Celebrating Onam in Mumbai, Malavika Mohanan reflects on her Malayali heritage. From elaborate Sadya to fond memories

Updated on: Aug 26, 2026, 09:38:41 IST

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For Malavika Mohanan, Onam has always been more than just a festival. Born and raised in Mumbai, the actor says it was one of the few occasions that allowed her to reconnect with her Malayali roots. “Because I’m a Malayali who didn’t grow up in Kerala at all, I grew up in Mumbai. I’ve been born, raised, I did my school, college, everything in Mumbai. So for me, Onam was one of those few special days in the year where I could really celebrate my roots,” she tells us.

Malayalam was spoken at home, Malayali food was part of everyday life and she regularly visited her hometown. But some of her fondest Onam memories are less about the elaborate Sadya and more about making the floral Pookalam with friends. “I was a very fussy child when it came to food, so for me, Sadya was never the exciting part as a kid. It was always the Pookalam,” she recalls. Growing up in Mumbai, she would invite her Maharashtrian and Gujarati friends over while her mother bought flowers from the market. “We would all sit and decide what sort of design to make for the flower rangoli. It was like a three-four-hour-long affair… the mothers would be chilling together. So that for me is a very, very fond memory.”

Onam also introduced her to the traditional textiles of Kerala. Her mother’s collection of Kasavu saris remains a prized part of the family wardrobe. “I remember getting very excited when I could wear my first Kasavu sari and feel like a woman and strut around,” she says. She particularly loves its versatility. “You can go very minimalistic with it… or you can go very maximalistic with it. I think what I love about the Kasavu is that you can really dress it up and down. White with gold is such a stunning combination that I feel like you can’t really go wrong with.”

As she has grown older, Onam has evolved from a celebration of heritage into an opportunity to spend time with family. “While growing up, it used to be about celebrating my heritage, but now it’s also about trying to make time around then, going to my hometown to spend it with my cousins, my family. As our grandparents are getting older, everybody feels really nice to come together,” she says. “It’s one festival that really brings us together. We take time off from work commitments and go to my hometown and spend time with them.”

Her connection to Kerala, she adds, remains central to her identity. “The older I’ve grown, I feel like I really like knowing more about the land of my ancestors, knowing more about our culture. I always make sure that I go back to Kerala every once in a while… because it gives me a lot of strength.” The tradition she hopes to preserve is equally simple: “The one Onam tradition I hope to continue no matter what is just catching up with family around that time and celebrating Onam in our hometown in Kerala. The older you grow, you just want to make memories with your family as much as possible.”

Her ideal Onam would be a day spent in Kerala with her cousins. “We are a lot of girls, so it’s a lot of girl energy, which I love. I’m a girl’s girl,” she says. The day would include a sari, a temple visit, a home-cooked Sadya and plenty of time playing games and catching up with family. “My mom is a wonderful cook and so is my aunt, so is my grandmother. So to have a lovely Sadya and then be in the food coma of that for a while, play some card games, board games with my cousins, and just chill with them, sit with everyone, talk, laugh, just sort of take in the festivities.”

Even in Mumbai, her family recreates that feeling. “My mom does a very elaborate Sadya at home… It’s served on a banana leaf, obviously, and she’ll hand-cook all the items. Our house will be full of flowers,” she says. Friends are invited over, many dressed in traditional Kerala attire. “It’s like a mini Kerala in the midst of Mumbai,” she adds.

And if she could invite one person from the industry to her family’s Onam Sadya, her choice is clear: “I think it would be Thalapathy Vijay because we’ve been friends for a long time now, and he keeps telling my mother that he would like to come home and eat her food one day.”

Onam Picks ft. Malavika Mohanan

Your go-to Onam look?

I like sticking to a very traditional Kasavu sari, a very minimalistic, simple look with just my hair tied in a plait with some really nice gold jhumkis, some bangles, a simple sari and a bindi.

Pookalam or Sadya?

The childhood me would have picked Pookalam, but now I find myself getting too lazy for it. So now I would say Sadya.

Payasam or banana chips?

I don’t think a lot of Malayalis are going to like me after my answer, but I’m not a big payasam person. I never have been. But I love banana chips, and you also get these banana jaggery chips. They’re both a part of Sadya, and I love eating that combination.

One Onam dish you can never say no to?

Sambar. I really like sambar. And I absolutely need crunch with my food, so I love pappadam. There’s a Kerala pappadam that you get, so for me, no Sadya is complete without pappadam. I’m a complete pappadam girl.

One thing you absolutely cannot do without on Onam?

My mother.

Childhood Onam or Onam today?

Maybe Onam today. Back in the day, when I was a kid, we never got school holidays around this time, so I could never go and celebrate it in Kerala, which I can do now with my extended family.

Onam at home or Onam on a holiday?

Onam on a holiday is as good as no Onam. So when I’m at home.

One person you would want beside you at the perfect Sadya?

My cousins.

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