Aparna Vastarey (17 October 1965 – 11 July 2024) was an Indian actress, television presenter, and

radio jockey A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personal ...

. A popular face in Kannada television, she was known for her work as a presenter of various shows that aired on

DD Chandana DD Chandana is a Kannada TV channel owned and operated by Prasar Bharati under Doordarshan, supported by Doordarshan studios in Bengaluru and Kalburgi. Launched in 1994 DD Chandana has entertainment serials, infotainment programmes, news and ...

in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in 1984 with

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Indian cinema's most influent ...

's last film, '' Masanada Hoovu''. Between 2015 and 2021, she played Varalakshmi on the sketch comedy show, ''

Majaa Talkies ''Majaa Talkies'' (''Kannada:'' ಮಜಾ ಟಾಕೀಸ್) is an Indian sketch comedy show that premiered on ETV Kannada (now Colors Kannada) on 7 February 2015. The episodes focus on comical scripts and usually feature celebrity guests wh ...

''.

Biography

Aparna was born on 17 October 1965 at Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka, India. Aparna made her feature film debut in

's 1984 film, '' Masanada Hoovu'', starring alongside stalwarts

Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...

and Jayanthi. She began working as a

(RJ) with

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

in 1993, and went on to work with AIR FM Rainbow as its first presenter. Her career in Kannada television as a presenter began in 1990 with

; she was part of a majority of its productions until 2000. As part of

Deepawali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...

celebrations in 1998, she presented shows for a record eight hours. Aparna worked as an actress in

television shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

such as '' Moodala Mane'' and ''Mukta''. In 2013, she appeared as a contestant in the first season of the Kannada reality television show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally availabl ...

,'' which aired on ETV Kannada. Since 2015, she appeared in the sketch comedy television show, ''

'', as Varalakshmi, the vain and boastful sister-in-law of the character of Srujan Lokesh who claimed to be friends of popular personalities such as

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

. In 2011, Aparna lent her voice for the recorded announcements of passenger boarding and deboarding for the Bangalore Metro. In 2024, after more than 20 years away from acting, she returned with Gangadhar Salimath's cybercrime film ''Grey Games'', in which she played the mother of a boy addicted to online gaming. Of the gap, she stated, "It is not that I did not want to work; I did receive offers. But the role's significance mattered to me. Often, I was not fully briefed on what exactly I was supposed to do. I prioritised the importance of my role rather than its duration. Many times, the roles I was offered did not satisfy me, so I was not eager to accept them." A review in the ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...

'' stated that she took on "a powerful role and is absolutely convincing."

Death

On 11 July 2024, Aparna died at the age of 57 due to complications from lung cancer.

Partial filmography

Television

Films

References

{{Authority control 1960s births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths Actresses in Kannada cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Kannada television Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Actresses from Bengaluru 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Deaths from lung cancer in India