Shwetha Menon

Shwetha Menon (born 23 April 1974),^[1][2] is an Indian actress, model, television anchor and beauty pageant titleholder. She has won Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Films. She won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress and two Filmfare Award South. She participated in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1.^[6][7]

Shwetha Menon
Menon at an event
Born	(1974-04-23) 23 April 1974 (age 50)[1][2] Chandigarh, India[3]
Occupations	Actor model television anchor
Years active	1991–present
Title	Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994 Femina Miss India 1994 (3rd Runner up) [4]
Spouses	Bobby Bhonsle ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2007)​ [5] Sreevalsan Menon ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	1
Relatives	Anoop Menon (cousin)
Awards	Kerala State Film Awards
Website	www.shwetha-menon.com

Starting her career as an actress in Malayalam feature films in the early 1990s, she ventured into modeling and became noted, after participating and winning at several beauty pageants, which led to her debut in Bollywood. It was the film Ishq (1997) where she received notable attention as the dancer for the song, "Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai", featuring Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn and also in Bandhan (1998). Following appearances in over 30 Hindi films, in which she generally conveyed a glamorous image, her acting career took a turn by the mid-2000s, with her returning to Malayalam cinema and accepting substantial roles.^[8] She received critical praise and several accolades including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009) and Salt N' Pepper (2011). In 2018, she contestant in the Malayalam reality TV series Bigg Boss and was eliminated after 36 episodes aired on Asianet, hosted by the veteran actor Mohanlal.She simultaneously appeared in commercial films, television reality shows and parallel films.

Early life

Shwetha Menon was born on 23 April 1974^[1][2] in Chandigarh to Malayali parents T. V. Naranankutty and Sarada Menon who hail from Valanchery in Malappuram district in Kerala.^[3] Her father served in the Indian Air Force while her mother remained a housewife. She studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, East Hill, Kozhikode.^[9]

Career

Films

She started her career as an actress in the Malayalam film Anaswaram (1991), directed by Jomon, playing the female lead opposite Mammootty, after which she focused on modeling.^{[citation needed]} She competed in the Miss India contest in 1994 and finished third runner-up behind Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai and Fransesca Hart.^{[citation needed]} She became the first Gladrags female super model in 1994 (Kelly Dorjee was the male super model) and then, Miss Asia Pacific semi-finalist in 1994 in Manila Cebu Island, Philippines.^[10] She subsequently made her debut in Bollywood and appeared in over 30 films; some of her Bollywood films include Asoka (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Corporate (2006).

Menon returned to Malayalam in 2006 with Thantra and then went on to do famous Malayalam films such as Keerthi Chakra (2006) and the award-winning Paradesi. Her performance as Sarojini, a middle-class woman who fights against extreme odds, in Madhya Venal earned her a special mention by jury chairman Bahman Ghobadi, a famous Iranian director at the International Film Festival of Kerala. In 2010, she won the Kerala State Government's Best Actress for her portrayal of Cheeru, a village woman in the film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha directed by Ranjith. She won the Mathrubhumi-Amrita TV Special Jury Award and the Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same film. In 2011, Shweta Menon starred in the remake of Rathinirvedam an Erotic Movie, playing the titular character, originally played by Jayabharathi. In the same year, she got the Kerala State Award for Salt N' Pepper. For her next movie, Naval Enna Jewel, Shweta Menon has undergone a remarkable makeover as an elderly man.^[11]

In 2010, Menon approached a local court and the Women's Commission in Kerala after the distributor of her movie tied up with Musli Power, a sex stimulant drug, to jointly promote the movie. "Met with Women's Commission regarding the Kayam ad and they offered me full backing. Thank you all and I hope justice will be done," she tweeted.^[12]

Television

Besides working in films, she has anchored several TV, stage and film awards shows. Menon rose to popularity after presenting the musical programme, Star Wars on Kairali TV in 2008.^[13] She won the Asian Television Award for Best Anchor for the same program. In Hindi, she hosted the group band based show, Razzmatazz on Zee TV with actor Arshad Warsi.^[14] The next television show she did was Dancing Queen in 2008 on Colors. In 2010, she anchored the Malayalam reality show, Honeymoon Travels on Surya TV. The show became an instant hit for Shwetha's accented Malayalam and her attempts to read from the original script without a formal learning in the language. Recently, she appeared as a contestant with her father in the game show, Deal or No Deal on Surya TV. She was the anchor of the family-based reality show Veruthe Alla Bharya on Mazhavil Manorama.^[15] She has participated in the popular game show Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran on Asianet. She was running popular comedy reality show Minto Goal Comedy Stars on Asianet in 2015. She has acted in many advertisements. She was a contestant in the season 1 of the reality TV show Bigg Boss aired on Asianet, from which she was eliminated after 36 episodes. In 2019 she made her TV comeback as the host for a family talent hunt show on Mazhavil Manorama titled Kusurthi Kudumbam.^[16]

Personal life

Shwetha was married to Bollywood model, Bobby Bhonsle, but it ended up in divorce.^[17] On 18 June 2011, she married Sreevalsan Menon, a native of Thrissur, who works in Mumbai. The ceremony took place at the Neythalappurath Sastha Ayappa temple, Valanchery, Kerala.^[18] She has a daughter, whose delivery was recorded on camera as part of the film Kalimannu.^[19]

Controversies

Shwetha Menon was charged with insulting the Indian flag at a fashion show on 5 January 2004. The show was organized by NIFD at a resort, where Menon walked the ramp allegedly with the tricolour wrapped around her body.^[20][21]

In 2011, she had filed a case against Kunnath Pharmaceuticals' managing director K. C. Abraham for misusing stills from her film Kayam (2011) for promoting their Ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Extra. The Ernakulam Central Police arrested Abraham.^[22][23]

Shwetha allowed her delivery to be recorded for Blessy's film Kalimannu (2013). The act was condemned for commercializing the most private affair of a woman by the Kerala Film Exhibitors.^[24]

On 4 November 2013, she filed a case against N. Peethambara Kurup of the Indian National Congress in a groping incident. Shweta later dropped her complaint against Kurup, saying the 71-year-old leader tendered a "personal apology" to her hours after she lodged the FIR against him.^[25]

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards

• 2009 – Best Actress – Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha
• 2011 – Best Actress – Salt N' Pepper

Filmfare Awards South

• 2009 – Best Actress – Malayalam – Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha

South Indian International Movie Awards

• 2012 – SIIMA Award for Actress – Special Appreciation – Rathinirvedam
• 2013 – SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – Ozhimuri

Other Awards

• 2009 – Asian Television Award for Best TV Anchor
• 2009 – Special Mention at International Film Festival of Kerala by Jury Chairman, Bahman Ghobadi about performance in Madhyavenal
• 2010 – Amrita TV – Mathrubhumi Special Jury Award – Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha
• 2010 – Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress – Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha
• 2013 – Asianet Film Awards for Best Character Actress – Ozhimuri
• 2013 – Asiavision Awards – Outstanding Performance – Kalimannu^[26]
• 2018 : Milan Film Festival 2018 – Best Supporting Actress -Naval Enna Jewel

Filmography

Films

List of Shwetha Menon film credits

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1991	Anaswaram	Catherine	Malayalam
1992	Welcome to Kodaikanal	Kavitha	Malayalam
	Nakshthrakoodaram	Nirmala S. Menon	Malayalam
1993	Koushalam	Sashikala	Malayalam
1995	DeshaDrohulu	Anu	Telugu
1997	Prithvi	Lucky	Hindi
	Ishq	Dancer	Hindi	Special appearance
1998	Bandhan	Vaishali	Hindi
2000	Shikari	Tania Jacobs	Hindi
	Snegithiye	Police Inspector, Jayashree	Tamil
	Sandhitha Velai	Dancer	Tamil	Special appearance
2001	Asoka	Nandaneshwari	Hindi
	Anandam	Dancer in song	Telugu	Special appearance
	Khatron Ke Khiladi	Dancer	Hindi
	Kakkakuyil	Dancer	Malayalam	Special appearance
	Dubai	Dancer	Malayalam	Item Dance
2002	Kaaboo	Dancer/Singer	Hindi	Special appearance
	Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya		Hindi
	Vadh		Hindi	Cameo
	Annarth	Khatun	Hindi	Cameo
	Ab Ke Baras	Chembakam	Hindi
	Anokha Bandhan		Hindi
2003	Koi Hai...	Liza	Hindi
	Tu Bal Bramhachari Main Hoon Kanya Kunwari	Rani	Hindi
	Dhund: The Fog	Tanya Khurana	Hindi
	Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye	Sheela	Hindi
	88 Antop Hill	Teesta	Hindi
	Kahan Ho Tum	Santhali	Hindi
	Maqbool	Mohini	Hindi
	Market	Isha	Hindi
	Mission Mumbai		Hindi
	Juniors		Telugu	Cameo
	Hungama		Hindi
2004	The Killer – Ek Qatil		Hindi
	Omkara		Kannada	Cameo
	Run	Ganpat's wife	Hindi
	30 Days	Paro/Shalu	Hindi
	Bazaar: Market of Love, Lust and Desire		Hindi
	Shikaar	Rama Sahay	Hindi
2005	Mera Yudh		Hindi
	Bad Friend		Hindi
	Vardi		Hindi
	Topless		Hindi
	Fresh Lime		Hindi
	Dhamkee	Chandni	Hindi
2006	Corporate	Archana	Hindi
	Sandwich	Maggie	Hindi
	Keerthi Chakra	Aathira	Malayalam
	Pakal	Latha Mohankumar	Malayalam
	Thanthra	Swethamukhi	Malayalam
2007	Raakilipattu	Jayasree	Malayalam
	Nehlle Pe Dehlla	dancer/singer	Hindi	Cameo
	Aur Phir Ek Din		Hindi
	Paradesi	Aamina	Malayalam
	Rock & Roll	Meenakshi	Malayalam
	Abraham & Lincoln	Lulu	Malayalam
2008	Summer 2007	D.S.P Keerti	Hindi	Special appearance
	Sadhu Miranda		Tamil	Special appearance
	Laptop	Mother	Malayalam
	Aakasha Gopuram	Alice	Malayalam
	Samayam	Manikyam	Malayalam
2009	Kisse Pyaar Karoon	Chameli / Julie	Hindi
	Naan Avanillai 2	Nisha	Tamil
	Madhya Venal	Sarojini	Malayalam
	Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha	Cheeru	Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam
	Kerala Cafe	Devi	Malayalam	segment "Aviraamam"
2010	Chase	Kareena Chopra	Hindi	Cameo
	Pokkiri Raja	Dancer	Malayalam	Special appearance
	Penpattanam	Suhara	Malayalam
	Sadgamaya	Jyothi	Malayalam
	T. D. Dasan Std. VI B	Chandrika	Malayalam
	Valiyangadi	Lakshmi	Malayalam
	Kadaksham	Revathy	Malayalam
2011	Kayam	Thamara	Malayalam
	August 15	Dr. Farida	Malayalam
	City of God	Liji Punnose	Malayalam
	Rathinirvedam	Rathi	Malayalam
	Salt N' Pepper	Maya Krishnan	Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam
	Rajanna	Dorasanni	Telugu
2012	Unnam	Sereena	Malayalam
	Aravaan	Rajaambaal	Tamil	Special appearance
	Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty	Sareena	Malayalam
	No. 66 Madhura Bus	Rita Mammen	Malayalam
	Ivan Megharoopan	Maya Maheswari	Malayalam
	Ithra Mathram	Sumithra	Malayalam
	Ozhimuri	Kaliamma	Malayalam
	Parudeesa	Thresia	Malayalam
	Aakasmikam	Anitha	Malayalam
2013	Mumbai Police	Dr. Tanuja Nair	Malayalam
	Kalimannu	Meera	Malayalam
	Careebeyans	Catherine	Malayalam
2014	100 Degree Celsius	Nila	Malayalam	Also playback singer[27]
2015	Thunai Mudhalvar	Thangamani	Tamil	[28]
	Appavum Veenjum	Dr.Nayana	Malayalam
	Rudrasimhasanam	Umayamma	Malayalam
	Akeldamayile Pennu	Agnes	Malayalam	[29]
	Maayamalika	Manikyam	Malayalam
	Haram	Herself	Malayalam
2016	Dhanayathra	Vijila	Malayalam
2017	Inayathalam	Helen	Tamil
	Naval Enna Jewel	Chachu	Malayalam
2018	Kammara Sambhavam	Malayil Maheshwari	Malayalam
	Premanjali	Subhadra	Malayalam
	Oru Kuprasidha Payyan	Dr. Renuka Subramanian	Malayalam
2019	Fancy Dress	Priya	Malayalam
2021	Black Coffee	Maya Krishnan	Malayalam
2023	Pallimani		Malayalam	[30]
	Queen Elizabeth	Dr. Shanti Krishna	Malayalam	[31]
2024	Badal		Malayalam	[32]

Web series

List of Shwetha Menon web series credits

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2024	Nagendran's Honeymoons	Laila Sulthana	Malayalam	Disney+ Hotstar[33]

Television

List of television credits

Year	Show	Role	Channel	Language	Notes
90's	Manasi	Actress		Malayalam	TV series
90's	Ladies Hostel	Actress		Malayalam	TV series
2001	Razzmatazz	Co-host	Zee TV	Hindi	with Arshad Warsi
2007	Star Wars	Host		Malayalam	Won, Asian Television Award for Best Anchor
2008–2009	Dancing Queen	Contestant	Colors TV	Hindi
2009	Honeymoon Travels	Host		Malayalam	Replacing Lalu Alex
2010	Deal Or No Deal	Participant	Surya TV	Malayalam
2010	Idea Star Singer	Celebrity Judge	Asianet	Malayalam
2010	Super Jodi	Judge		Malayalam
2011–2012	Veruthe Alla Bharya	Host	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2012	Veruthe Alla Bharya Season 2	Host	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam	Replaced by Rimi Tomy
2013	Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran	Participant	Asianet	Malayalam
2015	Veruthe Alla Bharya Season 3	Host	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2015–2016	Comedy Stars Season 2	Judge	Asianet	Malayalam
2015	Star Challenge	Participant		Malayalam
2015	Page 3	Model		Malayalam
2016–2017	Katturumbu	Judge	Flowers TV	Malayalam
2016	Aluvayum Mathikariyum	Herself	Asianet Plus	Malayalam	Cameo in promo
2016	Onachithrangal	Special host		Malayalam
2017	Manasaveera	Promo anchor	Asianet Plus	Malayalam	Promotion of the show
2017	Comedy Circus	Judge	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2017	Tharodayam new face hunt	Judge	Malayalam
2017	Laughing Villa Season 2	Judge	Malayalam
2017	Asianet Comedy Awards	Promo anchor	Asianet	Malayalam
2018	Super Jodi	Judge	Malayalam	Replaced by Annie
2018	Bigg Boss (Malayalam season 1)	Contestant	Asianet	Malayalam	Evicted on day 35
2019	Kusruthi Kudumbam	Host		Malayalam
2020	Suryajodi No.1	Judge	Surya TV	Malayalam	Replacing Ineya
2020–2021	Comedy Stars Season 2	Judge	Asianet	Malayalam
2020–2021	Funny Nights	Judge/Host	Zee Keralam	Malayalam
2020	Red Carpet	Mentor	Amrita TV	Malayalam
2021	Udan Panam	Contestant	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2021–2022 , 2024	Star Magic	Mentor	Flowers TV	Malayalam
2021	Super Power	Mentor		Malayalam
2021	Aram + Aram = Kinnaram	Host	Surya TV	Malayalam
2021	Manjil Virinja Poovu	Actress Shweta (Guest Role)	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam	TV Serial
2021–2022	Comedy Stars Season 3	Judge	Asianet	Malayalam
2021	Oru Chiri Iru Chiri Bumper Chiri	Judge	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2021	Asianet Big B Dhamaka	Contestant	Asianet	Malayalam
2022	Mounaragam	Actress Shweta (Guest Role)	Asianet	Malayalam	TV Serial
2022,2024	Comedy Masters	Judge	Amrita TV	Malayalam
2022	Oru Kodi	Contestant	Flowers TV	Malayalam
2023	Dancing Stars	Judge	Asianet	Malayalam	replacing Durga Krishna
2023–2024	Ammayum Makalum	Judge	Amrita TV	Malayalam
2023–2024	Kidilam	Judge	Mazhavil Manorama	Malayalam
2024	Bigg Boss (Malayalam season 6)	Guest	Asianet	Malayalam	Day 59-61 as Challenger[34]
2024-present	Enkile Ennodu Para	Host	Asianet	Malayalam	[35]

Dubbing artist

In 2017, she lent her voice for the role of a police officer played by Raashii Khanna in Malayalam film Villain.

References

1. "Happy Birthday Shwetha Menon: Lesser known facts about the diva". The Times of India.
2. Gomes, Eric Joseph (20 April 2023). "Swetha Menon Biography: Age, Birthday, Early Life, Career, Controversies, Awards".
3. "Actress Shweta Menon's father passes away". 1 September 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
4. "Shweta Menon is a third runnerup in Miss India contest '94". The Times of India. 11 June 2014.
5. "Divorce is like mercy killing: Bobby". The Times of India. 17 August 2007.
6. "Bigg Boss Malayalam: Mohanlal's show to begin from June 24". The Indian Express. 2 June 2018.
7. "Bigg Boss Malayalam: Mohanlal releases the motion poster". ETimes. 2 June 2018.
8. "Back to Mollywood". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
9. "Shwetha Menon is the cousin of Anoop Menon". The Times of India. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
10. Divorce is like mercy killing: Bobby. The Times of India (17 August 2007). Retrieved 24 December 2011.
11. "ഞെട്ടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന മേക്ക് ഓവറിൽ ശ്വേത മേനോൻ; പാട്ടും ട്രെൻഡായി". ManoramaOnline.
12. Shwetha Menon [@menonshwetha] (6 December 2010). "Met with Womens' [sic] Commission regarding the Kayam ad and they offered me full backing. Thank you all and I hope justice will be done" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 March 2014 – via Twitter.
13. "Battle of the campuses". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007.
14. "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Television". The Tribune. 18 November 2001. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
15. Nagarajan, Saraswathy (24 November 2011). "All in the family". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
16. "Actress Shwetha Menon back to entertain with TV show 'Kusruthi Kudumbam'". Onmanorama. 24 May 2019.
17. "Bobby makes a comeback". The Times of India. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
18. "Shwetha Menon enters wedlock". The Times of India. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
19. "Divorce is like mercy killing: Bobby". The Times of India. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016.
20. "Court rejects Shweta Menon's anticipatory bail plea". Hindustan Times. 15 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
21. "Model Shweta Menon appears before local court". Zee News. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
22. Galatta (7 May 2011). "Misuse of Shweta's stills: K.C. Abraham arrested". Yahoo News India. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
23. "Musli Power maker moves high court". The Times of India. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
24. "Swetha Menon's Kalimannu delivery scene sparks controversy". Times of AP. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
25. "Actress Shweta Menon withdraws Molestation Charges against Congress MP". Retrieved 3 November 2013.
26. "Mammotty, Kavya Madhavan bag Asiavision awards". Emirates 24/7. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
27. Soman, Deepa (13 August 2014). "I am a mad person and I like to work with mad people!". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
28. Soman, Deepa (20 June 2014). "Shwetha Menon, Jayaram and Kadhal Sandhya join Bhagyaraj for Thunai Mudalvar". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
29. Suresh, Meera (25 November 2014). "Her Life, Her Woes". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
30. "'Pallimani' gets a release date". The Times of India. 12 February 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
31. "Meera Jasmine and Narain's Queen Elizabeth gets a release date". Cinema Express. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
32. "Badal Premiere Locked: Shwetha Menon's Political Thriller Will Release On THIS Date". News18. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
33. "'Nagendran's Honeymoons': First look of Suraj Venjaramoodu's web series with Nithin Renji Panicker out". The Hindu. 23 May 2024.
34. "Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 6: Former contestant Shweta Menon enters house as second challenger; WATCH". Asianet News.
35. "ഏഷ്യാനെറ്റില്‍ പുതിയ ഗെയിം ഷോ; 'എങ്കിലേ എന്നോട് പറ' അവതരിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ സാബുവും ശ്വേതയും". 22 October 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Shweta Menon at IMDb
• Shweta Menon Photo Gallery