Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked 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 ...

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, nati ...

-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like ''

Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam ''Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam'' is 1960 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by P. Pullaiah and produced by V. Venkateswarlu. It is based on the Venkateswara avatar of Vishnu at Tirumala. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, an ...

'' (1960) and '' Mahamantri Timmarasu'' (1962) and Tamil films like ''

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Bri ...

'' (1959) and in '' Poova Thalaiya'' (1969).

Life

Varalakshmi was born in

Jaggampeta Jaggampeta is a town in Jaggampeta mandal, located in Kakinada district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of river Godavari. A town in which worked under British rule since 17th century, Primarily known as an exp ...

, Andhra Pradesh, India. She started her career as child artist in saint role in '' Balayogini'' (1937), when she was nine years old.

Gudavalli Ramabrahmam Gudavalli Ramabrahmam was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Telugu cinema. He is known for directing critically acclaimed social problem films like ''Mala Pilla'' (1938) and ''Raithu Bidda'' (1939). At a time w ...

was engaged by the pioneer filmmaker

K. Subramanyam K. Subramaniyam (20 April 1904 – 7 April 1971), born Krishnasamy Subramaniyam, was an Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Dancer Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter. Biography Subramanyam was involved in the establishment of the T ...

to direct the Telugu version of this movie. He spotted young Varalakshmi in Kurnool. Subramanyam later cast her in his classic ''

Seva Sadanam ''Sevasadanam'' () is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Subrahmanyam. It is one of the early Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This was the first film for M. ...

'' (1938) with

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

. She played a young friend of the heroine (M.S.), and they became close friends. She played a young girl's role in ''Parasuraman'' (Tamil, 1940) along with T. R. Mahalingam. T. R. Sundaram, cast her in a major role in his box office hit 'Aayiram Thalai Vaangi Apoorva Chinthamani' (1947). The title role was played by

V. N. Janaki Vaikom Narayani Janaki (30 November 192319 May 1996), also known as Janaki Ramachandran, was an Indian politician, actress and activist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days after the death of her husband M. G. Ramachandra ...

. The film was a major success and Govindan and Varalakshmi made an attractive pair. T. R. Sundaram cast her again in the lead role in 'Bhojan' (1948). Her first successful movie was ''

Balaraju ''Balaraju'' is a 1948 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler fantasy film produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramayya under the Pratibha Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, S. Varalakshmi, and Anjali Devi with music jointly ...

'' in 1948 produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramaiah. She later acted with all top heroes in Telugu and Tamil industries including M K Tyagaraja Bhagavatar in the classic Tamil film by B A Subba Rao called 'Syamala' in 1953;

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 Gan ...

(''Veerapandiya Kattabbomman''),

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

(''Chakravarthi Thirumagal'', ''Maattukara Velan'', ''Needhikku Thalaivanangu''),

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

(''Poova Thalaiya'', ''Panama Pasama''),

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred ...

('' Satya Harischandra''),

A. Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

(ANR) (''

''), V. Nagayya (''Naga Panchami''), Ranjan (''En Magan'') and R. S. Manohar (''Maamiyaar''). She was also famous for her voice, and sung her songs in all movies she acted. Her roles as Sivaji's wife in ''

'', and important roles in '' Poova Thalaiya'', '' Savale Samali'', ''Maattukkara Velan'', Shivaji's sister in ''Raja Raja Chozhan'' and ''Neethikku thalaivanangu'' won her critical acclaim as a talented singer and actress in Tamil movies. In her later career, she acted in mother and aunt roles. She married film producer A. L. Srinivasan, an elder brother of Kavignar Kannadasan; they had two children named Nalini and Muruga She continued to act after marriage in senior roles in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She sang many beautiful songs in Telugu and Tamil films. Her son, S. Muruga, died after suffering cardiac arrest in Chennai on 22 October 2013. He lived for 48 years. Her daughter Nalini is a homemaker with 2 children.

Death

Varalakshmi was bedridden during the last 6 months of her life after she

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

and injured her back. She died on 22 September 2009.Veteran actress passes away
''IndiaGlitz''. Retrieved on 25 September 2009.

Honors and awards

She has received several awards commending her service to Tamil cinema. The most recent ones were: # Sivaji Ganesan Memorial Award Presented by the Sivaji Family in Oct 2007 # Kavignar Kannadasan Award presented by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2004

Filmography

Note: The lists are not comprehensive.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varalakshmi, S. 1927 births 2009 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in India Indian women playback singers Indian film actresses Telugu playback singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian actresses Tamil playback singers Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Singers from Andhra Pradesh People from East Godavari district Indian child actresses Child actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian women singers Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh