Melissa Raju Thomas – Model and Malayalam film actress best known for ‘Moothon’

Melissa Raju Thomas is a model turned actress in Malayalam cinema. She was initially based in Singapore, where she studied and started her modelling career in the early 2010s, and then moved to India, where she pursued a career in modelling and cinema. She came to limelight soon after she played the pivot role of Amina in Geetu Mohandas’s acclaimed film, Moothon released in 2019. She has also scripted and acted in one short film, Faded early this year.

Melissa Raju Thomas is a native of Deolali, Maharashtra. Yet she has roots in Kerala. In 2009 she received a scholarship from Ministry of Education, Singapore to study towards her GCE A Levels at the Meridian Junior College, Singapore. She later continued her studies in Singapore till graduation. She has been a brilliant student and also a member of Students’ Council and many other student communities. Melissa was crowned the winner of the Navy Queen 2012 beauty pageant soon after her Plus-two studies, after which she got into modelling field.

She continued her studies in Bangalore, and also worked as a model. She has appeared in many TV ads and print ads since then. In 2019 she marked her big screen debut with Moothon, starring Nivin Pauley. She had a brief experience in theatre while doing graduation in Singapore, which came handy during her film debut. Now she shuttles between Kerala and Mumbai for her professional career in films and modelling.

Melissa Raju Thomas – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She is the daughter of a military man. Her younger days were spent in different places within India which include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Nagaland.

2. She is a person of creativity and loves writing. It was during her theatre days, she did her first script and won praises.

3. During her studies in Singapore, she was part of the Dean’s Honour Roll in Academic Years, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

4. Her appearance in Navy Queen contest gave her the first break to films. Geetu Mohandas has seen her photos. Though Geetu was not able to give her a role that time, she kept the promise and later gave Melissa a role in Moothon.

5. For her role Amina in Moothon, she had to vary her weight for different scenes.