Anuradha (born 4 March 1965), known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Tara, is an Indian politician and actress active in the

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

. She joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP) in 2009 and is currently a nominated member of the

Karnataka Legislative Council The Karnataka Legislative Council (formerly the Mysore Legislative Council) is the upper house of the state legislature of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of six Indian states with a bicameral legislature; the Legislative Assembly is the lower ho ...

. Tara made her debut in 1984 with 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 '' Ingeyum Oru Gangai''. Her Kannada film debut came in 1985 with ''Thulasidala'' and she has since portrayed many author-backed roles. Her notable performances are in films like ''Krama'' (1991), '' Munjaneya Manju'' (1993), ''

Kanooru Heggadithi ''Kaanooru Heggadithi'' (''Kaanooru Headwoman'') is a 1999 Indian film based on the 1936 novel " Kanooru Subbamma Heggadithi" by Kannada writer Kuvempu, and directed by playwright and film director Girish Karnad. Set in the Malnad region, the f ...

'' (1999), '' Munnudi'' (2000), '' Mathadana'' (2001), '' Hasina'' (2005), ''

Cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

'' (2006) and ''

Ee Bandhana ''Ee Bandhana'' () is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language drama film written, directed and co-produced by Vijayalakshmi Singh. This marks her debut directorial project. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Jayapradha while Darshan, Ananth Nag, Tara, Sha ...

'' (2007),

Ulidavaru Kandanthe ''Ulidavaru Kandante'' ( As Seen by the Rest) is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language neo-noir gangster film written and directed by debutant Rakshit Shetty. Shetty appears in the lead role, along with Kishore, Tara, Achyuth Kumar, Rishab Shetty, ...

(2014). Her performance in ''Hasina'' won her the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

. She has also won numerous

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

and State awards for her performance. After joining BJP, she was elected as the president of the

Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy ( English: Karnataka Film Academy) was formed by the Government of Karnataka in 2009 to promote film culture in Karnataka. The academy has taken up several projects to develop a healthy film culture in the state ...

in 2012 and held the position for a year. In the same year, she was nominated as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the legislature of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Career

Tara made her first appearance on screen for a Tamil film ''Ingeyum Oru Gangai'' directed by noted actor,

Manivannan Manivannan (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, voice artist, playback singer and social activist who worked in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning three decades, he went from being a story and ...

, in 1984 which featured

Murali Murali may refer to: People Mononyms *Murali (Malayalam actor) (1954–2009), name of Malayalam film actor Muraleedharan Pillai, who appeared in ''Neythukaran'' and ''Aadhaaram'' *Murali (Tamil actor) (1964–2010), Tamil actor who appeared ...

in the lead. Following this, she featured in her first Kannada film ''Thulasidala'' in 1985. She got a big break in Rajkumar starrer ''Guri'' (1986) and thereafter acted in several movies as a leading lady and supporting actress. Tara has worked with almost all leading Kannada heroes of the 1980s and 1990s including Rajkumar,

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

, Vishnuvardhan,

Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...

Ananth Nag Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...

, Ravichandran,

Shashikumar Shashi Kumar (born 2 December 1965) is an actor and politician from Karnataka. He works predominantly in Kannada films also appeared in Telugu and Tamil films. He acted with many leading ladies in 1990s and he acted as Rajnikanth's broth ...

Tiger Prabhakar Tiger Prabhakar (30 March 1948 – 25 March 2001) was an Indian actor who predominantly worked in Kannada and Telugu cinema. He has also acted in a few Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. He was also known as Kannada Prabhakar. Career Prabhakar ...

Shivarajkumar Dr.Shiva Rajkumar (born Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy; 12 July 1962) is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Ka ...

Raghavendra Rajkumar Raghavendra Rajkumar (born 15 August 1965) is an Indian actor, singer and producer of Kannada cinema. He is the son of actor Dr. Rajkumar and film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar. He made his debut as a lead in the film ''Chiranjeevi Sudhakar'' ( ...

, Karthik, Sunil and

Devaraj Devaraj (born 20 September 1953) is an Indian Film actor, actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada cinema, Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and ...

. Her performance in

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...

's ''

'' brought her widespread recognition. She received her first award as best actress for the Kannada movie ''Krama'' (1991), directed by debutant director Asrar Abid. In the late 1980s, she appeared as a supporting actress in

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

's Tamil films, ''

Nayakan ''Nayakan'' ( ) is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language epic crime drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Produced by Muktha Srinivasan, the film stars Kamal Haasan and Saranya (in her feature debut) in the lead, with Janagaraj, Karth ...

'' and ''

Agni Natchathiram ''Agni Natchathiram'' () is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language masala film that was written and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Prabhu, Karthik, Amala and newcomer Nirosha, with Vijayakumar, Jayachitra, Sumithra, Tara, S. N. Laksh ...

.'' Her performance in

's ''

'' brought her widespread recognition for which she also received her second "best actress" state award. She received the "best supporting actress" award for '' Munjaneya Manju''. She received wide critical acclaim for the female centric '' Munnudi'' which received multiple

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, including Best Film on Other Social Issues. In 2005, she was cast by

Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...

in '' Hasina'', for which she won the

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

. Subsequently, her role in ''

Deadly Soma ''Deadly Soma'' is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language biographical crime film written and directed by Ravi Srivatsa. The film is based on the real life incidents of an infamous underworld don, Deadly Soma. The film stars Aditya in the title role and ...

'' was appreciated. Then came another breakthrough performance in ''

''. In 2007, Tara received her third Best Actress award. Beside acting, she produced ''Hasina'', directed by Girish Kasaravalli, and she has also announced her intention to direct films as well.

Personal life

Tara married cinematographer H. C. Venugopal in 2005. They have a son (b. 2013).

Filmography

Kannada films

Other language films

Television

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tara 1973 births Living people Best Actress National Film Award winners Actresses in Kannada cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses from Bengaluru Filmfare Awards South winners Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Karnataka 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2003 Actresses in Malayalam television Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly