Tulasi (or Tulasi Shivamani) (born 20 June 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works 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 ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

cinema. She started her career as a

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

. Later she appeared in

lead actress A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...

and supporting actress roles. She has acted in over 300 films 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 ...

, and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

languages."Tulasi rocks in her third innings"
''The New Indian Express''. 13 November 2013 She won two

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

and one

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

Career

Tulasi made her debut in the Telugu language when she was three months old in 1967. For a song in a film, a baby was needed and Tulasi was placed in the cradle after actress Savitri had requested Tulasi's mother, who was a friend of her.Y. Sunita Chowdhary (9 July 2012)
"My First Break: Tulasi"
''The Hindu''. She was featured in a song when she was three-and-half years old in ''Jeevanatarangalu'' and said that she became a full-fledged actor when she was four. She had never been to school. She got married at age 28 to Kannada director Sivamani. She stated, "I met him in the morning and by evening we tied the knot". They have one son, Sai Tarun. Tulasi decided to quit acting after getting married, working only occasionally as a voice actor in Telugu films, including ones by Mani Ratnam. When her son was around six years old, she received several mother character roles. She initially declined them all, but finally signed on one Kannada film, ''Excuse Me'', in which she played mother to

Divya Spandana Divya Spandana (born 29 November 1982), better known by her screen name Ramya, is an Indian actress and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She primarily works in Kannada, alongside Tam ...

and which became a big hit. After that she was doing three films a year in Kannada. She began to act mainly in mother roles in Telugu and Tamil film industries. Her notable supporting roles include performances in ''

Sasirekha Parinayam Sasirekha Parinayam is an Indian folktale based on oral traditions popular in Telugu States. While it uses characters who appear in the ''Mahabharata'', the story is not present in the epic. The plot concerns the marriage of Sasirekha, called V ...

'', '' Mr. Perfect'', '' Darling'',

Srimanthudu ''Srimanthudu'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Koratala Siva. The film is produced by Mythri Movie Makers and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Shruti Haasan, Jagapati ...

, ''

Iddarammayilatho ''Iddarammayilatho'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film written and directed by Puri Jagannadh. It stars Allu Arjun, Amala Paul, and Catherine Tresa while Brahmanandam, Ali, Shawar Ali, Nassar, Pragathi, Tanikella Bharani ...

'', ''

Nenu Local ''Nenu Local'' () is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language romantic action comedy film directed by Trinadha Rao Nakkina who wrote the film with Prasanna Kumar Bezawada. Produced by Dil Raju under banner Sri Venkateswara Creations, It stars Nani, Keer ...

'', ''

Mahanati ''Mahanati'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language biographical drama film based on the life of actress Savitri. It is written and directed by Nag Ashwin, and produced by Priyanka Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema. The film feature ...

'' & ''

Dear Comrade ''Dear Comrade'' is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language romantic action drama film written and directed by Bharat Kamma. It is produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Big Ben Cinemas. The film stars Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, and Shruti Ram ...

'' in Telugu and ''

Pillaiyar Theru Kadaisi Veedu ''Pillaiyar Theru Kadaisi Veedu'' () is a 2011 Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by newcomer Thirumalai Kishore and starring Jithan Ramesh along with Sanchita Padukone. Suhasini, Jayaprakash, Prakash Raj, Soori, and Bose V ...

'', ''

Easan ''Easan'' ( ta, ஈசன் - The Lord Shiva) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, directed and produced by Sasikumar, directing his second film after the blockbuster, ''Subramaniapuram''. It stars Samuthirakani, Vaibhav, produce ...

'', ''

Mankatha ''Mankatha'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action crime film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It stars Ajith Kumar in his 50th film, along with an ensemble cast including Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali, Andrea Je ...

'', ''

Sundarapandian ''Sundarapandian'' is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by debutant S. R. Prabhakaran. Sasikumar played the title character, besides producing the film, while Vijay Sethupathi, Lakshmi Menon, Soori, Appukutty, Inigo P ...

'', ''

Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer ''Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil language romantic drama film directed by Suseenthiran. It features debutant Santhosh Ramesh (Singanamala Ramesh's second son) and Manisha Yadav of '' Vazhakku Enn 18/9'' fame in the lead roles ...

'' and ''

Pandiya Naadu ''Pandiya Naadu'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Suseenthiran and produced by Vishal. The film features Vishal and Lakshmi Menon in the lead roles, while Bharathiraja, Soori, Vikranth, and Sharath ...

'' in Tamil. Tulasi has said that ''Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer'', in which she had played mother to

Manisha Yadav Manisha Yadav (born 11 June 1992) is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in the Tamil film industry. She is best known for her lead role as "Aarthi", a 12th grade student in the 2012 Tamil film '' Vazhakku Enn 18/9'' which first introdu ...

's character, changed her life and brought her an "identity as a screen mother". Her portrayal of Chellamma in ''

Pannaiyarum Padminiyum ''Pannaiyarum Padminiyum'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by debutant S. U. Arun Kumar, based on his own eponymous short-film. Arun Kumar was a contestant in ''Naalaya Iyakunar'' . It features Vijay Sethupathi, Ja ...

'' was praised too, with critics stating that she was "brilliant", and had given her "career best performance".

Partial filmography

Awards

;

(in

) * Best Child Actress -

Seetamalakshmi ''Seetamalakshmi'' is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Talluri Rameswari (in her Telugu debut) and Chandra Mohan. It was released on 27 July 1978. It won two state Nandi Awards and a Fi ...

(1978) * Best Child Actress - Sankarabharanam (1980) ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress - Kannada -

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

References

External links

* *
Interview with Tulasi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulasi Living people Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Filmfare Awards South winners 1967 births Child actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses