Leena Manimekalai is an Indian filmmaker, poet, and actress who is known for attracting controversy after releasing the poster of the movie ‘Kaali’ which shows a woman as the goddess Kaali, smoking a cigarette and holding a pride flag.
Wiki/Biography
Leena Manimekalai was born on Saturday, June 7, 1980 (age 42 years; in 2022) in Srivilliputtur, Tamil Nadu. His zodiac sign is Gemini. She attended Holy Cross Convent School, Madurai. He pursued his studies in BE in Instrumentation and Control Engineering at Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu and Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking at York University, Canada.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 5″
Weight (approx): 55 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Figure Measurements (approx): 36-26-36
Family
Parents & Siblings
Leena’s father’s name is Iragupathi, who is a college professor. He died when Leena was in her second year of college.
Leena Manimekalai as a child with her father
His mother’s name is Rama.
Leena Manimekalai with her mother
He has an elder brother, Elango Raghupathy, who is a filmmaker.
Husband
Her husband’s name is unknown. He is divorced.
Sexual Orientation
Leena considers herself bisexual.
I came out as bisexual in my second poetry book “Ulagin azhagiya Muthal Penn” in 2007. HinduMakkalKatchi filed a police case seeking a ban. Ultra leftist Gps like Vinavu write hate articles. Continued publication of the first Tamil lesbian poetry book “Antharakanni” in 2013. Happy #Pride2021 pic.twitter.com/eqjeOUfPO9
— Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) June 2, 2021
religious views
According to his Facebook account, he is an atheist.
Caste
Leena belongs to the shudra caste.
@maamalmanI am a born shudra who believes in abolition of caste & I do not hide this fact or information about my background!
— Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) June 8, 2014
Career
Director
Leena made her debut in 2003 with the Tamil short film Mathamma.
A bit from Leena Manimekalai’s movie ‘Mathamma’ (2003)
He has directed other short films including Break the Shackles (2004), Love Lost (2004), Waves After Waves (2006), Is it too much to Ask (2017), and Maadathy (2021).
Movie poster ‘Is it too much to Ask’ (2017)
Actor
Leena debuted with the Tamil film Chellamma (2004) and played the role of the protagonist.
Chellamma (2004) movie poster
He has appeared as an actor in other films including The White Cat (2004), Love Lost (2005), and Sengadal (the Dead Sea) (2011).
‘Sengadal’ movie poster
poet
She has written poems that include As a Lone Leaf (2003), The First Beautiful Woman in the World (2009), Queen of Sluts (2011), Antharakanni (2012), and Chichili (2016). He revealed his sexual preferences in his second poem, The First Beautiful Woman in the World. The poem, Antharakanni, written by her became the first Tamil lesbian poetry book.
Leena Manimekalai supports the queer community
Controversy
Leena’s sexual harassment incident:
In 2018, Leena invited controversy when she revealed about the sexual harassment she went through. In 2018, she took to Facebook and accused director Susi Ganesan of harassing her. Susi responded to his statement and said,
I shudder at your baseless accusations. I have evidence to prove your flawed character. Because I didn’t give you a chance to work with me, you leveled this allegation.”
Hurting Hindu religious sentiments:
In 2022, Leena invited controversy when she posted the poster of the movie ‘Kaali’ on her Facebook account. The Delhi Police registered an FIR against her after a lawyer complained about the controversial poster of her documentary film, ‘Kaali’, which showed Dewi smoking a cigarette. In an interview, the police officer spoke about the complaint and said,
The complainant attached a photo of alleged Dewi Kaali smoking a cigarette, which was posted by the verified Twitter handle of Leena Manimekalai. Basically, the content appears to promote enmity between different groups on religious and racial grounds and commit acts detrimental to the maintenance of harmony, which is likely to disturb public order.”
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- 2004: Chicago Women in International Film Festival Director Chair
- 2004: Silver Trophy for Best Documentary Film Festival in Europe
- 2005: Best Actor and Best Experimental Video in the Independent Art Film Festival
- 2005: Best Documentary in Paris and the Norwegian Independent Diaspora Festival
- 2005: European Union Federation for Conflict Resolution in the Media
- 2005: Retrospective, International Democratic Socialist Youth Film Festival, Venezuela
- 2006: International Jury in the Asian Film Festival, Malaysia
- 2007: Jury Award for Best Resistance Cinema
- 2008: Golden Conch for Best International Documentary in Mumbai International Film Festival
- 2008: Visiting Scholar Fellowship, Berlinale
- 2008: One Billion Eyes National Award – Best Documentary
- 2008: Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Programme, Birds Eye View Film Festival, London
- 2008: Iyal Award for Best Poetry from The Tamil Literary Garden for Ulakin Azhakiya Muthal Penn
- 2011: Sirpi Literary Award for contribution to Tamil Poetry
- 2011: India Panorama Selection for Sengadal
- 2011: NAWFF Award for Best Asian Women’s Cinema (Tokyo) for the film Sengadal
- 2013: Lenin Award from Thamizh Studio
- 2014: Srishti Tamil Lambda Literary Award for his book Antharakanni
- 2015: L’Oreal Paris Femina Women’s Award
- 2020: AIFF Award for the film Maadathy, an Unfairy Tale (2019)
Facts/Trivia
- She is affectionately called Karuvachi by her friends and family members.
- Leena follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- According to his Facebook account, he follows a post-political ideology.
- As a child, he used to watch movies with his father in their village.
Leena Manimekalai with her father as a child
- According to him, in his village, there is a custom of marrying the daughter to her maternal uncle as soon as she turns eighteen. Leena’s family also decided the same, and when she turned eighteen, they fixed her marriage with her maternal uncle.
- In an interview, she said that she did not want to marry her uncle, and for this, she began to get good grades in class, although she did not like to study. She did this so that she could make it easier for her parents to let her study further and not marry him, but her parents did not change their minds and fixed her marriage with her uncle.
- After hearing their decision, Leena runs away from her village and arrives in Chennai, where she starts looking for a job. He went to the Tamil magazine’s office in Chennai for an interview, which called his family and handed him over to them. After reaching home, she told her family that she wanted to study engineering and not marry her uncle. In his third year of college, he assisted director Bharathiraja and learned about films from him.
Leena Manimekalai in her teenage years
- When she was working with director Bharathiraja, the media started printing about her affair with a married actor. His family was affected by this rumour, after which they asked him to return home. In an interview, while talking about the same, he said,
My mother is on hunger strike. I initially refused to give in, but his health deteriorated, and I had to leave cinema and Bharathiraja.”
- Leena returned home and started working in an IT firm. According to him, he changed eleven jobs in two years, because he always wanted to direct films and not work in an IT firm.
- In 2002, he started earning money through freelance work and spent the money to direct his internationally acclaimed films.
Leena Manimekalai during a movie shoot
- In 2017, he decided to make an independent film on Kamala Das. In an interview, she said that producer Kamal promised to feature her in the English version of the film, but did not make the film because Vidya Balan walked out of the Malayalam version of the film. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
Kamal is a senior filmmaker and he may have his own reasons. But what bothered me was that after discussing the script and other details, he couldn’t keep his words. So I have decided to go ahead and direct an independent film on Kamala Das. I want to focus on the film I left three years ago. Only free expression can put the soul of the poet before the interests of the market.”
- In 2018, his passport was confiscated by the High court after he filed a harassment case against director Susi. In an interview, talking about the same, he said,
I don’t know the basis of the police giving a bad police verification report. If the exact details are given, I will be in a better position to give a suitable answer for the same.”
- According to him, he does not cast any actors in his films because they are afraid to work on the subject he is working on.
- He said that he directed the film Sengadal (dead sea) about fishermen caught on the border of Sri Lanka. In an interview, he talked about why he directed the film and said,
Coming from a Communist political family, I was directly and indirectly involved with the Sri Lankan crisis throughout my youth. I was part of a group involved in the anti-war movement and India’s stand in the war.”
‘Sengadal’ movie poster
- In 2022, the poster of his film ‘Kaali’ became controversial. Amid the controversy, a priest threatened Leena to behead her if her film ‘Kaali’ was released.
‘Kaali’ movie poster
- While in school, she loved doing Bharatnatyam.
Leena Manimekalai practiced Bharatnatyam at school
- He is often featured in various newspapers.
Leena Manimekalai featured in newspapers
- He is often seen smoking on various occasions.
Like smoke, Like tray, Like color, Like ring, Like dust, Like day, Like life! pic.twitter.com/zMs51kUjON
— Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) May 9, 2014
- She is a passionate animal lover and often posts their pictures on social media.
Leena Manimekalai playing with a goat
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
