Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, ''Selvi''. She is also credited as a dubbing artist. She has dubbed her voice for

and

movies for actresses like

Nagma Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...

, Vijayashanti, Tabu,

Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe 1994 pageant. She is the first Indian to win the Miss Universe pageant. She was previously crowned Femina Miss India 1994 at the age of 18. A ...

Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ram ...

and

Soundarya K. S. Sowmya (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films. She was regarded as one o ...

in 1990s. She is a recipient of several state awards from Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, six

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

and six Nandi Awards including a Special Jury Award for the film ''Arjun''. Saritha received

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

four times,

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

once and many Film fans association award.

Career

Saritha made her acting debut through ''Manchiki Sthanam Ledu'' a movie produced by producer based in Warangal in 1978 with a different screen name followed by ''

Maro Charitra ''Maro Charitra'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan and Saritha in the lead with Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with cross-cultural ...

'', a

film directed by K. Balachander. The movie dealt with

cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to *cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis *cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate *any of vari ...

romance, where she acted opposite

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

as a Telugu-speaking girl. She received more offers in Tamil films and Tamil Audience accepted herself as her own,she mostly acted films directed by Balachander. Some of her films are ''

Thappu Thalangal ''Thappu Thalangal'' () is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Balachander and produced by R. Venkataraman starring Rajinikanth, Premila Joshi and Saritha in her film debut. It was made simultaneously and released in Kannada as '' ...

'', '' Idi Katha Kaadu'', ''

Vandichakkaram ''Vandichakkaram'' () is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Vijayan and written by Vinu Chakravarthy. The film stars Sivakumar and Saritha. It revolves around a ruffian who, after falling in love, resolves to mend his ways. Chakr ...

'', ''

Netrikan ''Netrikkan'' () is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth in a double role as father and son with Saritha and Menaka, while Goundamani, Laksh ...

'', '' Agni Sakshi'', ''

Puthukavithai ''Puthukavithai'' () is a Tamil language romantic drama film, directed by S. P. Muthuraman. The film was a remake of the 1976 Kannada film '' Naa Ninna Mareyalare''. Plot Anand is a motorcycle contest champion for six years in a row. Winning ...

'', ''

Kalyana Agathigal ''Kalyana Agathigal'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Saritha. It was released on 13 April 1985. The film marked the acting debut of Nassar. Plot The film begins with a group of six women w ...

'' and ''

Achamillai Achamillai ''Achamillai Achamillai'' () is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language political drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Rajesh and Saritha, with Pavithra, Jeyagopi, Delhi Ganesh, Charle and Delhi Nayakar in supporting roles. It re ...

''. Her performance in ''Vandichakkaram'' (1980) and ''

'' (1984) won her the Filmfare Best Tamil Actress awards. She also played guest roles as herself in ''

47 Natkal ''47 Natkal'' () is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. It was simultaneously made in Telugu as ''47 Rojulu'' (). The film stars Chiranjeevi, Jaya Prada and Anne Patricia. Based on the novel of th ...

'' and its Telugu remake, directed by Balachander. She acted in many popular

movies with famous Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar like ''

Hosa Belaku ''Hosa Belaku'' () is a 1982 Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Dorai–Bhagavan duo. It is based on the novel of the same name by Vani. The film starred Rajkumar, Saritha, Mamatha Rao and K. S. Ashwath. The movie saw a theatri ...

'', ''

Keralida Simha ''Keralida Simha'' () is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Chi Dattaraj. The film stars Rajkumar, Saritha, Thoogudeepa Srinivas, Pandari Bai and Srinivasa Murthy. The movie was produced by P. H. Ramarao in the banner of Sri Rajara ...

'', '' Bhakta Prahlada'', ''

Chalisuva Modagalu ''Chalisuva Modagalu'' () is a 1982 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao. The film stars Rajkumar, Saritha, Ambika and K. S. Ashwath and Puneeth Rajkumar as a child artiste. The movie is well known for its evergree ...

'' and ''

Kaamana Billu ''Kaamana Billu'' () is a 1983 Indian Kannada language film directed by Chi. Dattaraj. It stars Rajkumar, Anant Nag and Saritha. The film is based on the novel ''Mrigathrushna'' by Ashwini. This climax of the movie inspired a similar sequence ...

''. Her other popular Kannada movies include '' Eradu Rekhegalu'', ''Sankranthi'' and ''

Malaya Marutha ''Malaya Marutha'' ( Winds from the hills) is a 1986 Kannada-language musical film starring Vishnuvardhan, Saritha and Madhavi. The film was directed and written by K. S. L. Swamy (Lalitha Ravi) and produced by C. V. L Shastry under "Shastry M ...

''. She had her head

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...

d for the cancer-affected role in ''Sujatha'' in 1980 and gained several pounds to play the psychotic role in the 2005 film ''

Julie Ganapathi ''Julie Ganapathi'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film written, photographed, edited and directed by Balu Mahendra, starring Saritha, Jayaram and Ramya Krishnan. It is based on the 1987 Stephen King novel '' Misery''. Fe ...

''. Neither of these films were successful but won Critical acclaim. She also won a

Nandi Special Jury Award The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the ...

for her performance as "Aandaalu" in the movie '' Arjun'' in 2004. Saritha also worked as a

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil films. She has lent her voice to other actresses, including Madhavi,

, Vijayashanti, Simran, Tabu,

, Roja, Suhasini, Radha, Radhika and Aarthi Agarwal. She won four times the

Nandi Award for Best Female Dubbing Artist The Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the ...

for her voice to

in ''

Ammoru Ammoru () is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological fantasy film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. The film is produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy, under M. S. Arts Unit. It stars Ramya Krishna as Goddess Ammoru and Soundarya as her devotee, ...

'', ''Maa Ayana Bangaram'' (1997) and '' Anthapuram'' (1999).

Personal life

Saritha was born and brought up as Abhilasha in Munipalle, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. She married Malayalam actor

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

on 2 September 1988 and they have two sons, Shravan and Tejas. The couple separated in 2011. Saritha now resides with Shravan (made his acting debut in the 2018 film '' Kalyanam) in Al Ain, UAE.

Awards

;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1980 – Best Actress – Tamil - ''

'' * 1982 – Best Actress – Kannada - ''Hosa Belaku'' * 1984 – Best Actress – Tamil - ''

'' * 1985 – Best Actress – Kannada - ''

Mugila Mallige ''Mugila Mallige'' is a 1985 Indian Kannada language film written and directed by K. Balachander and produced by his own Kavithalaya Productions. Starring Saritha and Srinath in the lead roles, the film also featured Ramakrishna and Ashok in ...

'' * 1986 – Best Actress – Kannada - ''Mouna Geethe'' * 1989 – Best Actress – Kannada - ''Sankranthi'' * 1983 -Nominated-

Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. Film world, p 43 The year indicates the year of release of ...

-''

Kokilamma ''Kokilamma'' is a 1983 Indian Telugu-language film directed by K. Balachander. The title role of Kokilamma is played with humility by Saritha. It is a musical hit film with some excellent songs penned Acharya Aatreya and music score provided ...

'' * 1978-Nominated-

-''

'' ; Nandi Awards * 1982 – Special Jury – Best Actress - ''Kokilamma'' * 1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - ''Ammoru'' * 1996 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - ''Maavichiguru'' * 1997 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - ''Maa Ayana Bangaram'' * 1998 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - '' Anthapuram'' * 2004 – Special Jury - '' Arjun'' ;

* Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu State * 1979 –

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

- ''Oru Vellaadu Vengaiyagiradhu'' * 1982 – Best Actress - '' Agni Sakshi'' * 1988 – Best Actress - ''Poo Pootha Nandavanam'' * 1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist – ''Amman'' (1995) ;

* 1989 –

- ''Sankranthi''

Filmography

Tamil films

Malayalam films

* '' Oru Kochu Kadha Aarum Parayatha Kadha'' (1984) as Janu * '' Sandarbham'' (1984) as Dr.Indhu * ''

Minimol Vathikkaanil ''Minimol Vathicanil'' is a 1984 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Joshiy. The film stars Baby Shalini, Saritha, Ratheesh and Captain Raju in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. S. Viswanathan. Cast * Baby Shalini as Minimol *Rat ...

'' (1984) as Susie * '' Kaathodu Kaathoram'' (1985) as Marykutty * '' Muhoortham 11:30'' (1985) as Indu * ''Kaattuthee'' (1985) * ''Oru Kochu Kaaryam'' (1985) * '' Kanikaanumneram'' (1987) as Savithri * ''Yaagaagni'' (1987) as Bhairavi * '' P.C. 369'' (1987) as Elsa Mathew * ''Manasa Maine Varu'' (1987) as Lakshmi * '' Thaniyavarthanam'' (1987) as Indu Balan * '' Vilambaram'' (1987) as Sunanda * '' Sangham'' (1988) ... Ammini * ''Onnum Onnum Pathinonnu '' (1988) as Sumi * ''

Anuragi ''Anuragi'' is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language romance film scripted and directed by I. V. Sasi with story and dialogues by A. Sheriff. It stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Ramya Krishnan and Urvashi. The film features musical score by Gangai Amar ...

'' (1989) as Rosamma * ''

Lal Americayil ''Lal Americayil'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Cochin Haneefa. The film stars Mohanlal, Prem Nazir, Jagathy Sreekumar, Disco Santhi, and Haneefa. The soundtrack and musical sc ...

'' (1989) as Sindhu * ''

Kuttettan ''Kuttettan'' is a 1990 Malayalam romantic comedy movie, directed by Joshiy and written by A. K. Lohithadas. The film stars Mammootty, Saritha, Urvashi, Lizy, Maathu, Sukumari, Jagadish, Murali and Jagannatha Varma. Plot Vishnu is a rich ...

'' (1990) as Seetha Lakshmi * '' Souhrudam'' (1991) as Annie * ''

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

'' (2000) as Vice Principal * ''

Ammakilikkoodu ''Ammakilikkoodu'' is a 2003 Malayalam film starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Navya Nair. Directorial debut of M. Padmakumar, written by Ranjith. Plot Vivek takes a job as the manager of karunalayam, a retirement house. He meets a young wom ...

'' (2003) as Janaki * ''Chakravaalam''

Kannada films

Telugu films

* ''

'' (1978) as Swapna * ''Manchiki Sthanam Ledu'' (1979) * '' Idi Katha Kaadu'' (1979) as Gayathri * ''

Guppedu Manasu ''Guppedu Manasu'' () is a 1979 Telugu-language drama film directed by K. Balachander starring Sarath Babu, Sujatha (her Telugu debut) and Saritha in prominent roles. It was a bilingual film made simultaneously in Tamil as ''Nool Veli'' (). T ...

'' (1979) as Baby * ''Vijaya'' (1979) as Vijaya * ''Tholi Kodi Koosindi'' (1980) * ''Gutilo Ramachilaka'' (1980) * ''Srirasthu Shubamasthu'' (1981) * ''Athagari Pethanam'' (1981) * '' 47 Rojulu'' (1981) * ''Rama Dandu'' (1981) * ''Aadavallu Meeku Joharulu'' (1981) as Papayamma * ''Chandamama'' (1982) * ''Kalahala Kapuram'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) as Kokilamma * ''Prema Sagaram'' (1983) * ''Thodu Needa'' (1983) as Sharada * '' Kanchana Ganga'' (1984) as Kanchana * ''Bhagyalakshmi''(1984) * ''Kala Rudrudu'' (1985) * ''Anuraga Bandham'' (1985) * ''

Kaliyuga Pandavulu ''Kaliyuga Pandavulu'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language masala film produced by D. Ramanaidu under Suresh Productions, and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Ramanaidu's son Venkatesh and Khushbu (making their cinematic debut), with ...

'' (1986) as Krishnaveni * ''Satyagraham'' (1987) * ''Shivude Shankarudu'' (1988) as Dr. Kavitha * '' Arjun '' (2004) as Andal

Television

As dubbing artist

;Films ;Television

References

External links

* {{authority control Living people Indian film actresses Indian voice actresses Indian television actresses Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from Andhra Pradesh People from Guntur district Actresses in Tamil television Year of birth missing (living people)