Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked in

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 ...

and

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 ...

-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like ''

Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam ''Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam'' is 1960 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by P. Pullaiah and produced by V. Venkateswarlu. It is based on the Venkateswara avatar of Vishnu at Tirumala. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, a ...

'' (1960) and '' Mahamantri Timmarasu'' (1962) and Tamil films like '' Veerapandiya Kattabomman'' (1959) and in '' Poova Thalaiya'' (1969).

Life

Varalakshmi was born in Jaggampeta, Andhra Pradesh, India. She started her career as child artist in saint role in ''

Balayogini ''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in Tamil and Telugu languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social polic ...

'' (1937), when she was nine years old. Gudavalli Ramabrahmam was engaged by the pioneer filmmaker

K. Subramanyam K. Subramaniyam (20 April 1904 – 7 April 1971), born Krishnasamy Subramaniyam, was an Indian people, Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Dancer Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter. Biography Subramanyam was involved in the establi ...

to direct the Telugu version of this movie. He spotted young Varalakshmi in Kurnool. Subramanyam later cast her in his classic '' Seva Sadanam'' (1938) with M. S. Subbulakshmi. She played a young friend of the heroine (M.S.), and they became close friends. She played a young girl's role in ''Parasuraman'' (Tamil, 1940) along with T. R. Mahalingam.

T. R. Sundaram Tiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram Mudaliar (16 July 1907 – 30 August 1963) was an Indian actor, director, and producer. He was the founder of the Salem-based film production company Modern Theatres. Early life Sundaram was born in 1907 fro ...

, cast her in a major role in his box office hit 'Aayiram Thalai Vaangi Apoorva Chinthamani' (1947). The title role was played by

V. N. Janaki Vaikom Narayani Janaki (30 November 192319 May 1996), also known as Janaki Ramachandran, was an Indian politician, actress and activist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days after the death of her husband M. G. Ramachandra ...

. The film was a major success and Govindan and Varalakshmi made an attractive pair. T. R. Sundaram cast her again in the lead role in 'Bhojan' (1948). Her first successful movie was '' Balaraju'' in 1948 produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramaiah. She later acted with all top heroes in Telugu and Tamil industries including M K Tyagaraja Bhagavatar in the classic Tamil film by B A Subba Rao called 'Syamala' in 1953;

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji G ...

(''Veerapandiya Kattabbomman''), M. G. Ramachandran (''Chakravarthi Thirumagal'', ''Maattukara Velan'', ''Needhikku Thalaivanangu''), Gemini Ganesan (''Poova Thalaiya'', ''Panama Pasama''), N. T. Rama Rao ('' Satya Harischandra''), A. Nageswara Rao(ANR) ('' Balaraju''), V. Nagayya (''Naga Panchami''), Ranjan (''En Magan'') and R. S. Manohar (''Maamiyaar''). She was also famous for her voice, and sung her songs in all movies she acted. Her roles as Sivaji's wife in '' Veerapandiya Kattabomman'', and important roles in '' Poova Thalaiya'', '' Savale Samali'', ''Maattukkara Velan'', Shivaji's sister in ''Raja Raja Chozhan'' and ''Neethikku thalaivanangu'' won her critical acclaim as a talented singer and actress in Tamil movies. In her later career, she acted in mother and aunt roles. She married film producer A. L. Srinivasan, an elder brother of Kavignar Kannadasan; they had two children named Nalini and Muruga She continued to act after marriage in senior roles in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She sang many beautiful songs in Telugu and Tamil films. Her son, S. Muruga, died after suffering cardiac arrest in Chennai on 22 October 2013. He lived for 48 years. Her daughter Nalini is a homemaker with 2 children.

Death

Varalakshmi was bedridden during the last 6 months of her life after she fell and injured her back. She died on 22 September 2009.Veteran actress passes away
''IndiaGlitz''. Retrieved on 25 September 2009.

Honors and awards

She has received several awards commending her service to Tamil cinema. The most recent ones were: # Sivaji Ganesan Memorial Award Presented by the Sivaji Family in Oct 2007 # Kavignar Kannadasan Award presented by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2004

Filmography

Note: The lists are not comprehensive.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varalakshmi, S. 1927 births 2009 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in India Indian women playback singers Indian film actresses Telugu playback singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian actresses Tamil playback singers Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Singers from Andhra Pradesh People from East Godavari district Indian child actresses Child actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian women singers Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh