M. V. Rajamma (10 March 1918 – 23 April 1999) was an Indian actress, producer and playback singer of films mostly in

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 ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

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 ...

languages from the 1930s through 1970s. She has the distinction of having acted as both heroine and mother to stalwart South Indian actors such as

Dr. Rajkumar Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj (24 April 1929 – 12 April 2006), better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and versatile actors in the his ...

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

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 NTR.

Karnataka Government The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. ...

established ''M. V. Rajamma Award'' in her honor. Making her debut as a lead actress in the 1936 released Kannada movie ''

Samsara Nauka ''Samsara Nauke'' () is a 1936 Indian Kannada language social drama film directed by H. L. N. Simha and produced by K. Nanjappa. This film was the fourth sound film produced in Kannada cinema and the first melodrama film based on social issues. ...

'', Rajamma enjoyed an elaborate career in feature films across South India. She was the first and foremost woman producer in South India and in Kannada films. She produced the film ''

Radha Ramana Radha Ramana () is one of the three combined forms of the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. The other two forms are Banke Bihari and Radha-Vallabha. Radha Ramana is typically adorned with feathers, a crown, a yellow dress, and a shining '' vaija ...

'' in 1943 under her own home banner Vijaya Films. Her entry to the Tamil films was through the 1940 classic hit film '' Uthama Puthiran''. She went on to star in about 60 Kannada, 80 Tamil, 20 Telugu and one Hindi films in her career spanning around four decades.

Early life

Rajamma was born in 1921 at Agandanahalli, a village in today's

Bangalore Urban district Bengaluru Urban district is the most densely populated of the thirty-one List of districts of Karnataka, districts that comprise the Indian state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by the Bengaluru Rural district on the east and north, the Ramanag ...

, hitherto a part of

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

. Her father Nanjappa, a merchant, was fond of

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

and encouraged her to act. Rajamma joined the theatre group Chandrakala Nataka Mandali as a teenager and performed in plays alongside B. R. Panthulu, who she would go on to collaborate frequently on stage and in films. She did her schooling at the Arya Balika school in Bangalore till the 8th grade. She later shifted base to Chennai for doing films.

Career

In the early 1930s, Rajamma was attracted to the stage theatre and entered the field at a time when male actors disguised themselves to play female characters. Rajamma enacted several inspiring roles in dramas such as ''Samsara Nauke'', ''Gauthama Buddha'' and ''Subhadra''. In 1935, when one of her stage plays ''Samsara Nauke'' was made into a film, she was cast again as the lead actress opposite to Panthulu. They went on to work together in many films for about 20 years. In 1940, she entered Tamil film industry in Chennai with the film '' Uthama Puthiran''. From then on, she became one of the most sought after actresses across all the South Indian film industries. After her marriage, she concentrated mainly on playing motherly roles to the actors whom she had paired as a heroine earlier. In 1943, Rajamma took her career to another level by producing the Kannada film ''

'' directed by Jyothish Sinha that featured herself opposite B. R. Panthulu in the lead. Acclaimed artists such as

Balakrishna Bala Krishna (). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship already flourished in and around Mathura several centuries before Christ. A second important element is ...

and G. V. Iyer were introduced through this film. It went on to perform well at the box-office which resulted in her second production venture '' Makkala Rajya'' (1960). Though the film was lauded by the critics, the box-office collections soared which made her back off from film production for a long while. However, she went on to star in many box-office blockbusters in both Kannada and Tamil film industries. Some of the most popular Kannada films featuring Rajamma as a lead actress were '' Bhakta Prahalada'' (1942), '' Rathnagiri Rahasya'' (1957), '' School Master'' (1958), ''

Abba Aa Hudugi ''Abba Aa Hudugi'' ( ) is a 1959 Indian Kannada-language film written, directed and produced by H. L. N. Sinha based on his own play of the same name. It stars Rajashankar in his debut role, Rajkumar in an extended cameo along with Narasimhar ...

'' (1959) among others.

Awards

* 1997-98 - Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award by the

Selected filmography

References

External links

*
Potpourri of titbits about M. V. Rajamma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajamma, M. V. 1921 births 1999 deaths Actresses from Karnataka Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Kannada playback singers 20th-century Indian actresses Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Indian women film producers Film producers from Karnataka Kannada film producers Indian women songwriters Indian songwriters People from Bangalore Rural district 20th-century Indian singers Women musicians from Karnataka Singers from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women singers Film musicians from Karnataka Businesswomen from Karnataka 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian businesswomen