Rashmika Mandanna birthday special: Roles that led to her popularity

At the tender age of 20, Rashmika Mandanna paved her path in the Kannada film industry with her debut film Kirik Party. Little did she know that a few years down the line, she would become one of the most popular Indian actors, with the highest-grossing films. With back-to-back successful projects, she is unstoppable! On her 27th birthday, we list down her best roles.

Mandanna made her acting debut with Rishab Shetty's directorial film Kirik Party in 2016 opposite Rakshit Shetty. Although the film was about Karna—a college stud who enjoys massive popularity, it was Mandanna as Saanvi who brought a new flavor to the film, which eventually led to its success. Her role was that of a popular, multifaceted girl in an engineering college.

For those unfamiliar with Mandanna's filmography, we recommend starting with Geetha Govindam, which also stars Vijay Deverakonda in the lead role. Released in 2018, this film is a perfect enemy-to-lover trope. Mandanna was highly praised for bringing emotional depth and vulnerability to the character. The audience loved the chemistry between the lead pair so much that Mandanna-Deverakonda went on to work in another movie.

It is interesting to note that Mandanna has always chosen roles opposite actors who have a massive fan following. Whether a conscious decision or not, her films eventually become hugely popular. Among them is Allu Arjun's Pushpa—a 2021 film, which gave a boost to Mandanna's popularity in the Hindi-speaking states too. The Saami Saami song became the biggest hit of Mandanna's career so far.

Mandanna's greatest strength is that she can easily get into the skin of the character, and her determination is commendable. This was seemingly evident in the film Mission Majnu, where she trained for over a month to portray the character of a blind woman. Starring opposite Sidharth Malhotra, the thriller film was set in the 1970s and revolved around an undercover R&AW agent.