Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and

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 ...

films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

, the

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Career

Vani made her debut with the 1962 Telugu movie ''

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, ...

''. She gained attention with a supporting role in a film penned by K. Balachander titled '' Sukha Dukhalu'', and '' Marapurani Katha'' (1967). Vanisri has starred in super hits such as '' Krishnaveni'', '' Prem Nagar'', '' Dussehra Bullodu'', ''Aradhana'', '' Jeevitha Chakram'', '' Rangula Ratnam'', ''Sri Krishna Tulabharam'', '' Bhakta Kannappa'', and '' Bobbili Raja''. She played dual roles in ''Iddaru Ammayilu'' (1972) (Telugu remake of 1969 release Kannada film '' Kappu Bilupu''), ''Ganga Manga'' (1973 remake of the Hindi film '' Seeta Aur Geeta''), '' Jeevana Jyothi'' (1975), and '' Chilipi Krishnudu'' (1978). She financed and starred in Shyam Benegal's only Telugu film '' Anugraham'' (1977), co-starring Smita Patil. With actor M. G. R Vanisri acted in three films: '' Kannan En Kadhalan'' (1968), '' Thalaivan'' (1970), and '' Oorukku Uzhaippavan'' (1976). She acted in 20 Telugu films with Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and 18 Telugu films with Super Star

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

such as '' Marapurani Katha'', '' Ganga Manga, Cheekati velugulu, Illu Illalu. ''She acted with

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

in 10 films such as '' Uyarntha Manithan'' (1968), '' Nirai Kudam'' (1969), '' Kulama Gunama'' (1971), '' Vasantha Maligai'' (1972), '' Sivakamiyin Selvan'' (1974), '' Vani Rani'' (Tamil remake of the Hindi film '' Seeta Aur Geeta'') (1974), '' Rojavin Raja'' (1976), '' Ilaya Thalaimurai'' (1977), '' Punniya Boomi'' (1978), and '' Nallathoru Kudumbam'' (1979). In 2013, she received the state Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contribution to Telugu cinema.

Personal life

Vanisri married Dr. Karunkaran in 1978 and left the film industry. The couple have a son and a daughter. Vanisri returned to film to acting in mother roles from 1989, such as her character in '' Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu'' (1989). She was also in the 1999

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 ...

film ''Main Tere Pyar Mein Pagal'', directed by Telugu director K. Raghavendra Rao. She lost her son Abhinaya Venkatesha Karthik aged 36 on 23 May 2020 due to cardiac arrest.

Awards and honours

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanisri Living people Indian film actresses Filmfare Awards South winners 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema People from Nellore Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Hindi cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Telugu actresses