Roja (actress)
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R. K. Roja Selvamani (born Sri Latha Reddy), is an Indian politician and former actress. She served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Youth Advancement of
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 ...
since 11 April 2022 until a landslide defeat in 2024 assembly elections. Roja was born in Bhakarapeta,
Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...
to Nagaraja Reddy and Lalitha Reddy, she has two brothers by the name of Kumaraswamy Reddy and Ramaprasad Reddy. Roja Was One of the Top Actress 1990S .Roja was a leading and established actress in the Indian cinema featuring in multiple
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 ...
, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films as a leading actress from the 1990s till 2000s and featured in blockbuster films such as '' Chembaruthi'' (1992), '' Sarpayagam'' (1992), '' Anna'' (1994) and '' Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' (1998) '' Gadibidi Ganda'' (1993) in which she won multiple awards such as the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress and the
Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...
for her film performances. Roja became the Minister for Tourism Culture and Youth Advancement for 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 ...
in April 2022.


Early life

Roja was born as Sri Latha Reddy to Nagaraja Reddy and Lalitha in
Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...
,
Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the eight districts of Rayalaseema region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. This district is known for its numerous historic temples, including the Hindu ...
,
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 ...
. She has two brothers, Kumaraswamy Reddy and Ramaprasad Reddy. Later, the family moved to Hyderabad. She got her
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in Political Science from Sri Padmavathi Women's University, Tirupati. Roja learnt Kuchipudi and was performing in dance before she entered films.


Career


Film career

Roja entered the film industry with Telugu film '' Prema Thapassu'' (1991) with
Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...
. She was introduced to the
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 ...
film industry by director R. K. Selvamani with '' Chembaruthi'' (1992), along with actor
Prashanth Prashanth Thiagarajan (born 6 April 1973), known professionally as Prashanth, is an Indian actor, businessman, playback singer and film producer known for his works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in f ...
. The movie was a hit and paved way for role in another success, '' Suriyan'' (1992) with Sarath Kumar. Both the films established her in Tamil cinema. She became known for songs such as "Meloor Maman" in the film '' Makkal Aatchi'' (1995) with
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...
and "Mastana Mastana" in '' Raasaiyya'' (1995) with
Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu language films also appeared in few Kannada and Malayal ...
. Her performance in films with actors such as Rajinikanth in '' Veera'' (1994),
Arjun Sarja Srinivasa Sarja (born 15 August 1962), better known by his stage name Action King Arjun, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has mainly acted in Tamil cinema, Tamil films in addition to Telugu ...
in '' Ayudha Poojai'' (1996) and Prabhu in ''
Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa ''Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa'' is a 1999 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language comedy film directed by Rama Narayanan. The film stars Prabhu (actor), Prabhu, S. Ve. Shekher, Vadivelu, Roja Selvamani, Roja, Urvashi (actress), Urvashi and Kova ...
'' (1999) were praised. Roja's major career breakthrough was in the film '' Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' (1998), directed by Vikraman. In Telugu, she appeared in successful movies like '' Mutha Mestri'' (1993), '' Mugguru Monagallu'' (1994), '' Bhairava Dweepam'' (1994), '' Anna'' (1994), ''
Bobbili Simham '' Bobbili Simham'' () is a 1994 Telugu language, Telugu-language action drama film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by T. Trivikrama Rao under the Vijayalakshmi Art Pictures banner. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Meena (actress), M ...
'' (1994), '' Subhalagnam'' (1994), '' Kshemamga Velli Labhamga Randi'' (1996), '' Peddannayya'' (1997), '' Annamayya'' (1997) and '' Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam'' (2000) Her 100th movie was '' Pottu Amman'' (2000). Roja later appeared in supporting roles in films like '' Arasu'' (2003), '' Parijatham'' (2006), ''
Shambo Shiva Shambo ''Sambho Siva Sambho'' is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Samuthirakani. It stars Ravi Teja, Allari Naresh, Siva Balaji, Priyamani, Abhinaya, and Surya Teja. This film is a remake of the director's 2009 film '' ...
'' (2010), '' Golimar'' (2010), '' Kaavalan'' (2011), '' Veera'' (2011), ''Kodipunju'' (2011), '' Mogudu'' (2011) and '' Saguni'' (2012).


Political career

Roja joined
Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (TDP; ) is an Indian regional political party primarily active in the Federated state, states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by Telugu cinema, Telugu matinée idol N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) on 29 March 1982 a ...
(TDP) in 1998 and was the president of the Telugu Mahila wing of the Party. In the
2004 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election The 2004 Andhra Pradesh Assembly election, was held in 2004 with the Indian National Congress winning 185 of the 294 seats in the Assembly. In the history of Andhra Pradesh, it was the first time the grand old party entered into an alliance wit ...
s, she contested from the Nagari Assembly constituency but did not emerge victorious. In 2009 Indian general election, Roja ran for the Chandragiri Assembly constituency but faced another defeat, this time against Aruna Kumari Galla. In the same year she left TDP and joined the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
, which was led by Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at the time. Following the passing of Rajasekhara Reddy, his son, Jagan Mohan Reddy, decided to part ways with the Congress and established the YSR Congress Party. In response to these developments, Roja made the decision to leave the Congress and joined the YSRCP. In 2014 assembly elections, she won as an MLA from Nagari assembly constituency. She contested once again from Nagari in 2019 assembly election and won the seat again. In 2020, she assumed the role of Chairperson of APIIC. Then, in 2022 she was appointed the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Youth Advancement portfolio. Despite Roja being an active speaker among women MLAs, she was suspended from attending the legislative assembly for one year. The decision was taken by majority in the legislative house, on 18 December 2015, and by the approval of the Speaker. Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of the opposition, opposed the suspension. There were several concerns on the procedure followed while suspending Roja. Such doubts made the opposition to move no-trust motion against the speaker. An issue was raised by the opposition party on how the media clipping, property of the house, released and published on social media without the speaker's approval and the speaker also noted their concern and set up an inquiry to probe the issue further and submit a report by next meeting.


Electoral history


Other work

Roja was the anchor of a show named ''Modern Mahalakshmi'' before getting replaced by Anasuya. This show was telecast on MAA TV. She is one of the judges for the comedy shows '' Jabardasth'' and '' Extra Jabardasth''. These shows are telecast on
ETV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...
. She hosted one show for Zee Tamizh called ''lucka kicka'', which was a huge hit 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 ...
.


Personal life

Roja married Tamil film director R. K. Selvamani on 21 August 2002. The couple has a daughter and a son. Roja had a penchant for hairdressing and it was evident as whenever she was on the sets she was seen hairdressing her peers like Devayani,
Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian politician, actress, film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil language films and in a few Telugu cinema, Telugu ...
, Ranjitha and Mumtaz to name a few. According to
Ramya Krishna Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Early life Ramya was born ...
, Soundarya, Nagma, Rambha,
Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...
, her friends and co-stars, Roja is one of the few artists who can do their makeup themselves.


Filmography


Tamil cinema


Telugu cinema


Kannada cinema


Malayalam cinema


Television


Awards

;
Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...
* Special Jury Award – '' Sarpayagam'' (1991) * Best Supporting Actress – '' Anna'' (1994) * Best Actress – Swarnakka (1998) ;
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Cinema of Tamil Nadu, 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 Governmen ...
* 1998 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress – '' Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' ;
Cinema Express Awards Cinema Express Awards are presented annually by Indian Express Group on behalf of Cinema Express film magazine to honour artistic excellence of professionals in the south Indian film industry which comprises Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayala ...
* 1998 – Cinema Express Award for Best Actress – Tamil – '' Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' ; Filmfare Award South * 2010 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu – '' Golimaar''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roja Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Telugu actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Malayalam cinema Former members of Telugu Desam Party YSR Congress Party politicians Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Nandi Award winners People from Tirupati Women members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Indian actor-politicians Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2014–2019 Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2019–2024 21st-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Kannada television Actresses in Tamil television