Sharada Ramanathan is an Indian film director, cultural thinker and writer. She made her directional debut in the 2007 Tamil film '' Sringaram'' which won three

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

. Her second film ''

Puthiya Thiruppangal Sharada Ramanathan is an Indian film director, cultural thinker and writer. She made her directional debut in the 2007 Tamil film ''Sringaram'' which won three National Film Awards. Her second film '' Puthiya Thiruppangal'' is awaiting release. ...

'' is awaiting release. In 2014, she directed ''Natyanubhava'', a documentary film about Indian classical dance, featuring the top dancers and film technicians in India.

Career

Prior to entering films, Sharada Ramanathan was engaged in the fields of media and culture. She was involved with social and cultural movements such as

SPIC MACAY ''Spic'' (also spelled ''spick'') is an ethnic slur used in the United States for people from Latin American countries and states. Etymology Some sources from the United States believe that the word ''spic'' is a play on a Spanish-accented pron ...

and CRY. She was highly instrumental in setting up

India Foundation for the Arts India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is a national, non-profit, the grantmaking organisation that supports the practice, research and education in the arts in India. Established as a public trust in 1993, IFA is headquartered in Bangalore. Its fo ...

, a philanthropic organization to encourage fine arts in India. She was also associated with

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

as its "Program Officer". Her first feature film, '' Sringaram'' (2007), is set in the early 19th century and depicts the life of a

Devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

. After getting screened at various film festivals, the film had its theatrical release in 2007 and went on to win three

and two

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

. The film was critically acclaimed. Malathi Rangarajan of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' noted, "''Sringaram'' is an aesthetic showcase of first time maker Sharada Ramanathan's potential". She was one of the jury members of the

54th National Film Awards The 54th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2006. Three different committee ...

. Her second film ''

,'' which deals with

child trafficking Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...

, is currently awaiting release. Unlike her previous film, ''Puthiya Thiruppangal'' takes place in modern-day and has been made on "commercial format". Sharada's third project ''Natyanubhava'' (2014) is a documentary focused on Indian classical dance. The film was produced by the

Public Service Broadcasting Trust The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is an Indian non-governmental organisation. It helps independent documentary film-makers to work free from commercial and political pressures. It hosts the annual Open Frame film festival in New Delhi ...

and funded by the Ministry of External Affairs. Sharada Directed a short film called Adivaanam (2020) that got popular and critical acclaim for its poetic class. In She worked with top class cast and crew like

Aishwarya Rajesh Aishwarya Rajesh (born 10 January 1990) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Tamil films, alongside Telugu and Malayalam films. She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards, one Filmfare Award South and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. Aish ...

Ashwin Kakumanu Ashwin Kakumanu is an Indian actor, who is best known for his role as Ganeshan in Venkat Prabhu's ''Mankatha''. Career Ashwin initially auditioned for a role in ''Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa''. The director, Gautham Vasudev Menon, was close to g ...

Ravi K. Chandran Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer and film director known for his works in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil-language cinema. He is the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). His most recognized works are '' Minsa ...

Santhosh Narayanan Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian composer and musician in the Tamil film industry. Early life Santhosh Narayanan was born in Tiruchirappalli, India. He is the younger of two children. He was educated at RSK Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirappa ...

A. Sreekar Prasad Akkineni Sreekar Prasad is an Indian film editor. He works predominantly in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi language films. In a career spanning more than 35 years, he has edited over 600 films. He is a recipient of nine National Film Awards ...

Sharada is Director of the Chennai-Based film company called Thaniththirai Productions.

Other works

Apart from her film career, Sharada has also written for various dailies, journals and magazines. She is associated with

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

and UNESCO, and has served on many film-related international juries, including the

Indian National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

, IFFI Goa and International Macau Film Festival.

Filmography

* '' Sringaram'' (2007) * '' Natyanubhava'' (2015) * ''

'' (TBA) *Bheeshma (TBA) Under production *Adivaanam *International film TBS (TBA) Under production

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramanathan, Sharada Indian women film directors Tamil film directors Living people Film directors from Chennai Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014 Women artists from Tamil Nadu