T. Kanakam (c. 1927 – 21 July 2015) was an Indian Telugu drama and film actress and singer between the 1940s and 1960s. She acted in some of the best known and most popular hit films of that period.

Biography

Kanakam was born in

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...

in 1927 and later relocated to

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...

. She started singing folk songs in

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 ...

since childhood. She became famous for playing

Nayakuralu Nagamma Nayakuralu Nagamma was a 12th-century renowned statesperson and minister to King Nalagama, the ruler of Palanadu in Guntur District. She is one of the key characters, along with Bramha Naidu, in the epic war - Palnati Yudham (War of Palnad) set i ...

in ''Palnati Yudham'' and Sri Krishna in ''Kurukshetram'' dramas. She also played as Srirama, Chintamani and many more and toured the entire state playing the dramas. She is contemporary to

Peesapati Narasimha Murty Peesapati Narasimha Murty (Telugu: పీసపాటి నరసింహమూర్తి) (10 July 1920 – 28 September 2007) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre, and Telugu cinema.Nata Ratnalu, Mikkilineni Radhakrish ...

, Shanmukhi Anjaneya Raju,

Kalyanam Raghuramaiah Kalyanam Raghuramayya (1901–1975), popularly known as Eelapata Raghuramayya, was an Indian actor, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Padmashri, He was k ...

, Relangi,

Madhavapeddi Satyam Madhavapeddi Satyam (11 March 1922 – 18 December 2000) was an Indian playback singer and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He entered films as a singer-actor in Y. V. Rao's Tamil-Hindi bilingual movie ''Ramadas'' in the year 194 ...

and others. She sang some songs in the films including ''Cheyi Cheyi Kalupukora'' in Raksharekha and ''Bhale Doralaku'' in ''

Shavukaru ''Shavukaru'' () is a 1950 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagireddy and Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner as their maiden production. It stars N. T. Rama Rao in his first leadin ...

''. She received the Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao Theatre Art Award for 2004 from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Kanakam died in 2015, aged 88.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1920s births 2015 deaths 20th-century Indian actresses Indian women playback singers People from Krishna district Date of birth missing 20th-century Indian singers Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Singers from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Telugu theatre Indian stage actresses 20th-century Indian women singers Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh People from Kharagpur {{india-actor-stub