Dasari Girija ( 3 March 1938 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian actress who has worked in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

films. She was active in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in comic roles. She appeared in many films with Relangi, the two of them becoming a famous comedic duo.

Film career

She was born on 3 March 1938 in

Kankipadu Kankipadu is a suburb of Vijayawada and a in Krishna District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal headquarters of Kankipadu mandal in Vijayawada revenue division, Vuyyuru revenue division. Geography It is located 55 km ...

, Andhra Pradesh. Her mother is also staging and film actress Dasari Ramatilakam. Her first movie was Kasturi Sivarao's ''

Paramanandayya Sishyulu ''Paramanandayya Sishyulu'' () is a 1950 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckling comedy film, produced and directed by Kasturi Siva Rao under the Allied Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Lakshmi Rajyam, C.S.R. and music jointly ...

'' (1950). She acted in many films with Relangi and other leading actors of that period. Her portrayal of titular Pathala Bhairavi in 1951 hit film ''

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

'' displayed her talents and resulted in her getting many film offers lasting about two decades. Her role as Usha in ''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad and Vempati Sada ...

'' (1959) opposite Relangi is memorable. The ever lasting comedy song ''Kaseeki Poyanu Ramahari'' has been pictured on them. The comedy-duo also acted in the award-winning ''

Ramudu Bheemudu ''Ramudu Bheemudu'' is a 1964 Indian Telugu-language film, produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by Tapi Chanakya. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Jamuna and L. Vijayalakshmi , with music composed by Pendyala. Th ...

'' (1964) of Suresh Productions. The funny ''Sarada Sarada Cigarettu'' song about the habit of

Smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

is superhit during that time. She also acted in Tamil films during the fifties. She along with Relangi acted in small but key roles in the epic film ''

Lava Kusa ''Lava Kusa'' (also spelled as ''Lava Kusha'') is a 1963 Indian Hindu mythological film directed by C. S. Rao and his father C. Pullayya. The film was scripted by Sadasivabrahmam, Samudrala Sr. along with C. S. Rao and C. Pullayya. The fil ...

'' (1963) by Shankar Reddy and refused to take any extra remuneration for the extratime in shooting the song ''Ollanori mama nee pillanee…''. In addition to the comedy roles, she played as

character actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...

in the key role of Hemalatha opposite

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

acting as second heroine in ''

Bharya Bhartalu ''Bharya Bhartalu'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by A. V. Subba Rao under the Prasad Art Pictures banner and directed by K. Pratyagatma. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna Kumari, with music composed by ...

'' (1961) and as Varalaxmi in ''

Velugu Needalu ''Velugu Needalu'' () is a 1961 Telugu-language film produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswar ...

'' (1961). She has played key roles in some mythological and Janapada films, like ''

Dharma Devatha ''Dharma Devatha'' () is a 1952 Indian film produced and directed by P. Pullaiah. The film stars Santha Kumari and Kaushik, with Mudigonda Lingamurthy, Mukkamala, Relangi, Baby Sachu and Girija in supporting roles. It was simultaneously sho ...

'' (1952). She started a film company with her husband C. S. Raju as a producer, named Vijaya Giri Dhwaja Productions (named after Girija) and produced few movies including '' Bhale Mastaru'' (1969) and ''

Pavitra Hrudayalu ''Pavitra Hrudayalu'' () is a 1971 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Jamuna, Chandrakala and music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. The film is produced by C. S. Raju under the Sri Vij ...

'' (1971), in both films main protagonist is played by

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

. They met with a heavy financial loss.

Personal life

She married C. Sanyasi Raju, popularly known as C. S. Raju; their daughter

Saleema Kaleeshwari Devi (born 4 November 1970) better known by her stage name Saleema is an Indian actress who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. She is best known for her portrayal of Ammini in ''Aranyakam'' and Lakshmi in ''Nakhakshathangal''. ...

is also an actress who acts mainly in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

movies. According to her daughter Saleema, Girija died on 5 September 1995. Though she has been suffering from

Diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, in the last moments she experienced some breathing problem and died suddenly in her

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

residence.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girija (Actress) 1938 births 1995 deaths Telugu actresses Telugu comedians Indian film actresses Indian women comedians Actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses People from Krishna district Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema