Sujatha (10 December 1952 – 6 April 2011) was an Indian actress who performed and staggered in a number of unique and variety of characters 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, nativ ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

and Telugu films- in addition to few in

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

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

languages as well. The actress was best known for restraint and subtlety in portrayal of varied emotions. After starring in numerous

films in her mother-tongue, Sujatha later got introduced to the Tamil film industry by veteran director K. Balachander and producer P.R. Govindarajan as a protagonist in her first Tamil film, ''

Aval Oru Thodar Kathai ''Aval Oru Thodar Kathai'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Balachander. The story revolves around a working middle-class woman, who sacrifices her desires to support her large family. The lead role was played by S ...

'' (1974). It was a critically acclaimed film and launched the actress's first commecrical breakthrough in her acting career. Whereas, her first Telugu picture happened to be a Telugu/Tamil bilingual titled as ''

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'' (). ...

'' (1979) in Telugu and was simultaneously shot as

Nool Veli ''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'' (). ...

in Tamil of the same year. She died of a cardiac arrest on 6 April 2011 in Chennai (aged 58).

Early life

Sujatha was born in a

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomin ...

-speaking family on 10 December 1952 in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

, Sri Lanka where she spent most of her early days of childhood over there. She participated in school plays, and later moved to

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

when she was about 15. She acted in ''Ernakulam Junction'', a Malayalam movie.

Career

Sujatha made her debut in the Malayalam film ''Thapasvini''. Her first Tamil film was ''

'' directed by K. Balachander. She again collaborated with K. Balachander in ''

Avargal ''Avargal'' () is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Sujatha, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Ravikumar. A triangular love story, it revolves around a woman who is caught be ...

'' (1977)- starring leading stars '' Rajinikanth'' and '' Kamal Haasan''. Sujatha acted in over 240 films in five languages namely Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She appeared in films like ''Aval Our Thodar Kadhai'', ''Annakkili'', ''Avargal'' as a tortured wife, ''Vidhi'', ''Mayangugiraal Oru Maadhu'', ''Sentamizh Paattu'' and ''Aval Varuvaala'', and in Telugu such as her debut in ''Guppedu Manasu''.

Character roles

During the 1980s, she started playing character roles, often portraying mothers. Her performances as a senior actor in films like '' Kodi Parakuthu'', ''

Uzhaippali ''Uzhaippali'' (; ) is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, written and directed by P. Vasu. It stars Rajinikanth and Roja. The film was released on 24 June 1993 and became a box office success. Plot Rajini works as a coolie in a ...

'', '' Baba'' in all which she played the mother of Rajinikanth; and ''

Villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

'' in which she played Ajith Kumar's wellwisher. ''

Varalaru ''Varalaru: History Of Godfather'', or simply known as ''Varalaru'' (), is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action-drama film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and produced by S. S. Chakravarthy under the banner NIC Arts. The film stars ...

'' (2006) was her last film.

Death

While undergoing treatment for a heart ailment, Sujatha died of cardiac arrest in Chennai on 6 April 2011.

Awards and honours

; Filmfare Awards South * 1975 – Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for ''Uravu Solla Oruvan'' * 1976 – Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for '' Annakili'' * 1977 – Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award for ''

'' * 1979 – Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for ''

'' ;

Nandi Awards 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 award is named after ...

* 1997–

Nandi Award for Best Character Actress Nandi Award for Best Character Actress winners since:1994(in Telugu) Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Character Actress Character Actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or ec ...

for '' Pelli''(in Telugu) ;

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 ...

* 1981 – Special Best Actress for ''Thunaivi'' * 1982 – Special Best Actress for ''Paritchaikku Neramaachu'' ;

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, l ...

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

Notable filmography

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Kannada films of Sujatha 1.) Nanna Devaru - 1982 2.) Akrosha - 1983 3.) Prema Sakshi - 1984 4.) Kanoonige Saval - 1984 5.) Rowdy Raja - 1984 6.) Super Boy(3D) - 1986 7.) Bidisada Bandha - 1989 8.) Thutta Mutta - 1998 9.) Kiccha - 2003 10.) Neelakanta - 2006

Voice artist

* Jayapradha - Ninaithale Inikkum, 47 Natkal

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sujatha 1952 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners People from Galle Indian film actresses Nandi Award winners Actresses from Chennai Sri Lankan film actresses