Rashmika Mandanna

l Crush of India", Rashmika Mandanna has been ranking first in Banglore Times '30 under 30' most desirable women. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in the Telugu and Kanada Film industries and among the very few actresses crossing the 100 Cr mark within a short span.

Rashmika was born on April 5, 1996, in Virajpet, Kodagu district, Karnataka, India to her parents Madan Mandanna and Suman Mandanna. Her father owned a coffee estate and her mother was a homemaker. She has a younger sister Simran, with whom Rashmika shares a 17-year age gap. Rashmika once said that due to her busy work schedule, it is painful to be away from her sister and not be able to see her grow up. In her childhood days, Rashmika's family faced struggles when they had difficulty paying rent. It was the time when her parents could not afford to buy her toys which tainted her relationship with money. Although, Rashmika was inclined towards acting from a very young age.

In 2016, Rashmika participated in Lamode Bangalore’s top model hunt where she caught the eyes of the makers of the film 'Kirik Party' who offered her a lead role in the film. Rashmika made her acting debut in 2016 with the Kannada film Kirik Party opposite Rakshit Shetty. The film became a blockbuster and earned her the South Indian International Movie Award (SIIMA) for Best Debut Actress. Her maiden acting venture emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of the year in Kannada.

After Kirik Party Rashmika was featured in the commercially successful action film 'Anjani Putra' and romance 'Chamak' (2017). She made her Telugu cinema debut with 'Chalo' (2018), which was also a commercial success. She later played the leading lady in the Telugu action comedy 'Devadas' and Romantic comedy 'Geetha Govindam' (2018) opposite actor Vijay Deverakonda. The film became one of the highest profit earners in the history of Telugu cinema and earned her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress Telugu.

Mandanna further gained further recognition with 'Dear Comrade' (2019) opposite Vijay Deverakond. She played a leading lady in Sarileru Neekevvaru (2020), the romance Bheeshma (2020). She bagged her debut Tamil film, an action drama 'Sulthan' (2021). Rashmika made her Bollywood debut with Goodbye (2022) alongside Amitabh and Neena Gupta. Although she was inclined to androcentric films, she did not receive much appreciation, since the films provided limited scope to showcase her acting abilities.

Interestingly, the film 'Master' could have marked Rashmika Mandanna’s first on-screen collaboration with the south superstar Thalapathy Vijay. She almost starred in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s film and was offered the role of Charu, Vijay’s on-screen love interest. But, Rashmika Mandanna rejected the blockbuster due to prior commitments. Eventually, the role fell into the lap of Malavika Mohanan. Master released in 2021 which emerged as a massive box office success as the action thriller earned between Rs 250-300 crore.

Rashmika Mandanna got another chance to work with Thalapathy Vijay in 'Varisu' the action drama which earned an impressive Rs 310 crore despite mixed reviews. Mandanna revealed once, that she had a huge crush on Vijay and wanted to work with the South superstar, while her dream came true with 'Varisu'.

Interestingly, Rashmika and Allu Arjun starrer 'Pushpa: The Rise was released in 2021 in theatres, which too became a massive hit at the box office. Mandanna earned wider recognition for her role in the action film Pushpa: The Rise (2021). There Mandanna played a supporting role in the period drama 'Sita Ramam' (2022). She expanded her wings towards Hindi cinema and had her highest-grossing release with the action drama Animal (2023). Mandanna was seen romancing Ranbir Kapoor while she shared the frame with Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna and Tripti Dimri.

Mandanna reprised in the sequel Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024), Rashmika plays the leading lady against the Telugu Superstar Allu Arjun opposite, which is the greatest Indian film with a gross of 265 Cr for its opening day worldwide. Her role as Srivalli in Pushpa & Pushpa 2 has gained her widespread acclaim and further boosted her stardom.

Rashmika Mandanna had an exciting slate of films lined up for release in 2025 across multiple industries. ‘Chhaava’ a historical action drama starring Vicky Kaushal, is based on the life of Maratha king Sambhaji and is scheduled for release on February 14, 2025. Rashmika will star next in Kubera, alongside Dhanush and Nagarjuna Akkineni, which is expected to be released in December 2024 but might now be pushed to a new release date in 2025.

Rashmika has bagged the lead role in Salman Khan’s upcoming Eid release, Sikandar. Directed by AR Murugadoss, this film boasts an exciting ensemble cast and is among the highly anticipated Indian films of 2025. Rashmika will also be a part of Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Supernatural Universe (MSU) with the Diwali release Thama, where she stars alongside Ayushmann Khurrana. Apart from these, she has a couple of Telugu and Tamil projects in the works.

Achievements

Rashmika has won multiple awards, including the Filmfare Awards South and SIIMA Awards. She became one of the few actresses to achieve pan-India appeal with her performances in regional and Bollywood films. Rashmika happens to be among very very Tollywood actresses having entered the 100 crore mark over a short period. Being one of South India's highest-paid actresses, she has featured in Forbes India's 2024 list of "30 Under 30". In addition to acting, Mandanna serves as the ambassador of several brands and products.