As Vismaya Mohanlal makes her acting debut with Thudakkam, here’s what you need to know about Mohanlal’s daughter, from her Muay Thai training to her life away from the spotlight.
IMAGE: Vismaya Mohanlal in Thudakkam.
Key Points
- Mohanlal’s daughter Vismaya Mohanlal makes her acting debut at 32 with Jude Anthany Joseph’s Thudakkam, following her elder brother Pranav into cinema.
- Away from films, Vismaya has trained in Muay Thai, travelled extensively and published a collection of poetry titled Grains of Stardust.
- Director Jude Anthany Joseph has lauded Vismaya as a ‘born actress’ for her natural performance in front of the camera.
On August 7, Malayalam cinema is ready to welcome a new star kid to the big screen.
Vismaya, Malayalam cinema superstar Mohanlal’s daughter, is making her acting debut with Thudakkam, following in the footsteps of her elder sibling, Pranav.
Playing the lead role, Vismaya is directed by Jude Anthany Joseph (Om Shanti Oshana, 2018) in the film, which also stars Saikumar, Aashish Joe Antony, T G Ravi, Ganesh Kumar and Chippy. Her father has a cameo in the movie.
As we wait for this Friday to see how Vismaya’s performance turns out, let’s share some interesting details about this new nepo kid on the block, who has a huge legacy to live up to.
Age and Family Life
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
According to IMDb, Vismaya Mohanlal was born on March 27, 1994, in Thiruvananthapuram, which makes her 32 when her first movie comes out. That’s quite an unusual, if not unheard of, age for a star kid trying to enter cinema through acting.
IMAGE: Vismaya Mohanlal and Mohanlal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Her father is, of course, the legendary Mohanlal, considered one of the finest actors in Indian cinema. He has won five National Film Awards, including two for Best Actor, and nine Kerala State Film Awards. The Government of India also honoured him with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
IMAGE: Suchitra and Vismaya Mohanlal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Her mother is Suchitra, who is the late film producer K Balaji’s daughter. Vismaya’s parents affectionately call her Maya.
IMAGE: Pranav and Vismaya Mohanlal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Her brother Pranav is three-and-a-half years older than her. He entered cinema much earlier, first acting as a child artiste in movies like Onnaman (2002), where he played the childhood version of his father’s character, and Punarjani (2002), for which he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist.
IMAGE: Pranav Mohanlal in Dies Irae.
Pranav made his debut as a lead actor in 2018 with Jeethu Joseph’s action thriller Aadhi (2018). Very choosy when it comes to selecting his films, he went on to deliver hits like Hridayam (2022), Varshangalkku Shesham (2024) and Diés Iraé (2025).
Educational Background and Interests
IMAGE: Pranav, Mohanlal, Vismaya and Suchitra. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Vismaya Mohanlal did her schooling in Ooty and later went to study theatre in Prague, London and the USA.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Vismaya has dabbled in some interesting art forms, from writing poetry to photography. In an interview, her father revealed that she won Best Supporting Actress in a school play.
Muay Thai Training and Literary Pursuits
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Like her brother, Vismaya loves travelling, and in 2020, she visited Thailand and didn’t return home when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Instead, she used that time to train in the martial arts form Muay Thai at FitKoh.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
This training helped her lose 22 kilos, with the debutante actress having weighed nearly 100 kg a few years earlier. Somehow, we have this feeling that her Muay Thai skills are gonna play a part in her debut film. Just like how Pranav’s parkour skills came in handy in his first movie as a lead.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Vismaya is a published author. Her first book, Grains of Stardust, is a collection of poems she wrote over the years. Amitabh Bachchan praised her book on X, writing, ‘Talent is hereditary.’
IMAGE: Vismaya and Pranav Mohanlal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
She loves taking trips with her brother and their favourite destination is the Himalayas.
WATCH: The Thudakkam Trailer
Recently, Vismaya sparked some controversy when she supported the student protests in New Delhi against the NEET paper leaks, posting a strong statement on Instagram.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
Actor-filmmaker Major Ravi, who is a close friend of the family, dismissed her views claiming she doesn’t have political awareness during a social media live. However, in an interview with FTQ, Vismaya stood by her statement, saying this is a democracy and that ‘we should be allowed to question and be heard’.
IMAGE: Vismaya and Mohanlal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vismaya Mohanlal/Instagram
In an interview with NDTV, Sirector Jude Anthany Joseph called Vismaya Mohanlal a ‘born actress’, claiming she was natural in front of the camera. Even though Mohanlal once claimed that his children did not share a passion for entering movies, both of them are now becoming part of the industry.
Here’s hoping Vismaya impresses fans with her performance in the thriller and that it turns out to be an awesome thudakkam to her acting career!
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Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
