Manju Pathrose – A familiar face to Malayalis through comedy sitcoms such as ‘Aliyan VS Aliyan’ and ‘Marimayam’

Manju Pathrose, earlier known as Manju Sunichen is a Malayalam actress who appears in movies and TV soaps. She is also a vlogger. She started her career in the early 2000s, and Chakram is her first credited movie. Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), Kammatti Paadam (2016) and Urumbukal Urangarilla (2015) are some of her popular character roles in movies in recent past. She is also known for her comic roles in Malayalam sitcoms such as Aliyan VS Aliyan and Marimayam, which gained her recognition on small screen. In 2020 she became a participant in reality show, Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 2, hosted by Mohanlal.

She started off with brief roles on big screen before moving to small screen

Manju Pathrose hails from Ernakulam. She was interested in dance and music right from childhood days, and her parents promoted her talent. She is a trained dancer, and her skill in handling comedy was first noticed by her dance teacher who asked her parents to promote it. Her husband Sunil Bernard is a percussionist, and she has one son. During her early days of marriage she had a lot of financial struggles, and she lived like an ordinary Malayali house wife those days. Hers was an arranged marriage, with mutual understanding.

She started her career in year 2003 with Chakram, directed by Lohithadas. Since then she has portrayed over 50 character roles on big screen, apart from several TV roles and short films. She started off with brief roles in Malayalam flicks and most of her roles went unnoticed.

She gained recognition through comedy sitcoms

Later she moved to small screen, and gained recognition through popular shows like Aliyan VS Aliyan and Marimayam. She was first seen as a contestant in the reality show, Veruthe alla Bharya – Season 2 in 2012. She bagged her first acting role through Marimayam in 2013, and after the show’s big success, she cemented her position in television industry. Mayamohini and Kunnamkulathangaadi are other popular sitcoms.

Manju Pathrose – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She has been early credited as Manju Sunichen. Now she has reverted to her real name.

2. She won the Kerala State Television Awards (Special Jury Award) for her role as Thankam in Aliyan VS Aliya.

3. Her role in TV show Marimayam earned her Best Comedian (Special Jury) at Flowers Television Awards.

4. Though her parents are not educated, they promoted her talents since younger days, and took her for dancing and singing competitions anywhere she wants. She has one brother.