Malavika Mohanan Weaves a Tale of Cinema and Craft

Malavika Mohanan is currently shooting with legendary Prabhas—in Hyderabad. In fact, the trailer has just dropped, and it looks phantasmagorical. Special effects, gargantuan sets, visuals that truly bend the mind—and one’s perception—and one can’t help but gawk. Isn’t it exciting, we ask.

“Yes, yes, let’s just release it already, it has been in the making for three years now,” says Malavika. As much (or as little) as she can tell us about her forthcoming role, one thing is certain, it is a milestone moment for her. “When you work with a star like Prabhas, you’re almost expecting the female character to be not so prominent,” says Malavika. “It’s rare to get such a good role; my character is present in the film throughout, and has some really cool sequences.” Malavika says she’s never been part of a horror fantasy film before but “this film has a bit of everything: comedy, romance, horror, action, dance”.

The Kerala-born, Mumbai-bred actor began her career in a Malayali film Pattam Pole in 2013 opposite Dulquer Salmaan, and has acted in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi films. Her breakthrough film Beyond the Clouds [2017] with then-newbie Ishaan Khatter—in which she portrayed a poor girl from Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat area—got her a lot of appreciation. Malavika recently had an Onam release with Mohanlal in the Malayalam film Hridayapoorvam [2025]. And now the actor is looking forward to Sardar 2, a Tamil film starring Karthi.

The world of films is not alien to Malavika. Her father KU Mohanan is a cinematographer, and Malavika always knew she wanted to have a career in the visual arts, documentary filmmaking, or photography. “A lot of actors say they were introverts growing up, and then a flip happens,” she says, “I wanted to be behind the scenes, and never thought I would be in front of the camera.” And Telugu cinema really excites her. “I just wanted to act in a Telugu film with a really big star,” she says of the Baahubali actor. This also meant experiencing first-hand her co-star’s on-set culinary generosity. “Prabhas is famous for sending his delicious food to all his co-actors,” says Malavika. “He sent me eight to ten casseroles of biryani, fish, and chicken—enough to feed a village!”

When it comes to Bollywood, Malavika’s dream directors include Kiran Rao (“I love what she did with Laapata Ladies”) and Zoya Akhtar. “I would love to play a role written by a woman, something with a female gaze—we’ve had enough of the male gaze!” she says.

She recalls being on Tamil film set a couple of years ago, when her British co-actor, who was exploring Indian cinema for the first time, told her, rather appalled, ‘Mala, there’re 500 men on set and just five women, doesn’t that bother you?’ “It hit me,” she says, “I don’t even realise it anymore. We are so used to seeing only men on film sets, with women so few and far between, that it is the norm. I would love to see more women on the ground, more stories written by women—women writing about female emotions, all this is lacking in Indian cinema.” Malavika admires icons like Nicole Kidman who has pledged to work with a female director every 18 months; she feels our country could definitely do with bolder women in cinema. Malavika says that the one thing she truly believes in, is the power of stories. “Everything that we know or believe in, all our perceptions, are because of stories,” she says.

“The narrative I choose to be a part of, it’s what shapes perceptions, cultures, young minds. It shapes society as a whole. We must take responsibility for our own narrative.” Truth to power.

Our conversation shifts to the covershoot, for which Malavika is draped in beautiful Indian textiles. Turns out, our coverstar loves Saris. “I’m very moody with saris,” she says, “I love the aesthetics of my South Indian silk Saris—they make me return to my roots. When I want to feel closer to my sense of identity and home, I reach for the Kerala off white and gold Sari. And then there are days on which I gravitate towards love chiffon. I love what Maharani Gayatri Devi did with hers, how she put chiffon in the spotlight,” she says. “Growing up in a household of artistic parents who loved crafts and textiles, I used to visit cottage industries, with handloom and handicrafts exhibitions. Because of this, I also have a love affair with handloom Saris—cotton, ikat, you name it. In fact, there’s a lovely designer called Padmaja, who’s not very well known… She designs everything from scratch, from dyes, threads, and fabric, making beautiful handloom Saris, dresses, pants, and separates. That’s a designer I love.”

But Diwali, is when she brings out the lehengas. “I don’t get to wear them otherwise,” she says. This is one time of the year when my lehengas and sexy saris come out to play. And nobody does a sexy sari like Manish Malhotra,” Malavika adds. “Every time I wear a Manish sari, the blouse fits like a dream—he knows how to design clothes for a woman’s body.” Malavika’s other favourite designers include Tarun Tahiliani and Anamika Khanna.

While festivals and weddings are great to indulge in her favourite foods (Malavika has a weakness for motichoor ladoos), she needs to do a 180-degree flip back, away from the oily, sugar-laden food enjoyed during holidays with loved ones. “I do a full body massage, or take in a sauna, to detox, and get rid of all that puffiness and bloating,” she says. “Sugar and alcohol, more than any carb, cause puffiness in my face, which the camera quickly picks up.” And to bounce back and maintain her svelte figure, Malavika focuses on strength training in the gym and a Tamil martial art, Silambam (stick fighting), which she learned on a film set a couple of years ago. “It’s important to pick something that you enjoy doing,” she says, “Otherwise you’re not going to do it.” 

As part of her glam (when she’s not working with her “fabulous” hair and makeup team), her routine is straightforward: “I do my own makeup, especially my eyes—my favourite feature,” she says. “I love a good tint—if I had to carry three products with me, it would be: a light BB cream, a good tint that doubles up for cheeks and lips, and kajal or mascara.” Her go-to beauty hack: mix coconut oil with a Vitamin E capsule, massage onto the face, leave for 20 minutes, and wash off. “It gives you the best glow ever!” she says. She also follows Ayurveda, because her family’s roots are in Kerala. “There’s this red sandalwood powder, mix it with yogurt, put it as a face pack. It’s great for the skin,” she says, having sworn off chemical-laden, trendy moisturisers.

Malavika admits she’s not someone who’s sat and planned out each detail about her future wedding. “A wedding should reflect who you are, your personality,” she says. “What never appealed to me was an over-the-top celebration. I would keep it tasteful, and true to who my partner and I are.” As a destination, she would choose Kerala, preferably overlooking the serene backwaters. Her wedding outfit, although she’s not given it much thought, would have colour (no creams or pastels for her), with “lots of gold South Indian temple jewellery and jasmine flowers in (her) hair”. And the groom, her perfect partner? “That idea of a romanticised partner has changed from when I was in my early 20s—it isn’t what I want now. You become more aware of what you want. It’s compatibility, wanting similar things from life, having similar value systems, and mutual respect,” Malavika shares.

Photographs by Manasi Sawant; Styling by Sohiny Das; Hair: Seema Mane; Make-up: Eleni Chatzinikolidou at Anima Creatives; Art Direction: Reshma Rajiwdekar; Fashion Assistant: Aaria Mitra; Production: P Productions; Bookings Editor: Varun Shah

This story appears in Manifest India’s Issue 04. Subscribe here for more stories like this.