Aparna Vastarey, known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Aparna, is an Indian actress,

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

and a former

radio jockey A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

. A popular face in Kannada television, she is known for her work as a presenter of various shows that aired on

DD Chandana DD Chandana is a Kannada TV channel owned and operated by Prasar Bharati under Doordarshan, supported by Doordarshan studios in Bengaluru and Kalburgi. Launched in 1994 DD Chandana has entertainment serials, infotainment programmes, news an ...

in the 1990s. She made her film debut in 1984 with

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influent ...

's final film, ''

Masanada Hoovu ''Masanada Hoovu'' () is a 1985 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's novel of the same name. It stars Jayanthi, Ambareesh, Hema Choudhary and Aparna. It was Puttanna Kanagal's last as a direc ...

''. Since 2015, she has been appearing as Varalakshmi on the sketch comedy show, ''

Majaa Talkies ''Majaa Talkies'' (''Kannada:'' ಮಜಾ ಟಾಕೀಸ್) is an Indian sketch comedy show that premiered on ETV Kannada (now Colors Kannada) on 7 February 2015. The episodes focus on comical scripts and usually feature celebrity guests who ...

''.

Career

Aparna made her feature film debut in

's 1984 film, ''

'', starring alongside stalwarts

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 in ...

and Jayanthi. She began working as a

(RJ) with

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

in 1993, and went on to work with

AIR FM Rainbow AIR FM Rainbow is a group of FM radio channels across India. The group of stations was previously called FM Metro, but the name was changed to FM Rainbow in 2002. The group is run by All India Radio, or AIR, a government owned enterprise. It ...

, as its first presenter. Her career in Kannada television as a presenter began in 1990 with

; she was part of a majority of its productions until 2000. As part of

Deepawali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

celebrations in 1998, she created a record by presenting shows for eight hours at a stretch. Aparna has worked as an actress in

television shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

such as '' Moodala Mane'' and ''Mukta''. In 2013, she appeared as a contestant in the first season of the Kannada reality television show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

'' that aired on

ETV Kannada Colors Kannada (previously known as '' ETV Kannada''), is an Indian general entertainment channel, owned by Viacom18 that primarily broadcasts Kannada language entertainment shows. This channel is currently available in India and the United St ...

. Since 2015, she has been appearing in the sketch comedy television show, ''

'', as Varalakshmi, the vain and boastful sister-in-law of the character of

Srujan Lokesh Srujan Lokesh (born 28 June 1980) is an Indian actor, television presenter, radio presenter and producer who mainly works in the Kannada film industry. Production house Lokesh Productions was founded by Srujan Lokesh and his mother Girija Lo ...

who claims to be friends of popular personalities like

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. In 2014, Aparna lent her voice for the recorded announcements of passenger-boarding and deboarding for the

Bangalore Metro Namma Metro ("Our Metro" in Kannada), also known as Bengaluru Metro, is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bengaluru, India. Upon its inauguration, it became the first underground metro system in South India. Namma Metro has a mix of u ...

Partial filmography

Television

Films

* ''

'' (1985) * ''

Sangrama Sangrama was the general of King Udayadityavarman II of the Khmer Empire in what is now Cambodia.Higham, C., 2001, The Civilization of Angkor, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co. ...

'' (1987) * ''

Nammoora Raja ''Nammoora Raja'' (Kannada: ನಮ್ಮೂರ ರಾಜ) is a 1988 Indian Kannada film, directed by H. R. Bhargava. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Manjula Sharma, Jai Jagadish and Mukhyamantri Chandru in the lead roles. The film has musical ...

'' (1988) * '' Sahasa Veera'' (1988) * ''

Matru Vathsalya Mitu ( fa, ميتو, also Romanized as Mītū; also known as Matru) is a village in Tamugheh Rural District, in the Central District of Saqqez County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 120, in 22 families. The villa ...

'' (1988) * '' Olavina Asare'' (1989) * '' Inspector Vikram'' (1989) * '' Ondaagi Balu'' (1989) * '' Doctor Krishna'' (1989) * ''

Onti Salaga ''Onti Salaga'' () is a 1989 Indian Kannada film, directed by V. Somashekar and produced by Halaguru Venkatesh. The film stars Ambarish, Tiger Prabhakar, Khushbu and Vajramuni in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Hamsalekha. Plo ...

'' (1989) * '' Chakravarthy'' (1990)

References

{{Authority control Actresses in Kannada cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Kannada television Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Actresses from Bangalore 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Bigg Boss Kannada contestants Living people Year of birth missing (living people)