Although a Tamil by birth, it was the Malayalam film industry that catapulted Charmila to great heights. While she made her foray into cinema as a child artiste in the Sivaji Ganesan-starrer Nallathoru Kudumbam (1979) and then debuted as a lead actor in the Tamil movie Oyilattam (1991), Charmila soon received the opportunity to star opposite Mohanlal in back-to-back movies: director Sibi Malayil’s Dhanam (1991) and Bhadran’s Uncle Bun (1991). Needless to say, both films quickly made her a favourite among movie audiences.

The same year, she also played the female lead opposite Jayaram in cinematic legend Bharathan’s Keli, further establishing her as a strong performer. In the first half of the 1990s, Charmila made notable appearances in Tamil and Telugu movies as well. However, in her own words, romance ruined her life. It began with the fallout from her relationship with action star Babu Antony, and then her life nosedived further, leading to two failed marriages.

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‘He was my first love’: Charmila on relationship with Babu Antony

As she was making strides in Malayalam cinema, Charmila appeared in a movie titled Kadal (1994), in which Babu also played a key role. That’s where they first met. They subsequently worked together in movies such as Rajadhani and Kambolam, during which they fell in love. The duo collaborated on six films in total.

Although they were together for four years, Charmila and Babu eventually parted ways, and she once revealed that her father never really liked him. “We were in love for four years and were almost in a live-in relationship. But my father didn’t like him. He basically hated him (Babu). Firstly, he was much older than me, and then he (her father) heard some bad things about Babu that he didn’t reveal,” she said during an appearance on Kairali TV’s JB Junction.

This article discusses sensitive personal experiences, including emotional distress, relationships, and suicide attempts. It is intended for informational and reflective purposes only and does not constitute professional, psychological, or legal advice.

She continued, “Babu went to the US once and never returned. I think his brother was the reason for that. I still don’t think Babu’s a bad person. He was my first love; I was 19 then. But when that didn’t happen, I attempted suicide by slitting my wrist. However, my mother saved me.”

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Opening up about their relationship further, she told Onmanorama, “He displayed great care for me. While we were shooting at Kuttikanam, the geyser in my room stopped working. Babu filled hot water in a bucket at his room and carried it to mine. But my father was enraged upon seeing this, and he struck the bucket down.”

“Later, we were shooting at some interior location, and the sky was getting cloudy. When Babu saw that my car was getting late, he offered to drop us in his car. But my father didn’t allow me to go with him in the same car. Then Babu got down from his car and asked us to get in it. All this drew me close to Babu Antony. I was touched that he was suffering all this for my sake,” revealed Charmila.

Charmila entered Malayalam cinema playing the female lead opposite Mohanlal.

She further maintained that her father’s strict attitude drove her closer to Babu. “Had my father tried to explain things with love, I wouldn’t have ended up in that relationship. Instead, he tried to protect me. As a daughter, I am a total failure. I wouldn’t have had this fate if I had said ‘yes’ to the marriage alliance that was brought by my father.”

When Babu Antony denied relationship claims

Nevertheless, in another JB Junction episode, Babu Antony denied ever being in a romantic relationship with a fellow actor. “I wanted to be a chronic bachelor, but I fell in love with a college girl, not an actress. Many women had claimed that they were in love with me, and I have no idea about any actress’ allegations regarding her relationship with me,” he said.

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Discussing Charmila and Babu Antony’s romantic relationship, legendary screenwriter Kaloor Dennis wrote in Grihalakshmi, “It was during Kambolam that divine romance first blossomed in Charmila. I understood its paths very well. When I felt that this direction was dangerous, I donned the mantle of a great advisor, but love was embracing Charmila strongly. As a result, she started avoiding me whenever she saw me. As years passed, Charmila’s romance failed. With that, she fell into a terrible mental state.”

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Secret marriage with Kishor Satya and career sacrifice

But Charmila’s woes didn’t end there. After her breakup with Babu Antony, she slowly grew close to Kishor Satya, a film and television actor who worked as an assistant director at the time. They eventually got married, but it turned out to be an even bigger failure than her previous relationship, marking the beginning of her film career’s downfall as well.

“I was going through a phase of depression and Kishor would talk to me lovingly. Soon we became close to each other,” she said. “We got married while I was getting lots of acting opportunities in the movies. Kishor asked me to quit movies post-wedding. In the meantime, he went to Sharjah. I rejected the offer to act in the movie Sethu (1999) opposite Vikram, thinking that Kishor wouldn’t like it. For four years, he lived there and I here. Later, I met him in Dubai when I went there for a show. He then told me that he wasn’t interested in continuing our relationship,” Charmila recalled.

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Charmila and Antony Babu were together for four years. However, he has denied ever being in a romantic relationship with a fellow actor.

“He wanted to keep our wedding a secret. It was a registered marriage attended by just our family members, and we got a mutual divorce after realising that Kishor married me only due to my popularity and was not interested in me,” she said.

A second failed marriage

Yet, Charmila decided to give marriage another try. Rajesh was a software engineer and was one of her sister’s friends. He was eight years younger than Charmila.

“I am a Christian, and Rajesh wanted me to convert to Hinduism for our son. But I wanted my son to follow Christianity, as he was born only after many prayers. Legally, we are divorced now, but still in touch with him. During the court proceedings, my son said he wanted to be with me, and Rajesh often visits to meet our son,” she added.

“I had romantic relationships at all stages of my life. I failed to learn lessons from my experiences,” she said.

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After the release of the Justice Hema Committee report in 2024, Charmila had said she faced extremely bad behaviour in the Malayalam film industry at one point. She claimed that as many as 28 people behaved inappropriately with her.

“A producer tried to molest [me] along with his friends,” Charmila alleged, referring to MP Mohanan, one of the co-producers of the film Arjunan Pillayum Anchu Makkalum. “Director Hariharan asked if I would ‘cooperate’ (yield). He asked this to actor Vishnu. After saying that I was not ready for it, both Vishnu and I were removed from the movie,” she told Asianet News.

Although she isn’t very active in cinema now, Charmila still makes occasional appearances. She has also appeared in several television shows.

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