Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three

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 ...

, the

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 the Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Career

Vani made her debut with the 1962 Telugu movie ''

Bhishma Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic M ...

''. She gained attention with a supporting role in a film penned by

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

titled '' Sukha Dukhalu'', and ''

Marapurani Katha ''Marapurani Katha'' () is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by V. Ramachandra Rao in his debut. A remake of the Tamil film ''Kai Kodutha Deivam'' (1964), it stars Krishna and Vanisri. The film was released on 27 July 19 ...

'' (1967). Vanisri has starred in super hits such as '' Krishnaveni'', '' Prem Nagar'', ''

Dussehra Bullodu ''Dasara Bullodu'' is a 1971 Indian Telugu-language romance film, produced and directed by V. B. Rajendra Prasad. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Vanisri and Chandrakala, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It is the first film of Rajendra ...

'', ''Aradhana'', ''

Jeevitha Chakram Jeevitha Chakram () is a 1971 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by C. S. Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Vanisri and Sarada, with music composed by Shankar–Jaikishan. It is produced by P. Gangadhar Rao under the Nava Sakthi Productio ...

'', '' Rangula Ratnam'', ''Sri Krishna Tulabharam'', ''

Bhakta Kannappa ''Bhakta Kannappa'' () is a 1976 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Bapu. The film is a remake of 1954 Kannada movie '' Bedara Kannappa'' starring Rajkumar which was based on the life of Shaiva devotee, Kannappa Nayanar. Credits Cast * ...

'', and ''

Bobbili Raja ''Bobbili Raja'' ( or ) is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film co-written and directed by B. Gopal. Produced by D. Suresh under his banner Suresh Productions, it stars Venkatesh and Divya Bharti (in her Telugu debut) whil ...

''. She played dual roles in ''Iddaru Ammayilu'' (1972) (Telugu remake of 1969 release Kannada film ''

Kappu Bilupu ''Kappu Bilupu'' ( kn, ಕಪ್ಪು ಬಿಳುಪು, which means Black and White) is a 1969 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Based on a novel of the same name by Aryamba Pattabhi, this movie revolves around the co ...

''), ''Ganga Manga'' (1973 remake of the Hindi film ''

Seeta Aur Geeta ''Seeta aur Geeta'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film, written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) and directed by Ramesh Sippy. It stars Hema Malini, Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar in leading roles, and features mus ...

''), '' Jeevana Jyothi'' (1975), and ''

Chilipi Krishnudu ''Chilipi Krishnudu'' is a 1978 Telugu-language romantic drama film produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by Boina Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisri, with music composed by K. V. Mahade ...

'' (1978). She financed and starred in

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

's only Telugu film ''

Anugraham ''Kondura'' / ''Anugraham'' is a 1978 Indian bilingual film directed by Shyam Benegal simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marathi writer, Chintamani T. Khanolkar, the screen adaptation was ma ...

'' (1977), co-starring Smita Patil. With actor M. G. R Vanisri acted in three films: ''

Kannan En Kadhalan ''Kannan En Kadhalan'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by P. Neelakantan, produced and written by R. M. Veerappan, starring M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Vanisri. It was released on 25 April 1968. Plot Kannan is th ...

'' (1968), '' Thalaivan'' (1970), and ''

Oorukku Uzhaippavan ''Oorukku Uzhaippavan'' () is a 1976 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by M. Krishnan Nair, starring M. G. Ramachandran, Vanisri and Venniradai Nirmala. It is a remake of the 1970 Kannada film '' Baalu Belagithu''. The film was ...

'' (1976). She acted with

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 a 10 films such as '' Uyarntha Manithan'' (1968), ''

Nirai Kudam ''Nirai Kudam'' () is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Muktha Srinivasan and produced by V. Ramasamy under ''Muktha Films'' banner. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Vanisri, with musical score by V. Kumar. Plot Cast *Siva ...

'' (1969), ''

Kulama Gunama ''Kulama Gunama'' () is a 1971 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan and produced by M. Aasam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Padmini and Vanisri. It is a remake of the 1968 Telugu film '' Thalli Pre ...

'' (1971), ''

Vasantha Maligai ''Vasantha Maligai'' () is a 1972 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by K. S. Prakash Rao and produced by D. Ramanaidu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Vanisri, and is the Tamil remake of the 1971 Telugu film '' Prema Nagar''. ''V ...

'' (1972), ''

Sivakamiyin Selvan ''Sivakamiyin Selvan'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language film directed by C. V. Rajendran, starring Sivaji Ganesan, Vanisri and Latha. It is a remake of the Hindi film '' Aradhana'' (1969). The film was released on 26 January 1974. Plot In ...

'' (1974), '' Vani Rani'' (Tamil remake of the Hindi film ''

'') (1974), '' Rojavin Raja'' (1976), '' Ilaya Thalaimurai'' (1977), ''

Punniya Boomi ''Punniya Boomi'' () is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by K. Vijayan and produced by N. V. Ramasamy. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Vanisri, with Sangeeta, Bhavani, M. N. Nambiar and V. K. Ramasamy in supporting roles. It ...

'' (1978), and '' Nallathoru Kudumbam'' (1979). In 2013, she received the state

Raghupathi Venkaiah Award The Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Award is an award issued by the Indian state government of Andhra Pradesh, to recognise lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema. The award was introduced in 1981 in honour of Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, a pioneer of t ...

for her contribution to Telugu cinema.

Personal life

Vanisri married Dr. Karunkaran in 1978 and left the film industry. The couple have a son and a daughter. Vanisri returned to film to acting in mother roles from 1989, such as her character in ''

Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu ''Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu'' () is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language masala film co-written and directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy. Produced by Allu Aravind, the film stars Chiranjeevi, Vanisri, and Vijayashanti. The film marks Vanisri's comebac ...

'' (1989). She was also in the 1999

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

film ''Main Tere Pyar Mein Pagal'', directed by

director

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

. She lost her son Abhinaya Venkatesha Karthik aged 36 on 23 May 2020 due to cardiac arrest.

Awards and honours

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanisri Living people Indian film actresses Filmfare Awards South winners 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema People from Nellore Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Hindi cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Telugu actresses