Heroine of Indian cinema’s most iconic franchise, she played Mammootty’s daughter, girlfriend and mother

In fact, Meena may be the only actor to hold this unique distinction of having played these three roles, albeit in different movies, among the Malayalam megastar’s leading ladies.

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Meena as Mammootty’s ‘daughter’

Having entered the world of cinema as a child artiste at the age of six, Meena made her acting debut in the Sivaji Ganesan-Lakshmi starrer Nenjangal (1982). She soon began receiving many offers and appeared in major films headlined by stars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Vijayakanth, among others.

In 1984, she made her Malayalam debut with PG Vishwambharan’s Oru Kochukatha Aarum Parayatha Katha, where she played Mammootty’s daughter. Although Rajani (Meena) wasn’t technically Surendran’s (Mammootty) daughter, he considered and treated her as one, particularly since she was the child of his former lover, Jaanu (Saritha), for whom he still had a soft corner.

Meena as Mammootty’s girlfriend

After working in several similar films as a child artiste, Meena eventually debuted as a heroine and continued her success streak, appearing in many notable and hit projects, collaborating with A-listers. Years later, she once again shared the screen with Mammootty, but this time as his girlfriend in Vinayan’s Rakshasa Rajavu (2001). Although she had notable roles in subsequent Mammootty films such as Karutha Pakshikal (2006) and Kadha Parayumbol (2007), she wasn’t his romantic partner in either.

Mammootty and Meena have worked in several films together. (Credit: IE Malayalam)

Meena as Mammootty’s mother

In 2014, they worked together again in Pramod Payyannur’s Balyakalasakhi, an adaptation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s renowned novel of the same title. Here, however, she acted as Mammootty’s mother. Interestingly, the megastar played a dual role in the movie, as the hero Majeed and his father. Meena portrayed the role of Majeed’s mother, thus getting to play an actor’s wife and mother in the same film.

While she entered Malayalam cinema as a lead actor in director Sibi Malayil’s Santhwanam, Meena has since played impressive roles in notable movies such as Mohanlal’s Varnapakittu, Olympiyan Anthony Adam, Mr Brahmachari, Natturajavu, Udayananu Tharam, Chandrolsavam, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, and Bro Daddy, Jayaram’s Kusruthi Kuruppu and Friends, and Suresh Gopi’s Dreams. She also plays the female lead in director Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam movies alongside Mohanlal. Arguably, Indian cinema’s most celebrated film franchise now, Drishyam is set to get its third instalment in April 2026.

Mammootty and Meena in Balyakalasakhi. (Credit: IE Malayalam)

In 2009, Meena married software engineer Vidyasagar, and they later had a baby girl, Nainika. She too has appeared in movies such as ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay’s Theri, Arvind Swamy’s Bhaskar Oru Rascal, and Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari, among others. In 2022, Vidyasagar passed away at a private hospital in Chennai. He was reportedly diagnosed with a lung ailment.