Shanmugasundari (23 September 1937 – 1 May 2012) was a Tamil

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. she acted in more than 750 films. Her daughter

T. K. Kala T. K. Kala is an Indian playback singer who sings in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages. Kala is also an actress who plays supporting roles in Tamil films and voice actor. She received the Kalaimamani award in 2006. She is the daughter of actres ...

is also an actress and

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

. She also appeared in comedy roles along with

Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the ...

in many films.

Career

Shanmugasundari started her stage performances at the age of 5. She survived nearly 45 years in the film industry and did more than 750 films. She was also a dubbing artist. She also acted in comedy roles, especially as a mother of

in many films. Shanmugasundari acted along with

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

in '' Idhayakkani'', '' Neerum Neruppum'', '' Kannan en Kadhalan'' and '' En Annan''. In '' Lakshmi Kalyanam'' and '' Vadivukku Valaikaappu'' along with Sivaji Ganeshan and

Malathi Sahayaseeli Pedhuruppillai, alias Malathi (or Malathy), is the first female fighter of the Tamil Tigers to die in combat, hence revered as the first female martyr. Her death anniversary is commemorated as ''Women's Awakening day''. Her death is s ...

, along with Gemini Ganeshan. Shanmugasundari received 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 of ...

from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

for her best acting in dramas roles 1982 - 1983.

Personal life

Shanmugasundari has 5 daughters named T. K. Kala, Neela, Mala, Meena and Selvi. Among them, T. K. Kala is a playback singer and also an actress.

Death

Due to illness, Shanmugasundari was admitted to the hospital and died on 1 May 2012 Morning 4.30 AM . She was 74.

Filmography

''This is a partial filmography. You can expand it.''

Television

* 2002-2005 '' Metti Oli'' as Kamatchi (House Owner Paati) * 2003-2004 '' Kolangal'' as Sundar's mother * 2004-2006 ''

Ahalya In Hinduism, Ahalyā ( sa, अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also known as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelit ...

References

{{authority control 2012 deaths Tamil actresses Actresses from Tamil Nadu Indian Tamil people Tamil comedians 1937 births Indian women comedians 20th-century Indian actresses