Manasa Varanasi

Manasa Varanasi
Manasa in 2020
Born (1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 29)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, (now in Telangana) India
EducationVasavi College of Engineering
OccupationActress,
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title
Major competitions

Manasa Varanasi (born 21 March 1997) is an Indian actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Femina Miss India 2020. She later represented India at Miss World 2021, where she reached the top 13. Manasa made her acting debut with Devaki Nandana Vasudeva (2024) and received success with Couple Friendly (2026).

Early life and education

Manasa was born in Hyderabad to Ravisankar and Shailaja. She moved to Singapore at a young age due to her father's job and attended the Global Indian International School and completed her grade 10 there. Later she returned to India, and completed her intermediate then studied computer science at the Vasavi College of Engineering in Hyderabad. After graduating with a computer science degree, she began work as a financial information exchange analyst at FactSet, in Hyderabad. She won the Miss Fresher title in the first year of her college.

Pageantry

Manasa won Femina Miss India 2020, representing the state of Telangana, on 10 February 2021. She was crowned as Femina Miss India World 2020 by the outgoing titleholder Miss World 2019 second runner-up and Miss World Asia Suman Rao, at the Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. During the pageant's sub-contest ceremony, she won the Miss Rampwalk award.

Manasa represented India at Miss World 2021, on 16 March 2022 at Coca-Cola Music Hall, San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was placed among the top 13 contestants.

Manasa advocated strengthening child protection laws in India for her beauty with a purpose project. She also spoken about, "We Can", an awareness campaign against sexual abuse of children.

Acting career

Manasa in 2022

Four years after her Miss India win, Manasa made her acting debut with the 2024 Telugu film Devaki Nandana Vasudeva. She played three roles opposite Ashok Galla. The film received mixed reviews from critics and failed commercially.

In 2026, Manasa played a software engineer opposite Santosh Sobhan in the Telugu film Couple Friendly. Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Hindu noted, "Manasa plays an ambitious modern girl with a quiet strength — showcasing both Mithra’s resilience and vulnerabilities with an adept mix of assurance and innocence. Both leads share a terrific on-screen camaraderie." The film became a commercial success.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2024 Devaki Nandana Vasudeva Satya, Radha, Rukmini
2026 Couple Friendly Mithra
2027 George Krish † TBA Filming

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Manasa Varanasi, the 24-year old Miss India 2020 Winner From Telangana". makers.yahoo.com.
  2. ↑ "My goal now is to bring home the Miss World crown: Manasa Varanasi - Times of India". The Times of India.
  3. ↑ "Who is Manasa Varanasi, winner of Miss India 2020?". indianexpress.com. 11 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "Manasa Varanasi Biography: Birth, Age, Family, Height, Weight, Education, Career and More". Jagranjosh.com. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Telangana's Manasa Varanasi crowned VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020". thehindu.com. 11 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Who is Manasa Varanasi? All You Need to Know About Miss India World 2020". News18 India. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. ↑ Pasajol, Anne (17 March 2022). "Miss World 2021: Tracy Maureen Perez advances to top 13". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Campaign against child abuse launched". The Hindu. 5 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "Manasa Varanasi supports campaign to protect children - Times of India". The Times of India. 7 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Femina Miss India World 2020 Manasa Varanasi On Her Dreams & Achievements". femina.in. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Sistu, Suhas (20 November 2024). "'Devaki Nandana Vasudeva' creates buzz". www.thehansindia.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  12. ↑ "Devaki Nandana Vasudeva Movie Review: Tedious And Uninteresting". Times Now. 22 November 2024. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  13. ↑ Kavirayani, Suresh (6 February 2026). "Manasa Varanasi finding her frame". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  14. ↑ Nadadhur, Srivathsan (14 February 2026). "'Couple Friendly' movie review: Santosh Sobhan, Manasa Varanasi's romance drama is mature and heartfelt". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  15. ↑ "'Couple Friendly' OTT release: Where to stream Santosh Sobhan and Manasa Varanasi's romantic drama". The Times of India. 14 March 2026. Archived from the original on 15 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  16. ↑ Harsh, B. H. (21 November 2024). "Manasa Varanasi: It was a challenge to embrace the 'mass' element". Cinema Express. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  17. ↑ Harsh, B. H. (9 August 2025). "Couple Friendly teaser: A chance encounter paves way for a passionate relationship between two strangers". Cinema Express. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "Manasa Varanasi to romance Sharwanand in Srinu Vaitla's 'George Krish'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 September 2026.

Manasa Varanasi at IMDb