Mynavathi (26 July 1935 – 10 November 2012) was an Indian actress. She made her first screen appearance as an actor in the 1955

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 ...

film ''Santa Sakhu'' and acted in over 100 Kannada films. She was the younger sister of another popular Kannada actress

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...

. She became popular after her role in the 1959 Kannada film ''

Abba Aa Hudugi ''Abba Aa Hudugi'' () is a 1959 Indian Kannada-language film written, directed and produced by H. L. N. Sinha based on his own play of the same name. It stars Rajashankar in his debut role, Rajkumar in an extended cameo along with Narasimhara ...

'', which co-starred Rajkumar and her sister

and was directed by H. L. N. Simha. In the film, she played the role of an autocratic girl who hates men. It was based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

''.

Career

After her debut in 1955, Mynavathi appeared in ''

Bhakta Vijaya ''Bhaktha Vijaya'' is a 1956 Indian Kannada language film directed by Aruru Pattabhi. The film stars Rajkumar and Pandari Bai. At the 4th National Film Awards, the film was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada (Certificate of Merit). Raj ...

'', ''

Hari Bhakta ''Hari Bhakta'' is a 1956 Kannada-language film directed by T. V. Singh Thakur. The film stars Rajkumar and Pandari Bai. It had Mynavathi, Narasimharaju, G. V. Iyer, H. R. Shastry playing supporting roles. The movie is based on the life of ...

'' and ''

Rayara Sose ''Rayara Sose'' is a 1957 Indian Kannada-language film produced by Pandari Bai and directed by R. Ramamurthy and K. S. Murthy. It stars Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Mynavathi, H. Ramachandra Shastry, Pandari Bai and Ramadevi. The music of the fil ...

'', all the films that had Rajkumar playing the lead role. She has acted alongside other greats of Kannada cinema like

Kalyan Kumar Kalyan Kumar (7 June 1928 – 1 August 1999) was an Indian actor, and an occasional film director and producer who worked primarily in Kannada cinema, Kannada and Tamil cinema. Making his acting debut in the mythological drama ''Natashekara'' (19 ...

and

Udaykumar Bommasandra Srinivasaiah Suryanarayana Murthy (16 March 1933 – 26 December 1985), known by his screen name Udaykumar, was an Indian actor and producer in Kannada cinema. He, along with Kalyan Kumar and Rajkumar, were called the ''Kumarath ...

, 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 Tamil films. Her other popular films include ''Kacha Devayani'', ''Naane Bhagyavathi'', ''Anuraadha'', ''Annapurna'', ''Sarvajnamurthy'', ''Amma'', ''Muthaide Bhagya'' and ''Obbarigintha Obbaru''. Launching "Yantra Media" in the 1980s with her sons, Mynavathi entered the television industry. She has acted in the television serials ''Amma'', ''Manetana'', ''Mahayagna'' and ''Sumangali''.

Death

Mynavathi died on 10 November 2012 at the BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore from cardiac arrest.

Filmography

Kannada

Tamil

Bengali

References

{{authority control 1935 births 2012 deaths Actresses in Kannada cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema People from Uttara Kannada Actresses from Karnataka 20th-century Indian actresses