Rushyendramani (1 January 1917 – 17 August 2002) was an Indian film actress,

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

, and dancer from

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 had more than 150 films in Telugu, Tamil,

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 ...

, Malayalam and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films from 1935 to 1986. Her notable films include '' Sri Seetarama Jananam'' (1944), '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Vipra Narayana'' (1954), '' Chintamani'' (1956). Her last film was ''

Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam ''Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam'' is a 1986 Telugu-language hagiographical film written and directed by K. Vasu, based on the life of Sai Baba of Shirdi who has preached and practiced Religious humanism. Vijayachander portrayed the role of ...

'' (1986).

Early life

She was born in

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

on 1 January 1917. A trained singer in both the Indian classical music traditions and a trained

Kuchipudi ''Kuchipudi'' ( ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit ...

and

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

dancer, she started her career on stage at the age of seven. She donned the mantle of Krishna and Prahalada by the age of 10. Later she joined Lakshmi Vilasa Nataka Sabha of Kommuri Pattabhi Ramayya. She was trained under Kapilavai Ramanatha Sastry, Puvvula Ramatilakam and acted in the dramas ''Chintamani'' and ''Savitri''.

Film career

She moved to the silver screen and acted as Satyabhama in ''Srikrishna Tulabaram'', produced by Rajarao Naidu in 1935. It was a commercial failure, but she won acclaim for her singing and acting prowess. She joined the Rajarajeswari Natya Mandali of Kadaru Nagabhushanam and P. Kannamba and extensively toured entire Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, parts of Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. She earned accolades for her portrayal of Prabhavati in ''Rangoon Rowdi'' and Narada in ''Savitri''. Her popularity and acting prowess crowned her as the "Rayalaseema Rani". Married to Javvadi Ramakrishna Rao Naidu in 1939, an accomplished musician and composer who scored music to many stage plays, she accompanied him to Madras. Ramakrishna Rao worked as music director in the Tamil film ''Mathru Bhoomi''. As with many actresses of that era, she was a great singer too. Her first film was ''Sri Krishna Tulabharam'' (1935), where she played the role of Satyabhama. She acted in ''Patni'' (1942) as

Kannagi Kannagi (), sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic '' Cilappatikāram''. Kannagi is described as a chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his adultery, their attempt to re ...

based on the Tamil epic '' Shilappadikaram''. The Kovalan character was played by K. S. Prakash Rao. With the success of this film, she reached the pinnacle in the film world. She acted as Adilaxmi in ''Chenchu Lakshmi'', which was also successful. She was in ''Seeta Rama Jananam'' in 1944, followed by ''Malliswari'', ''Vipra Narayana'', ''Maya Bazar'', ''Jagadeka Veeruni Katha'', ''

Aggi Ramudu ''Aggi Ramudu'' () is a 1954 Telugu-language action film, produced and directed by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna and music composed by S M Subbayya Naidu. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil as ' ...

'', ''Sri Krishna Satya'' and ''Panduranga Mahatyam'', and portrayed a variety of characters. She has done heroic roles in several Telugu films. In 1962, she starred in a leading role in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

swashbuckler film ''

Palattu Koman ''Palattu Koman'' is a 1962 Indian Malayalam-language swashbuckler film directed and produced by Kunchacko. Based on ''Komappan'', a 1912 poem by Kundoor Narayana Menon, the film tells the story of Palattu Koman, a folk hero and skilled kalarip ...

'', directed by

Kunchacko Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from it ...

. She was credited as Sree Ramani in the film. With over 150 films in all the major South Indian languages and Hindi, she was awarded the title of "Madhura Gaana Saraswati" by the Raja of Karvetinagaram for her singing skills. She also acted with her granddaughter Bhavani in the 1974 Kannada film ''

Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu ''Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu'' ( ) is 1974 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Siddalingaiah, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, based on Iyengar's short story of the same name from his novel, ''Vayyari.'' The film ...

'', where Bhavani won the best actress award and Rushyendrami won the award for the best supporting actress.

Personal life

She died on 17 August 2002 at Chennai. She was survived by two daughters and one son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Filmography

# '' Srikrishna Tulabhaaram'' (1935) # '' Patni'' (1942) as Kannagi # ''

Seeta Rama Jananam ''Sri Seeta Rama Jananam'' () is a 1944 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramayya under the Pratibha Productions banner. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Tripurasundari, Vemuri Gagga ...

'' (1942) (actress and playback singer) # ''Chenchu Lakshmi'' (1943) (actress and playback singer) # ''Dharmangada'' (1949) # '' Malliswari'' (1951) as Nagamma # ''

Sri Kalahastiswara Mahatyam ''Kalahasti Mahatyam'' is a 1954 Indian Telugu-language film directed by H. L. N. Simha starring Dr. Rajkumar. This is the only non-Kannada film starring Dr. Rajkumar. It is a musical hit film with some melodious Bhakti songs written by Tholet ...

'' (1954) # ''

Chandraharam ''Chandraharam'' is a 1954 Indian swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy- Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. The film, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, stars N. T. Rama Rao, ...

'' (1954) Telugu/Tamil # '' Vipranarayana'' (1954) # ''

'' (1954) # '' Mangalyam'' (1954) (Tamil) # '' Guna Sundari'' (1955) # '' Missamma'' (1955) as Gopalam's wife # '' Maya Bazaar'' (1957) as Subhadra (actress and playback singer) # '' Maya Bazaar'' (1957) as Subhadra (actress and playback singer) # '' Panduranga Mahatyam'' (1957) as Laxmi # '' Bommala Pelli'' (1958) Telugu/Tamil # '' Chenchu Lakshmi'' (1958) # '' Abalai Anjugam'' (1959) # ''Deepavali'' (1960) as Devas mother Aditi # '' Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'' (1960) as Dhaaranidevi # '' Jagadeka Veeruni Katha'' (1961) as Maharani # '' Gulebakavali Katha'' (1962) # '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962) # '' Vikramaadhithan'' (1962) # ''

'' (1962; credited as Sree Ramani) # '' Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham'' (1963) as Wife of Gaya # '' Chitor Rani Padmini'' (1963) # '' Ramudu Bheemudu'' (1964) # '' Enga Veetu Pillai''(1965) # ''

Navarathri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festivals, Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calen ...

'' (1966) as Brothel house Head # '' Pidugu Ramudu'' (1966) # '' Sri Krishnavataram'' (1967/I) # '' Mattilo Manikyam'' (1971) as Lalitha's grandmother # ''

'' (1974) # '' Srimadvirat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra'' (1984) # ''

'' (1986)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rushyendramani 1917 births 20th-century Indian actresses 2002 deaths Telugu actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Women artists from Andhra Pradesh Telugu playback singers Indian women playback singers Singers from Andhra Pradesh Indian female dancers Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh Artists from Vijayawada Indian stage actresses 20th-century Indian singers Actresses from Vijayawada Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Telugu theatre 20th-century Indian women singers Telugu people