Surabhi Kamalabai (1913–1977) was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu theatre and

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. She has the distinction of being the first Telugu actress in a

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

film with '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1932), directed by

H. M. Reddy Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy (12 June 1892 – 14 January 1960), known as H. M. Reddy, was an Indian film director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He directed the first Indian multilingual sound film ''Kalidas'' (1931), shot in ...

. She played the role of Leelavathi, the wife of Hiranyakasipa. Since then she acted in about 30 films, including '' Savitri'' (1933), ''

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

'' (1951), '' Malliswari'' (1951), ''

Illarikam ''Illarikam'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jamuna, with music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It was produced by A. V. Subba Rao under the Prasad Art Pict ...

'' (1959) and ''

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 belongs to the well esteemed

Surabhi Kamadhenu ( sa, कामधेनु, , ), also known as Surabhi (, or , ), is a divine bovine-goddess described in Hinduism as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous cow of plenty who provides her owner whatever he desires and is often ...

drama company, in which drama is not only a livelihood but a profession and an art form. There were about 50 drama families during the 1920s to 1950s in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. They toured different places, stayed for some time and gave a series of programmes in the nearby towns.

Filmography

# '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1931) as Leelavathi (debut) # '' Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam'' (1932) as Goddess

Seetha Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

# '' Shakuntala'' (1932/I) as Shakuntala # ''Pruthvi Putra'' (1933) # '' Savithri'' (1933) # ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934) as Laila # ''Be Kharab Jan'' (1936) # ''Do Diwane'' (1936) # ''Draupadi Manasamrakshanam'' (1936) # ''

Bhakta Jayadeva Bhakta Jayadeva is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of 12th Century Sanskrit Poet Jayadeva, produced by Komaravolu Narayana Rao and G. Paramdhama Reddy under the Lalitha Kala Nikethan banner and directed by ...

'' (1938) # ''

Tukaram Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...

'' (1938) # '' Bhookailas'' (1940) as Vishnu Maya # ''Patni'' (1942) # ''

Keelugurram ''Keelu Gurram'' () is a 1949 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by Raja Saheb of Mirzapuram under the Sobhanachala Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ghantasa ...

'' (1949) # '' Malliswari'' (1951) # ''

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 ...

'' (1951) # ''Mangala'' (1951) # ''Kathal'' (1952) # ''Manavati'' (1952) # ''Rohini'' (1953) # ''Devadasu'' (1953) # ''Vayyari Bhama'' (1953) # ''

Pelli Naati Pramanalu ''Pellinaati Pramanalu'' () is a 1958 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jamuna, with music composed by Ghantasala. The film was simultaneously made in Tamil as ...

'' (1958) # ''Mangalya Balam'' (1958) # ''

Jayabheri ''Jayabheri'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by P. Pullayya who co-wrote the script with Acharya Aatreya. The film is based on the life of poet Kaasinath and stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi. The film ...

'' (1959) # ''Illarikam'' (1959) # ''

Vagdanam ''Vagdanam'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language drama film, written and directed by Acharya Aatreya. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna Kumari, with music composed by Pendyala. It is based on the novel ''Datta'', written by Sar ...

'' (1961) as Bujjamma # ''

'' (1964)

References

Indian film actresses 1913 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Indian actresses Indian stage actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Telugu theatre Date of birth missing Date of death missing {{India-film-actor-stub