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{{short description|Indian dancer and actress (born 1978)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Maanu
| image =
| birth_name = Krishnakshi Sharma
| birth_date = {{birth date and age |df=yes|1978|7|23}}
| birth_place = [[Guwahati]], [[Assam]], India
| years_active = 1998; 2014
| occupation = Actress, dancer
| website =
}}

'''Maanu''' is an Indian dancer and actress. After making her acting debut with [[Saran (director)|Saran]]'s ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' (1998), she opted against an acting career and continued pursuing her passion as a dancer by setting up a performing arts company and featuring in dance troupes worldwide. She resurfaced in 2011, when she aided actor [[Rajinikanth]]'s recovery from ill health in [[Singapore]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/maanu%20clarifies-hindi-news-73468|title=- Bollywood Movie News - IndiaGlitz.com|work=IndiaGlitz.com|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2004/04/09/stories/2004040901740600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121045126/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2004/04/09/stories/2004040901740600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-11-21|website=[[The Hindu]]|title=Ebullient presentation|date=2004-04-09|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> and returned to acting with ''[[Enna Satham Indha Neram]]'' (2014).

==Career==
Maanu was born and brought up in [[Guwahati]], [[Assam]] and began dancing by the age of 4. She completed her Bisharad in [[Manipuri dance|Manipuri]] and [[Kathak]] dance under the guidance of Gurumoni Sinha Singh, Guru Arabinda Kalita and Guru Hajuwari in 1992 and 1995 respectively. She then extensively trained in [[Bharathanatyam]] and performed her arangetram in 1995 under the supervision of her guru, Padma Hargopal. After embarking on a national dance tour, her passion for dancing brought her to [[Chennai]] to gain training under the [[Dhananjayans]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assam.org/news/dancing-all-way-krishnakshi-sharma|title=Dancing all the way: Krishnakshi Sharma {{!}} Assam Portal|website=www.assam.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> After seeing her perform during a dance show, actor [[Vivek (actor)|Vivek]] recommended her to director [[Saran (director)|Saran]], who then offered her the lead role in his directorial debut ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' (1998). Maanu initially turned down the opportunity, but signed on six months later after her parents consented.<ref name="hindu">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-cinemaplus/my-first-break-maanu/article3021255.ece|title=My first break -- Maanu|date=2009-03-13|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-09-20|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Despite the film's success, Maanu opted not to continue as an actress and set up her own dance company, Maanu Artz. She also participated with dance troupes worldwide, being the lead player in ''Sivagami'', ''Living Tree'', ''Madhavi'' and ''Konjum Salangai'', a classical dance programme.<ref name="hindu"/>

After getting married, Maanu moved to Singapore and resurfaced in the media in 2011, when she was promoting a Singaporean film in India titled ''[[Gurushetram – 24 Hours of Anger|Singayil Kurushetram]]'' and then involved in aiding [[Rajinikanth]]'s recovery from his illness. The producer of the film had been close to Rajinikanth, and had asked Maanu to look after the actor during his stay in Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ayngaran.com/frame.php?iframepath=newsdetails.php?newsid=6201|title=Ayngaran International|website=www.ayngaran.com|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> During the same year, she shot for a telefilm titled ''Ezhuthatha Kadhai'' shot in [[Sri Lanka]] and also worked with her husband Sandeep Durah, a cancer surgeon, in a medical camp in Colombo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/Maanu-is-on-a-high/articleshow/8387916.cms|title=Maanu is on a high - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> She also helped stage a production, ''Bhishma, The Grandsire, The Pitamaha'' in Chennai, which director [[K. Balachander]], Rajinikanth and actor [[Vivek (actor)|Vivek]] attended.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/maanu-clarifies-tamil-news-73468.html|title=- Tamil Movie News - IndiaGlitz.com|work=IndiaGlitz.com|access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> She appeared in her second Tamil film, ''[[Enna Satham Indha Neram]]'' (2014) portraying the role of the mother of quadruplets, sixteen years after making her acting debut. The film's director Guru Ramesh had narrated the script to her and she had initially told him that she was not interested in acting in the film. He later took her and [[Singapore]]-based theatre actor [[Puravalan]] to meet actor Rajinikanth, and narrated the script in front of him. On Rajinikanth's suggestion, Maanu finally accepted to act in the film,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dc-epaper.com/PUBLICATIONS/DC/DCC/2013/11/25/Article//112/25_11_2013_112_023.jpg | title=I've grown to call Rajinikanth appa | work=Deccan Chronicle | date=25 November 2013 | accessdate=17 December 2013 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126115739/http://www.dc-epaper.com/PUBLICATIONS/DC/DCC/2013/11/25/Article//112/25_11_2013_112_023.jpg | archivedate=26 November 2013}}</ref> although his only concern was whether she should play "a mother of four seven-year-olds", which was not an issue for Maanu. The film had a low-profile release and performed poorly at the box office.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/act-ii/article5459581.ece | title=Act II | work=The Hindu | date=14 December 2013 | accessdate=17 December 2013 | author=Malathi Rangarajan}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" cellpadding="5"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Language
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
|rowspan="1"| 1998 || ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' || Thilothamma || Tamil ||
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2014 || ''[[Enna Satham Indha Neram]]'' || Mother of the quadruplets || Tamil ||
|}

==See also==

*[[List of Indian actresses]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|5255339}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maanu}}
[[Category:Actresses in Tamil cinema]]
[[Category:Actresses from Guwahati]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Performers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Bharatanatyam exponents]]
[[Category:Dancers from Assam]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:1978 births]]

Maanu - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 10:12, 14 August 2023