Oklahoma City University
Occupations	Actress Film producer Television presenter
Spouse	Andy Srinivasan ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	1
Father	Mohan Babu
Relatives	Vishnu Manchu (brother) Manchu Manoj (half brother)
Website	lakshmimanchu.com

Manchu made her acting debut with the American television series Las Vegas, where she played the minor role of Sarasvati Kumar, the love interest of James Lesure.^[4] She then appeared in one episode of each of the following series: Desperate Housewives, Late Nights with my Lover, and Mystery ER. She has also appeared in commercials for Toyota, AARP, and Chevrolet.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, she directed, produced, and acted in Perfect Lives, a short film that was showcased at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theater as part of the La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles.^[5] She made her theatre debut as Miss Trunchbull in the adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda, directed by Taher Ali Baig, in 2016.^[6]

Early life and family

Lakshmi Manchu is the only daughter of actor Mohan Babu and Vidya Devi. She has a younger brother, Vishnu Manchu, and a younger paternal half-brother, Manoj Manchu.^[7][8] She was born in Chennai.^[9]

Manchu married Andy Srinivasan, an IT professional from Chennai, in 2006. The couple has a daughter born through surrogacy. They settled in Hyderabad^[10] for a few years before moving to Mumbai.

Career

Having started her career at the age of 4, Manchu has been in 20 feature films in India and a few minor television roles in the U.S. She co-owns Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures along with her family members, a production company that has produced fifty-six feature films to date.

In December 2011, she was signed on to portray a supporting role in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Kadal after a successful audition. Portraying the role of Celina, a poor village woman, she expected this film to be her breakthrough but hardly got offers in Tamil after the film's release.^[11]

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2008	The Ode	Najma	English
2009	Dead Air	Gabbi
	Thank You for Washing	Phoebe		Short film
2010	Jhummandi Naadam	Narrator	Telugu	Guest appearance
2011	Anaganaga O Dheerudu	Irendri
	Dongala Mutha	Shiva		[12]
2012	Department	Satya Bhosle	Hindi
	Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara?	Amrutha Valli	Telugu
2013	Kadal	Celina	Tamil
	Gundello Godari	Chitra	Telugu
	Doosukeltha	Herself		Special appearance[citation needed]
2014	Chandamama Kathalu	Lisa Smith		[13]
	A day in the life of Lakshmi Manchu's feet	Herself	Sound	Short film
2015	Budugu	Pooja	Telugu
	Dongaata	Shruti		Also singer for "Yendiro Yendiro"[14]
	Size Zero	Herself		Special appearance
	Inji Iduppazhagi		Tamil
2016	Guntur Talkies	Herself	Telugu	Special appearance
2017	Basmati Blues	Sita	English
	Lakshmi Bomb	Lakshmi & Priya	Telugu
2018	W/O Ram	Deeksha
	Kaatrin Mozhi	Maria	Tamil
2020	Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma	Herself	Telugu	Special appearance[15]
2021	Pitta Kathalu	Swaroopakka
2022	Monster	Durga / Catherine Alexandra	Malayalam	Debut Malayalam film[16]
TBA	Adiparvam †	TBA	Telugu

Producer

Year	Title
2005	Sri
2008	Nenu Meeku Telusa?
2010	Jhummandi Naadam
2012	Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara?
2013	Gundello Godari
2015	Dongaata

Television

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role	Network	Language	Notes
2004–07	Las Vegas	Sarasvati Kumar	NBC	English	Recurring role (11 episodes)
2006	Boston Legal	Juror No. 6	ABC		"Shock and Oww!" (season 2: episode 18)
2008	Mystery ER	Dr. Baker	Discovery Health		"Eating Away/A Model's Malady" (season 2: episode 5)
	Desperate Housewives	Nabila	ABC		"Kids Ain't Like Everybody Else" (season 5: episode 3)
2019	Mrs. Subbalakshmi	Mrs. Subbalakshmi	ZEE5	Telugu	[17]
2024	Yakshini	Jwalamukhi	Disney+ Hotstar

As a host or judge

Year	Title	Role	Network
2008	Lakshmi Talk Show	Host	Zee Telugu
2011	Prematho Mee Lakshmi		ETV
2012	Luck Unte Lakshmi
2013	Super Jodi	Judge
2013	Doosukeltha	Host
2016	Mee Kosam
2016–2018	Memusaitham		Gemini TV
2018	Maharani		Zee Telugu
2021	Aha Bhojanambu		Aha

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2011	Filmfare Awards South	Best Supporting Actress – Telugu	Anaganaga O Dheerudu	Nominated
2013			Gundello Godari	Won
2014			Chandamama Kathalu	Won	[18]
2011	South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actor in a Negative Role – Telugu	Anaganaga O Dheerudu	Won	[citation needed]
2013		Best Supporting Actress – Telugu	Gundello Godari	Won	[19]
2014		Best Supporting Actress – Telugu	Chandamama Kathalu	Nominated
2015		Best Actress – Telugu	Dongaata	Nominated
2011	Nandi Awards	Best Villain	Anaganaga O Dheerudu	Won
2014		Best Supporting Actress	Chandamama Kathalu	Won
2011	CineMAA Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Anaganaga O Dheerudu	Won
	Santosham Film Awards	Best Villain		Won
	Hyderabad Times Film Awards	Best Actor in a Negative Role - Female		Won	[20]
2013	Oklahoma City University	Alumni Hall of Honour Award	—	Won	[21]

References

1. "CBI conducts searches at Dasari residence, firm in Hyderabad". The Hindu. 11 June 2013. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
2. Balach, Logesh (8 October 2020). "Mohan Babu wishes daughter Lakshmi Manchu on her birthday, shares an adorable throwback pic". India Today. Retrieved 2 March 2021. Lakshmi Manchu is celebrating her 43rd birthday today (October 8)
3. "Oklahoma City University School of Theatre to honor five graduates". 31 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
4. "Metro Plus Hyderabad : 'I want to be a champion of the underdog'". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
5. "Lakshmi Prasanna Manchu profile & biography". Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
6. jha, neha (2 December 2016). "Matilda comes alive on stage". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
7. "Metro Plus Vijayawada : Probing what lies beyond star aura". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2 May 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
8. "Lakshmi Manchu's Gundello Godari! | BayNews | The New Voice of Vizag". Baynews.in. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acEgnB11Tig Archived 12 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Lakshmi Manchu Interview
10. "Surrogate baby for Lakshmi Manchu". Deccan Chronicle. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
11. "Lakshmi Manchu signs Mani Ratnam's Pookadai". Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
12. http://www.telugufirst.com/telugu-tv/tv-shows/254-manchu-lakshmi-new-show-at-etv.htm. Retrieved 28 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)^{[dead link‍]}
13. "Sattaru's Chandamama Kathalu goes on floors". Sify. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
14. "Manchu Lakshmi In Never Before Seen Avatar In Dongata". Thehansindia.com. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
15. "Sidhu Jonnalagadda and Seerat Kapoor open up on 'Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma'". 10 November 2020.
16. IT Malayalam (18 September 2022). "റിലീസിനൊരുങ്ങി മോഹന്‍ലാലിന്റെ 'മോണ്‍സ്റ്റര്‍': പുതിയ അപ്ഡേറ്റ് എത്തി". India Today Malayalam (in Malayalam). Retrieved 18 September 2022.
17. India, The Hans (26 February 2019). "Check Out Lakshmi Manchu in Mrs Subbalakshmi from ZEE5". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
18. "Winners list: 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". The Times of India. 27 June 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
19. "Malaysia to host South Indian International Movie Awards next month". thestar.com. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
20. "The Hyderabad Times Film Awards 2011". The Times of India. 24 June 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
21. "Oklahoma City University School of Theatre to honor five graduates". 31 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Lakshmi Manchu at IMDb
• Lakshmi Manchu on Twitter