Sonia – South Indian Film Actress of ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ (Chota Chetan) fame

Sonia, also credited as Sonia Bose is a south Indian film actress who has played both child and adult roles on screen. She mostly plays supporting and village belle kind of roles on silver screen, and has predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. She played the female child protagonist of India’s first 3D film, My Dear Kuttichathan (Chota Chetan), for which she won National award for child artist in 1984. Her role in Padmarajan’s Malayalam film, Nombarathi Poovu earned her Kerala state award for best child artist. She played the pivot role of a tribal woman in Malayalam blockbuster, Thenmavin Kombath, for which she is known most. She is the wife of Tamil actor Bose Venkat since 2003.

Sonia was born in 1977. Her career began in the early 1980s as a child artist, and her name was credited as Baby Sonia for her early releases. Ival Oru Naadodi at the age of 3 marked her screen debut, while her lead role as Lakshmi in My Dear Kuttichathan shot her to instant fame. The film dubbed and released in Hindi as ‘Chota Chetan’ also received a cult classic status, and still loved by kids of 1980s. She moved to adult roles in the early 1990s, and mostly played supporting roles. She was seen in Guru, Addeham Enna Iddeham, Sainyam, Venkalam, Mattupetti machan, Ghazal, Midhya etc in the 1990s. She currently plays supporting roles in both Malayalam and Tamil films, apart from a few television shows.

She saw her future husband Venkat Bose in the sets of TV serial, ‘Uravakal Oru Thudarkathai’, where he played a guest role. In those days she was a senior artist in films and television, while he was a newcomer. Sonia used to do three serials at that time. Venkat used to call her Madam, and showed respect. Slowly a friendship developed between the two, and culminated into marriage in 2004. The couple is blessed with two kids.

Sonia – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She faced camera for the first time at the age of two, and Moorkhan, Ival Theekkadal, Moorkhan etc are some of her early releases.

2. The popular ‘Kalli poonkuyile’ song of Thenmavin Kombath and ‘Aalipazham Perukkaan’ of My Dear Kuttichathan were filmed on her.

3. Audience still remembers and recognizes her as baby Soniya of My Dear Kuttichathan, who plays with a Kuttichathan. The actress says the audience still feels that she is a child, and that’s the one reason why she was never promoted to heroine roles. 

4. As a child artist she mostly played Mammootty’s daughter on silver screen. She played Mammootty’s sister in The King.

5. In the film sets of her most memorable film My Dear Kuttichathan, she was so close to assistant director T. K. Rajiv Kumar who was 24 years old then. They developed a friendship when the film shooting was going on, and she called him ‘Rajju’.

6. When T. K. Rajiv Kumar shot the film, Thacholi Varguese Chekavar starring Mohanlal and Urmila, he denied a role of Soniya because it was too glamorous, and he didn’t want her to see like that on silver screen. Later he casted another actress for the role.

7. Her mother reached Chennai for pursuing a career in films. Her dreamt didn’t come true and she made a cinema photographer Sreekumar and got settled in Chennai. Later she fulfilled her acting dreams through her daughter.

8. Sonia’s younger brother Tinku has appeared in many films as a child artist. Now he is settled in US with his family.

9. She is associated with ‘Smile Soul’, an organization dedicated to the welfare of women and kids.