Ushanandini (Malayalam: ഉഷാ നന്ദിനി) is an Indian actress in South Indian movies. She was a prominent

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 typica ...

during the 1970s 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 ...

films. She had acted in

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, nati ...

films as well.

Biography

Ushanandini was born as Usha Devi to parents K. G. Raman Pillai and Saraswathi in 1949 at Kamaleshwaram,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree. She made her Malayalam debut in 1967 with ''Aval'', a great success at the box office. She had acted as heroine to

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

in many Tamil movies like

Ponnunjal ''Ponnunjal'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language film, directed by C. V. Rajendran and produced by K. S. Kutralingam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Ushanandini. It was released on 15 June 1973. Plot Cast *Sivaji Ganesa ...

, Gowravam,

Rajapart Rangadurai ''Rajapart Rangadurai'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by P. Madhavan. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Ushanandini. The film was released on 22 December 1973. Plot ''Rajapart Rangadurai'' narrates the story about a poor ...

, Manithanum Deivamagalam and

Ennai Pol Oruvan ''Ennai Pol Oruvan'' () is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by T. R. Ramanna. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sarada and Ushanandini. It was released on 18 March 1978, and performed poorly at the box office. Plot Cast *Sivaji ...

Nagarame Nandi ''Nagarame Nanni'' is a 1967 Malayalam language film, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by A. Vincent. The film stars Prem Nazir, Usha Nandhini, Madhu and K. P. Ummer among others. The film tells the story of a family that migrate ...

Olavum Theeravum ''Olavum Theeravum'' () is a 1970 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by P. N. Menon, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and produced by P. A. Backer. It stars Madhu and Ushanandini, with Jose Prakash, Philomina, and Nilambur Balan in ...

, Aa Chithrasalabham Parannotte are the few among the important characters she played. She is married to a successful business magnate, S. Mariappan. She has three daughters, Preethi, Sajni and Keerthana. She also has had two granddaughters named Diya Tanushree and Tara Devi.

Partial filmography

Malayalam

*Yakshagaanam (1976) * Criminals (Kayangal) (1975) *

Sathyathinte Nizhalil ''Sathyathinte Nizhalil'' is 1975 Malayalam-language film directed by Babu Nandancode. The story was written by P. Shanmugham with dialogue and screenplay by Sreekumaran Thampi. Playback singers were Ambili, K. J. Yesudas and P. Susheela, an ...

(1975) *Pattaabhishekam (1974) *Check Post (1974) *Ashwathi (1974) *Police Ariyaruthu (1973) *Periyar (1973) *Kaamuki (1971) *

Makane Ninakku Vendi ''Makane Ninakku Vendi'' is a 1971 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by E. N. Balakrishnan. The film stars Prem Nazir, Sheela, Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Adoor Bhasi. The film had musical score by G. Devarajan. Cast * Prem Nazir as Sam, T ...

(1971)....Mary *Jalakanyaka (1971) *Aa Chithrashalabham Parannotte (1970) *

(1970) *

Padunna Puzha ''Padunna Puzha'' (''The Singing River'') is a 1968 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by M. Krishnan Nair and produced by T. E. Vasudevan. The film stars Prem Nazir, Sheela, Jayabharathi and Adoor Bhasi. The film had musical score by ...

(1968) *

Aval ''Aval'' () may refer to: * ''Aval'' (1967 film) * ''Aval'' (1972 film) * ''Aval'' (2017 film) * ''Aval'' (TV series), a 2011 Indian Tamil-language family soap opera {{disambiguation ...

(1967) *

(1967)

Tamil

*''

Malathi Sahayaseeli Pedhuruppillai, alias Malathi (or Malathy), is the first female fighter of the Tamil Tigers to die in combat, hence revered as the first female martyr. Her death anniversary is commemorated as ''Women's Awakening day''. Her death is s ...

'' (1970) as Chandra *''Veettukku Oru Pillai'' (1971) as Ponni *'' Shakthi Leelai'' (1972) as Lord Parvathi *''

'' (1973) as Valli *'' Gauravam'' (1973) as Radha *''

'' (1973) as Alamel *''Ponvandu'' (1973) as Sathyabama *''

Athaiya Mamiya ''Athaiya Mamiya'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Chitralaya Gopu, starring Jaishankar and Ushanandini. Plot Shankar (Jaishankar) returns from abroad after successfully completing his higher studies. His parents plan t ...

'' (1974) as Usha *''Thaai Veetu Seedhanam'' (1975) *''

Manidhanum Dheivamagalam ''Manidhanum Dheivamagalam'' () is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by P. Madhavan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Ushanandini, Shubha and Sukumari. It was released on 11 January 1975. The film was a remake of the ...

'' (1975) as Vijaya *''

'' (1978) as Usha

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
Ushanandini at MSI
{{authority control Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian film actresses Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Actresses in Tamil cinema Living people 1949 births 20th-century Indian actresses