Latha Sethupathi, also known as Latha, is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

actress who starred in leading roles in South Indian films from 1973 to 1983. She is also known for her roles in various

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

television series.

Early life

Latha Sethupathi was born into the

Sethupathi The Sethupathis are a Tamils, Tamil clan of the Maravar community native to the Ramanathapuram district, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, India. They were from the 12th century considered independent kings in 16th century wh ...

clan, the royal family of

Ramnad Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a city Municipal Corporation in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) ...

, in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She is the daughter of politician

Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi (9 November 1909 – 4 March 1967) or Naganatha Sethupathi was an Indian politician of the Justice Party and later, the Indian National Congress and head of the ''zamindari'' of Ramnad or Ramnad kingdom from 1929 ...

; her mother was named Leelarani. As her mother was not her father's official wife, Latha's status within the family was considered

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

. She has a brother, actor Rajkumar Sethupathy, and half-brothers Dasarathan Sethupathi and Ramanatha Sethupathi. Latha's fluency in both

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

stemmed from her mother's origin in

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. Her father died in 1967, when she was still a young girl. She started her career at the age of fifteen with encouragement from her aunt, actress Kamala Kotnis. Her first film was ''

Ulagam Sutrum Valiban ''Ulagam Sutrum Valiban'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language science fiction film directed and co-produced by M. G. Ramachandran. The film stars Ramachandran, Chandrakala, Manjula and Latha. It revolves around a scientist who discovers an en ...

'' (1973), starring and produced by

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

Career

Sethupathi has been featured in over a hundred films, spanning the Tamil-, Telugu-, and Malayalam-language cinemas. Her first film, in Tamil, was ''

'' (1973), in which she starred alongside

. It was shot exclusively outside of India in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. M.G Ramachandran recommended her for the role alongside

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1924 – 22 January 2014), known as ANR, was an Indian actor and film producer in Telugu cinema. Over his seven decade career, he became a prominent figures in the industry, and is among most influential ac ...

for '' Andala Ramudu'' (1973), marking her debut in

Telugu films Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telug ...

. She specialized playing roles in

and

films. She played

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Amanullah Khan (born 19 November 1951), known professionally as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema, she established herself as one of the highest paid ...

's role in the two remakes of ''

Yaadon Ki Baaraat ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language masala film, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It featured an ensemble cast, starring Dharmendra, Vijay Arora, Tariq Khan, Zeena ...

'' (1973): the Telugu film, ''

Annadammula Anubandham ''Annadammula Anubandham'' () is 1975 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced by the makeup artist M. Peethambaram and directed by S. D. Lal. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Murali Mohan, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Latha, and music compos ...

'' (1975) and the

film '' Naalai Namadhe'' (1975). She played

Jaya Bhaduri Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party ...

's role from '' Zanjeer'' (1973) in the Telugu remake '' Nippulanti Manishi'' (1974), and the Tamil remake, ''

Sirithu Vazha Vendum ''Siritthu Vazha Vendum'' ( ) is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by S. S. Balan. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Latha and M. N. Nambiar. It is a remake of the 1973 Hindi film '' Zanjeer''. The film was relea ...

'' (1974). She won a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

for her performance in ''Vattathukkul Sadhuram''. She was given the

Kalaimamani Award 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 o ...

by the State

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

for her achievements in the film industry. She has also received additional awards from the

Government of Andhra Pradesh The Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as GoAP, is the Administrative division, state government and the administrative body responsible for the governance of the States of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is the capital ...

for her acting. She was also briefly involved in politics, following her father

, the Raja of Ramnad. She played a lead role in

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

's movie '' Shankar Salim Simon'' (1978). This role made her one of the only two actresses, along with

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

, to be paired with

MGR Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

and

in the 1970s Tamil movies. After a hiatus of 14 years, she began acting again in Tamil and Telugu series. In 2002, she played a mother-in-law role in the Telugu television series ''Eenati Ramayanam'', ''Pavithrabandham'', and ''Matti Manishi''.

Personal life

She married Sabapathy, a businessman from

, in 1983. She has two sons, Karthik and Srinivas. Following her marriage, she gradually reduced her acting commitments, focusing more on her personal life. Despite stepping away from the limelight, she has remained a well-known figure in Tamil cinema.

Notable filmography

Television

Series

Shows

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latha Indian film actresses Living people Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu television Year of birth missing (living people)