Rajshri Ponnappa
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Rajshri Ponnappa is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Kannada-language films. She made her
Malayalam Cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
debut in, ''
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
'' in 2013. She gained acclaim for being the only South Indian actress to be featured on Outlook Magazine's cover. In addition to acting in movies, Rajshri has launched her own production house to produce regional cinema and has won acclaim as a theatre actress.


Early life

Rajshri was born in
Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...
, Karnataka to MM Ponnappa, businessman, and Jyothi MP, . She is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer. The eldest of three children, Rajshri has a younger brother and sister who are twins. She completed her schooling from Clarence High School, JP Nagar, Bangalore and went on to study in
Jyoti Nivas College Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous is an autonomous college institute for women, situated at Koramangala, Bangalore, India. It was established in 1966 and founded by The Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes. It is affiliated to Bengaluru City University ...
, Bangalore completing her graduation in Bachelors of Mass Communication. During her time in college, she was an all-rounder. She also completed her honors programme in Human Resource Management from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore. It was during this time that she started doing voice-overs for
Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...
and was also an outdoor broadcasting radio-jockey for Radio One. As a college student, she studied film-making and participated in the making of 3 documentaries, out of which one was made on traffic awareness and was screened by the
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
city traffic police.


Career

She rose to prominence when she became the face of
Zee Kannada Zee Kannada is an Indian Kannada pay television general entertainment channel that was launched in the year 2006 and owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It is also being as the first mainstream satellite channel in Kannada. History Zee Kan ...
after winning multiple reality TV shows and soon after, she was offered her first movie ''Pithavinum Puthranam Parishudhatmvinum''. The film did not release due to religious conflicts but earned her enough fame and popularity to be featured on the cover page of Outlook National Magazine, after which she was offered various films. She made an impact with a pivotal role in film '' Vasundhara'' which was directed by National Award Winner
T. S. Nagabharana Talakadu Srinivasaiah Nagabharana (born 23 January 1953), commonly known as T. S. Nagabharana, is an Indian film director, in the Kannada film industry and a pioneer of parallel cinema. He is one of the few film directors to have straddled th ...
.This was followed by a role in ''
Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
'' with
Sathish Ninasam Shiva, known by his Stage name, screen name Sathish Ninasam, is an Indian actor who appears in Cinema of Karnataka, Kannada films. Having made his film debut with ''Madesha'' (2008), Sathish appeared in small but significant roles in films like ...
and
Achyuth Kumar Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, alongside a few Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is known for his performances in the ''KGF'', '' Kantara'', '' Sidlingu'', and '' Lucia''. He is the recipient ...
. She made her Telugu Film debut with Srikanth in Mental Police and won audience acclaim. In 2017, she acted alongside
B. C. Patil Basavanagowda Channabasavanagowda Patil is an Indian Kannada film actor turned politician who is the former Minister of State for Agriculture of Karnataka from 7 February 2020 to 13 May 2023. He is a three-term MLA from Hirekerur assembly const ...
, Saikumar,
Vijaya Raghavendra Vijay Raghavendra is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada films. Referred to popularly as " Chinnari Mutha", Vijay is the son of producer S. A. Chinne Gowda and nephew of actor Dr. Rajkumar. Vijay started his career as a child ...
,
Diganth Diganth Manchale (born 28 December 1983), known professionally as Diganth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, Kannada films. Diganth made his lead acting debut in ''Miss California (film), Miss California'' (2006) and ...
, Dhananjay,
Sudharani Jayashree, known by her screen name Sudha Rani, is an Indian actress, voice artist and former model. She has primarily worked in Kannada films in addition to some Tamil, Telugu, Tulu and Malayalam films. As on Feb 2024, she has acted in about 1 ...
,
Shruthi Hariharan Sruthi Hariharan (born 2 February 1989) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Kannada and Tamil language, Tamil films. Sruthi is a recipient of a National Film Awards, National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards South and one Karnataka ...
,
Sonu Gowda Sonu Gowda is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Kannada-language films. She made her debut in ''Inthi Ninna Preethiya'' and appeared in films including '' Paramesha Panwala'' and ''Gulama''. She has also starred in Tamil and a few Mal ...
, Margarita and Srushti Patil in
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 ...
anthology drama –
Happy New Year The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
which was directed by
Pannaga Bharana Pannaga Bharana is an Indian film director and actor who works in Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada langua ...
. While working with T.S. Nagabharana, Rajshri was introduced to Theatre and soon after, shifted to Mumbai to pursue it. She made her theatre debut with Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation's Namaste which is an adaptation by
Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...
of Tom Dudzick's popular play GREETINGS! (1990) and is directed by
K.K. Raina K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as ''Juror #8'' in the 1986 film ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', a remake of 12 Angry Men, and Byomkesh Bakshi's as ...
. The play has been received well by audiences and has been performed in multiple cities across India including
Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
,
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
,
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
and the iconic
Prithvi Theatre Prithvi Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre located in the upscale neighbourhood of Juhu, Mumbai. Prithviraj Kapoor the spearhead of one of the most influential actor and director families in Bollywood, the Kapoor family, founded the trave ...
in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. She has appeared in advertisements for leading brands such as
Kalyan Jewellers Kalyan Jewellers is an Indian multinational jewellery company, headquartered in Thrissur, Kerala. It was founded in 1993 by T. S. Kalyanaraman. As of July 2024, Kalyan Jewellers operates 277 showrooms across India and the Middle East. Histor ...
(with
Shiva RajKumar Dr.Shiva Rajkumar (born Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy; 12 July 1962) is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Ka ...
),
Nature's Basket Nature's Basket is an Indian grocery delivery chain of retail stores focused in gourmet food. It has a range of organic food, imported ingredients and exotic foods. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has multiple stores in cit ...
and
Lipton Tea Lipton is a brand named after its founder, Sir Tom Lipton, who started an eponymous grocery retail business in the United Kingdom in 1871. The brand was used for various consumer goods sold in Lipton stores, including tea from 1890 for which ...
. She has also co-produced Namo Bhootatma, a
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 ...
horror comedy film directed by Murali, it is a remake of the 2014 Tamil film
Yaamirukka Bayamey ''Yaamirukka Bayamey'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language horror comedy film written and directed by debutant Deekay and produced by Elred Kumar. The cast includes Kreshna, Oviya, Rupa Manjari (in her penultimate appearance), Karunakaran, a ...
(which itself was based on the Korean movie
The Quiet Family ''The Quiet Family'' () is a 1998 South Korean black comedy horror film directed by Kim Jee-woon. The story centers on a family who owns a hunting lodge in a remote area, whose customers always happen to end up dying. Among the film's main cast ar ...
). She made her Tamil debut in Samuthirakani's
Adutha Saattai ''Adutha Saattai'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action drama film which is a sequel to ''Saattai'' (2012), written and directed by M. Anbazhagan. The film is the third installment in the ''Saattai'' franchise. It stars Samuthirakani and ...
, further expanding her presence in the South Indian film industry.


Philanthropy

She participated in the Vanity Trunk Sale, Bangalore along with
Kavya Shetty Kavya Shetty is an Indian actress and model who primarily appears in Kannada films. Shetty made her acting debut in 2013 with the Kannada film ''Nam Duniya Nam Style''. She has since received commercial success with ''Ishtakamya'' (2016), ''Zoo ...
,
Manvitha Harish Manvita Kamath is an Indian actress who primarily works in Kannada films. She began her career as a radio jockey at Radio Mirchi and made her acting debut with '' Kendasampige'' (2015). Her performance in ''Tagaru'' (2018), earned her the Film ...
, Meghna Gaonkar,
Meghana Raj Meghana Sundar Raj Sarja is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam and Kannada films along with a few Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut in the 2009 Telugu film '' Bendu Apparao R.M.P''. She has won Karnataka State ...
, Neetu Shetty and other actresses from the South film industry – a cause which had them donating clothes and accessories from their personal wardrobe. The proceeds of which went to her mother's charitable organization JP Foundation and Aadya Foundation.''The Vanity Trunk Sale''
/ref>


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnappa, Rajshri Living people People from Kodagu district Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Bengaluru 21st-century Indian actresses