Surabhi Kamalabai (1913–1977) was an Indian actress who worked in

Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, '' Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Ce ...

and

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

. She has the distinction of being the first Telugu actress in a

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

film with '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1932), directed by

H. M. Reddy Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy (12 June 1892 – 14 January 1960), known as H. M. Reddy, was an Indian film director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He directed the first Indian multilingual sound film '' Kalidas'' (1931), shot in ...

. She played the role of Leelavathi, the wife of Hiranyakasipa. Since then she acted in about 30 films, including ''

Savitri Savitri or Savithri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitṛ *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Br ...

'' (1933), ''

Pathala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakra ...

'' (1951), '' Malliswari'' (1951), ''

Illarikam ''Illarikam'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jamuna and music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It was produced by A. V. Subba Rao under the Prasad Art Pictures ...

'' (1959) and '' Velugu Needalu'' (1961). She belongs to the well esteemed

Surabhi Kamadhenu (, , ), also known as Surabhi (, or , ), is a divine bovine-goddess described in Hinduism as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous cow of plenty who provides her owner whatever they desire and is often portrayed as the mother o ...

drama company, in which drama is not only a livelihood but a profession and an art form. There were about 50 drama families during the 1920s to 1950s in

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 ...

. They toured different places, stayed for some time and gave a series of programmes in the nearby towns.

Filmography

# '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1931) as Leelavathi (debut) # ''

Sri Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam ''Sri Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam'' () is a 1932 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological drama film directed by Sarvottam Badami. It is notable for being the second Telugu talkie film. The film stars renowned stage actor Yadavalli Suryanaraya ...

'' (1932) as Goddess

Seetha Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

# '' Sakuntala'' (1932/33) as Sakuntala # '' Pruthvi Putra'' (1933) # '' Savithri'' (1933) # ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934) as Laila # '' Veera Abhimanyu'' (1936) # ''Be Kharab Jan'' (1936) # ''Do Diwane'' (1936) # ''Draupadi Manasamrakshanam'' (1936) # ''

Bhakta Jayadeva Bhakta Jayadeva is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of 12th Century Sanskrit Poet Jayadeva, produced by Komaravolu Narayana Rao, G. Paramdhama Reddy under the Lalitha Kala Nikethan banner and directed by P. ...

'' (1938) # ''

Tukaram Tukaram (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam, also known as Tuka, Tukobaraya and Tukoba, was a Hindu Marathi saint of the Warkari sampradaya in Dehu village, Maharashtra in the 17th century. He was a '' bhakt'' of the god Vithoba, also kn ...

'' (1938) # '' Bhookailas'' (1940) as Vishnu Maya # ''Patni'' (1942) # ''

Keelugurram ''Keelu Gurram'' () is a 1949 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by Raja Saheb of Mirzapuram under the Sobhanachala Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ghantasala ...

'' (1949) # '' Malliswari'' (1951) # ''

Patala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakra ...

'' (1951) # ''Mangala'' (1951) # ''Kathal'' (1952) # ''Manavati'' (1952) # ''Rohini'' (1953) # ''Devadasu'' (1953) # ''Vayyari Bhama'' (1953) # ''

Pelli Naati Pramanalu ''Pellinaati Pramanalu'' () is a 1958 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jamuna, with music composed by Ghantasala. The film was simultaneously made in Tamil ...

'' (1958) # ''Mangalya Balam'' (1958) # ''

Jayabheri ''Jayabheri'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by P. Pullayya who co-wrote the script with Acharya Aatreya. The film is based on the life of poet Kaasinath and stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi. The ...

'' (1959) # ''Illarikam'' (1959) # ''

Vagdanam ''Vagdanam'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language drama film, written and directed by Acharya Aatreya. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna Kumari, with music composed by Pendyala. It is based on the novel ''Datta'', written by Sa ...

'' (1961) as Bujjamma # '' Velugu Needalu'' (1964)

References

Indian film actresses 1913 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Indian actresses Indian stage actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Telugu theatre Date of birth missing Date of death missing {{India-film-actor-stub