Happy birthday, Mamta!
Mamta Mohandas turns 31 on November 14.
The actress, who has mostly worked in Malayalam movies, has starred opposite the biggest superstars like Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Dileep and Nagarjuna.
We celebrate the stunner with pictures from her life.
Born into a Malayali family, Mamta was brought up in Bahrain. After completing her schooling, Mamta returned to India to pursue her bachelor's degree at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.
Mamta worked as a model before making her acting debut in the 2005 Malayalam film Mayookham. Directed by Hariharan, the film did not do well at the box office.
But Mamta did not lack opportunities.
The following year saw her work with Mammootty in Bus Conductor, Suresh Gopi in Adbutham and Lanka opposite Jayaram.
Mamta had six releases in 2006, including her Tamil debut Sivappathigaram opposite Vishal Krishna. Directed by Karu Pazhaniappan, the film was a political thriller. It was a disaster at the box office.
In 2007, Mamta made her foray into Telugu cinema with Yamadonga under the direction of SS Rajamouli. A fantasy action comedy, the film was one of the biggest successes of the year. It was dubbed in Hindi as Lok Parlok.
Mamta continued to favour Telugu films but was not as lucky. P Vasu’s Krishnarjuna with Manchu Vishnu and Nagarjuna failed at the box office, as did Victory opposite Nitin Kumar Reddy.
But 2008 ended on a happy note with the superhit comedy thriller King, starring a host of stars like Nagarjuna, Trisha and Arjan Bajwa.
The year also saw Mamta make her Kannada debut with Gooli opposite Sudeep.
Mamta won her first Filmfare for Best Actress for Sathyan Anthikad's the critically acclaimed Malayalam film Kadha Thudarunnu in 2010.
Mamta is also an acclaimed playback singer and has trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music. Her first song Rakhi Rakhi was a duet for the Telugu film Rakhi under music composer Devi Sri Prasad. The song and the film was a huge hit winning her a Filmfare for Best Female Playback Singer.
Since then, she has sung several chartbusters like Akalesthe Annam Pedtha for the Chiranjeevi-starrer Shankardada Zindabad and 36-24-36 in Sukumar's Jagadam.
Mamta is a cancer survivor. She battled against Hodgkin's lymphoma, undergoing aggressive chemotherapy sessions, but she continued to work.
In 2013, Mamta had a relapse. She currently resides in Los Angeles, where she is undergoing treatment.
Mamta was briefly married to Prajith Padmanabhan, a Bahrain-based businessman and childhood friend. The couple got married in December 2011 but applied for divorce the next year.
Mamta was last seen opposite Mammootty in the Malayalam film Thoppil Joppan, which released in October.
Photographs: Mamta Mohandas/Instagram
