Sriranjani (22 February 1927 – 27 April 1974) was an Indian actress active in Telugu and Tamil films. She was the younger sister of

Sriranjani Sriranjani is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a hexatonic scale (''shadava'' rāgam, which means "of six"). It is a derived scale (''janya'' rāgam), as it does not have all the seven ''swaras' ...

. She is known mainly for her tragedy roles particularly as the long-suffering wife.

Life in Brief

Sriranjani was born in Murikipudi village of

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...

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 ...

. Her elder sister, Senior Sriranjani was also an actress and is the first Sita of the Telugu screen. Her birth name is Mahalakshmi. She had grown up with her elder sister and developed interest in movies and acting.

Chitrapu Narayana Murthy Chitrapu Narayana Rao (born Chithrapu Narayana Murthy; 1913-1985) was an Indian film director and producer known for his works in Telugu and Tamil cinema. He received a Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Tamil Film for '' Edhir Paradhathu ...

encouraged her and gave her chance to act in the film ''

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

'' in 1944. She subsequently acted in ''Gollabhama'', ''Brahmachari'', ''Gitanjali'', ''Madalasa'', ''Laila Majnu'' etc., Her life turned brighter as a heroine character in

Gunasundari Katha ''Gunasundari Katha'' () is a 1949 Indian Telugu language fantasy film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy, starring Sriranjani, Kasturi Siva Rao, Santha Kumari. The script was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao, K. V. Reddy, and Kamalakara ...

in 1949, directed by famous

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972), commonly known as K. V. Reddy, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Renowned as one of the most influential filmma ...

. In this film her Gunasundari character established her in the industry. She subsequently acted in the Tamil version of Gunasundari Katha and obtained critical reviews. She acted as heroine in the magnum opus ''

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, ...

''. Though she acted in many films like ''Mantradandam'', ''Sankranthi'', ''Prema'', ''Bratuku Teruvu'', ''Svayamprabha'', ''Ramanjaneya Yuddham'' her best portrayal was the all-time hit of Gunasundari Katha. In her Tamil film Parasakthi (1952), Sriranjani portrayed the male ideal of virtuous

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

womanhood. In the same year, she also starred with MGR in the movie ''Kumari''. Another serious role of Sriranjani was as Chandra (the wife of the hero, a lothario who suffers from leprosy) in ''Ratha Kanneer'', a 1954 Tamil movie. Sriranjani played Rajee in the Tamil film Rajee En Kanmani (1954). The film is based on the

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

(1931) of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

. She retired from films in 1960, but returned for a few guest roles. She died in 1974.

Partial Filmography

* Inti Kodalu (1974) * Galipatalu (1974) *

Jeevana Tarangalu ''Jeevana Tarangalu'' () is a 1973 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by T. Rama Rao. The film stars Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Vanisri, Chandramohan, and Lakshmi. It is based on a novel by Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani, and won thre ...

(1973) * Bhakta Tukaram (1973) * Sampoorna Ramayanam (1972) as

Sumitra Sumitra (, IAST: Sumitrā) is a princess of Kashi and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sumitra is the second queen consort of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala, who ruled from Ayodhya. Regarded to be a wise and dedicated wom ...

* Jeevitha Chakram (1971) * Raja Simha (1969) as Ratanavali * Ukku Pidugu (1969) as Maharani Shanthimathi Devi of Kalinga * Bhale Tammudu (1969) * Aggi Meeda Guggilam (1968) * Nenante Nene (1968) * Bangaru Panjaram (1965) *

Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham ''Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu'' () is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Jayanthi Pictures banner.Naati 101 Chitralu, S. V. Rama Rao, Kinnera Publications, Hyderabad, 2006, pp: ...

(1963) *

Mahakavi Kalidasu ''Mahakavi Kalidasu'' is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Pingali. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Pendyala. It was produced by K ...

(Telugu, 1960) * Krishna Leelalu (1959) as

Devaki Devaki (Sanskrit: देवकी, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu texts, Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of ...

* Arasala Pirandavan (1958) (dubbed version of Mantra Dandam * Vaddante Pelli (1957) as Gowri * Preme Daivam (1957) * Penki Pellam (1956) * Uma Sundari (1956) * Santhanam (1955) * Sri Krishna Tulabharam (1955) *

Ratha Kanneer ''Ratha Kanneer'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju, and written by Tiruvarur K. Thangaraj. Based on Thangaraj's play of the same name, the film stars M. R. Radha, Sriranjani and S. S. Rajendran, with ...

(1954) *

(1954) * Amarasandesam (1954) * Peddamanushulu (1954) * Rajee En Kanmani (1954) * Thilakam (1960) * Orey Vazhi (1959) * Bratuku Teruvu (1953) * Kathal (1952) * Manavati (1952) * Parasakthi (1952) *

Prema Prema may refer to: Film * ''Prema'' (1952 film), an Indian Telugu-language film * ''Prema'' (1989 film), an Indian Telugu-language film, starring Venkatesh and Revathi * ''Prema'' (2002 film), an Indian Kannada-language film Music * ''Prema'' (a ...

(1952) * Rajeswari (1952) *

Kumari Kumari may refer to: Places * Kumari, Nepal, a town in central Nepal * Kumari (Afyon), a city in Turkey * Kumari (Kutahya), a town in Turkey * Kumari (island), an island in Estonia Religion * Kumari (goddess), in Hinduism * Kaumari, one o ...

(1952) *

Sankranti Sankranti () refers to the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. In ''Saurmana'' ''varsha'' (Hindu Solar year), there are twelve Sankrantis corresponding with twelve months of a year. The Sankrantis can be broa ...

(1952) * Mantra Dandam (1951) * Vali Sugriva (1950) * Laila Majnu (1949) *

(1949) *

Gitanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' () is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for its English translation, '' Song Offerings'', making him the first non-European and the fi ...

(1948) * Madalasa (1948) * Gollabhama (1947) * Brahma Ratham (1947) * Gruhapravesam (1946) *

(1944)

References

* Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, 2005.

External links

* {{authority control Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema 1927 births 1974 deaths Actors from Guntur district 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses from Andhra Pradesh