Rashmika Mandanna

Early life and education

Rashmika Mandanna was born on 5 April 1996 to Suman and Madan Mandanna into a Kodava Hindu family in Virajpet, a town in Kodagu district, Karnataka. Her father owns a coffee estate and a function hall in her hometown, and her mother is a homemaker. She has a younger sister, Shiman whom she helped raise and has said she "felt like a maternal figure" towards. As a child, she has said her family struggled financially, and had difficulties finding a home and paying rent; according to Mandanna, her parents could not afford to buy her toys and the experience has continued to taint her relationship with money.

Mandanna attended Coorg Public School, a boarding school in Gonikoppal. During this phase of her life, she was often misunderstood due to her struggles with communication, making connecting with her peers difficult. Mandanna credits her mother for being a stabilising influence in her life and labelled her "my biggest strength".

Mandanna studied for a bachelor's degree in psychology, journalism and English literature at M. S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Bengaluru. In 2014, Mandanna was awarded The Times of India's Clean & Clear Fresh Face that recognises high-potential individuals; she was subsequently made a brand ambassador for Clean & Clear as part of the winning reward. This was followed by a brief modelling career in 2015, during which she won the second season of La Mode Bangalore's Top Model Hunt. Her success led to several acting offers from production houses, all of which she declined, as she had no intention of pursuing acting at the time. She was eventually persuaded by her college professor to audition, and after signing her first film, she informed her parents, who were initially hesitant due to her unassertive personality but ultimately gave their approval.

Career

Early work and breakthrough (2016–2020)

After noticing her win a pageant in 2015, Rishab Shetty offered Mandanna her debut in his Kannada romantic comedy Kirik Party (2016) opposite Rakshit Shetty. She was introduced as Saanvi, a shy college student with ambitions of becoming an engineer; Mandanna said she deeply identified with the character's experience of often being overlooked at school. In a positive review for The Times of India, Sunayana Suresh wrote that Mandanna "is easily that pin-up girl in college and she breathes her path". Kirik Party emerged as the year's highest-grossing Kannada film and her performance earned her the South Indian International Movie (SIIMA) Award for Best Debut Actress. Mandanna later revealed that if the film had failed, she would have had to return home to manage her father's business. Mandanna's 2017 releases—the action film Anjani Putra and the romantic comedy Chamak—brought her further commercial success, though critical reception to these roles was varied. For Chamak, she received her first Best Actress nominations at the Filmfare Awards South and SIIMA.

Expanding into Telugu cinema in 2018, Mandanna starred in the comedy drama Chalo, which follows a Tamil woman who becomes romantically involved with a Telugu man (played by Naga Shaurya) in a segregated village. She initially struggled with learning the new language and sought help from the film's assistant director who assisted her in improving her dialogue delivery. Reception to the film was mixed, but Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost commended Mandanna on a "terrific debut" and Stivathsan Nadadhur from The Hindu took note of her comic timing. Chalo emerged as her fourth consecutive box-office success in two years. Mandanna was next cast opposite Vijay Deverakonda in Venky Kudumula's romantic comedy Geetha Govindam. Made on a shoestring budget, the film became her first to cross ₹1 billion (US$13 million) at the domestic box-office, her highest-grosser at that point. Reviewers considered the chemistry between her and Deverakonda to be the highlight of an otherwise formulaic film. She earned the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress and gained a Best Actress nomination at the ceremony. Mandanna ended the year with the Telugu feature Devadas, in which reviewers for Sify and The Indian Express found her role in the film to be purely ornamental.

The Kannada social action film Yajamana (2019) the following year had a mixed reception from critics, with Film Companion's Karthik Keramalu highlighting the age gap between Mandanna and Darshan, who is 19 years her senior. Regardless, it proved to be another commercial success for Mandanna. She reunited with Deverakonda for the Telugu romantic drama Dear Comrade in the role of an aspiring cricket player who faces sexism within the sport. Sashidhar Adivi of Deccan Chronicle analysed that the role reflected a shift in Telugu cinema, where actresses were being given more substantial roles rather than serving purely as visual appeal. A departure from the previous lighthearted roles she had become accustomed to, Mandanna had to partake in five months of intensive physical training to accurately emulate a cricket player's body language. Despite high expectations following her previous collaboration with Deverakonda, Dear Comrade underperformed commercially. It also faced extensive criticism from audiences due to a scene featuring a kiss between the lead pair; In response, Mandanna stated that she was carrying out the demands of the script and that a sole scene should not dictate the entire film. She later professed that she struggled with the online backlash that followed the film's release despite its positive critical reception. Regardless, Yajamana and Dear Comrade won Mandanna Best Actress (Critics) awards at SIIMA in Kannada and Telugu, respectively, as well as additional Best Actress nominations in both languages at the ceremony.

Career expansion and pan-Indian recognition (2021–present)

In 2021, Mandanna starred opposite Dhruva Sarja in Pogaru, which Vivek M V of Deccan Herald termed "a riot of toxic masculinity". In her second release of the year, she made her debut into Tamil cinema opposite Karthi in the action drama Sulthan. She expressed that working across languages is important to her, seeing it as an opportunity to establish herself across industries. Though Hindustan Times' Haricharan Pudipeddi felt that Mandanna had been "sidelined", M Suganth of The Times of India praised her on a "charming debut". It emerged as a moderate commercial success. Mandanna said that her next film, the top-grossing Telugu action film Pushpa: The Rise starring Allu Arjun, was the most significant of her career. For her role as a girl involved in the smuggling syndicate of red sandalwood, she learnt the Chittoor dialect of Telugu with support from a tutor. Film Companion's Mukesh Manjunath found that she did her "best to imbue bubbliness and the innocence required in these testosterone-charged surroundings" but took issue with the brown-facing of her character. The film marked a breakthrough in Mandanna's career as she earned pan-India recognition for the song "Saami Saami", which gained popularity. She received Best Actress nominations for her performance in the film at both SIIMA and Filmfare.

In 2022, Mandanna starred in a string of films that saw varying levels of success. These began with the unremarkable Telugu feature Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu opposite Sharwanand. Keen to showcase her acting skills after a series of androcentric films, she took on her first supporting role in the romantic drama Sita Ramam starring Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur. Citing it as one of her stronger films, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo appreciated that Mandanna is "given the scope to play a self-centred character" and showed that she is willing to take on roles of substance. For her performance, Mandanna received her first nomination for the Best Supporting Actress (Telugu) at Filmfare. The following month, Mandanna debuted into Hindi cinema with Vikas Bahl's family drama Goodbye, where she played a headstrong woman struggling with the aftermath of her mother's (played by Neena Gupta) death. She initially passed on the role as the character's dismissive views on religious rituals clashed with her own beliefs, but Bahl's confidence in her abilities ultimately convinced her. The film was an underwhelming financial venture. Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India was unimpressed by Mandanna's Hindi diction but felt that she had still managed to retain the "essence" of her Punjabi character. She earned the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut for her performance.

Personal life

Mandanna began dating Rakshit Shetty, her co-star in Kirik Party, during the making of the film, and they announced their engagement on 3 July 2017 at a private party in her hometown Virajpet. They ended their engagement in September 2018, citing compatibility issues.

Rumours about Mandanna dating actor Vijay Deverakonda began circulating in 2020, though she never publicly addressed them. The two became engaged in October 2025. On 26 February 2026, the two were married in Udaipur in traditional Telugu Hindu and Kodava ceremonies. The wedding attracted significant media coverage, with their photos becoming the most-liked Instagram post in India.

Artistry and media image

Sneha Menon Desai of Film Companion notes Mandanna's sincerity and "down-to-earth personality", while Anupama Chopra, also from Film Companion, describes her as "intelligent" and acknowledges her ability to resonate with audiences. Sonal Ved of Harper's Bazaar wrote that she "thrives on unpredictability," citing roles across a wide spectrum of genres, from "big-ticket blockbusters to quiet, performance-driven films". Filmmaker Rahul Ravindran described Mandanna as "a director's dream", noting that her physical versatility allows her to fit diverse character profiles without regional constraints. She has described herself as highly committed to her directors' vision, saying that she prioritises fulfilling their expectations and is open to constructive criticism. Relying solely on her instincts when selecting films, Mandanna believes this has benefitted her more than following a strategic career plan.

In 2024, Mandanna was featured by Forbes India in their 30 Under 30 list and the Indian edition of GQ named her among South India's highest-paid actresses. She was placed at the 24th position in Bangalore Times' 25 Most Desirable Women of 2016 and also appeared in the Bangalore Times' 30 Most Desirable women of 2017. As of August 2024, Mandanna is the most-followed South Indian woman on Instagram and she was placed first by Forbes India in their ranking of the most influential South Indian personalities on the platform.

Mandanna is an endorser for several brands and products, including McDonald's, Dabur Honey, Cashify, Kalyan Jewellers and Bisk Farm among others. In 2023, she was made the first Indian ambassador for Japanese fashion brand Onitsuka Tiger. She and Tiger Shroff were named "strategic partners" of American streaming service Crunchyroll for their efforts to expand in India. As an ambassador for Onitsuka Tiger, she attended Milan Fashion Week and walked the runway, while for Crunchyroll, she presented an award at the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Japan. She serves as both an ambassador and investor for Plum, a vegan beauty and personal care brand. In 2025, she was made the Indian brand ambassador for Swarovski.

In November 2023, a deepfake of Mandanna was posted on the platform X by digital marketer Eemani Naveen. Her face was morphed on to a sexually suggestive Instagram video posted by a British-Indian influencer named Zara Patel. In response, Mandanna released a statement in which she said she was "[scared] not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused". In December 2023, Delhi Police communicated with Meta to obtain the URL ID associated with the account responsible for generating the video, and filed a First information report in relation to the case. In January 2024, Naveen was arrested; he claimed he had created the deepfake to gain followers on Instagram. In the months following the incident, Mandanna was appointed as the national brand ambassador of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.

Filmography