Indian Cinema Screen's Goddesses 👑

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One of the leading luminaries of South Indian cinema, J. Jayalalithaa (1948-2016) was a unforgettable polyglot star who carved her destiny out of the adversaries she faced. The 1960s and the mid-70s witnessed Jayalalithaa reigning supreme as the uncrowned queen of Tamil cinema, who had completed 100 films in a decade, no mean achievement for an actress. Some of her career highlights include the fact that she is the only Tamil actress to have the maximum number of silver jubilee hits in her career - 85 in all. She was also the first Tamil cinema heroine to wear Western clothes and shoes custom-made to match her costume. Even though Jayalalithaa featured in films opposite stellar matinee idols in most of the films, the plot revolved around the heroine and she was seldom a decoration in any of her films. Born in Melukote, in what was then Mysore State, Jayalalithaa hailed from luxury but misfortunes fell on her family when she was young.

She started her film career with the English film ‘Epistle’ (1961) post which she was introduced by ace director B.R. Panthulu in the Kannada film ‘Chinnada Gombe’ (1965) and also featured in the Telugu film ‘Manushulu Mamathalu’ and Tamil film ‘Vennira Aadai’ the same year, attracting a lot of attention. Featuring opposite MGR in ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ (1965), Jayalaithaa and MGR’s pair became one of the most popular pairs of Tamil cinema. They worked together in 28 films and many of their films remain memorable and timeless. The Jayalalithaa-Sivaji Ganesan pair also created magic on the screen. The actress had the ability to break away from the mould and was very comfortable opposite Muthuraman, Jaishankar, Ravichandran, NTR, Kalyan Kumar and Nagesh.

Some of Jayalalithaa’s prominent films include ‘Motor Sandaram Pillai’ (1966), ‘Yaar Nee?’ (1966), ‘Major Chandrakanth’ (1966), ‘Kavalkaran’ (1967), ‘Chikkadu Dorakadu’ (1967), ‘Ragasiya Police 115’ (1968), ‘Kudiyiruntha Koil’ (1968),  ‘Galatta Kalyanam’ (1968), ‘Baghdad Gaja Donga’ (1968), ‘Thikka Shankaraiah’ (1968), ‘Nam Naadu’ (1969), ‘Adimai Penn’ (1969), ‘Engirundho Vandhal’ (1970), ‘Enga Mama’ (1970), ‘Sumathi En Sundari’ (1971), ‘Pattikada Pattanama’ (1972), ‘Sri Krishna Satya’ (1972), ‘Raman Thediya Seethai’ (1972), ‘Suryagandhi’ (1973),  ‘Thirumangalyam’ (1974), among many others. Writers Nalini Shivkumar and Rema Mahalingam state, “[Jayalalithaa] rewrote her destiny to be immortalized as one of the distinguished stars to illuminate the skyline of South Indian cinema. Her tempestuous life filled with trials and triumphs propelled her into two high profile careers - politics and cinema. The celluloid arena immortalized her acting and politics would record her as one of India’s most illustrious statesmen.”

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Conferred with the highest encomium ‘Nadigayar Thilakam’ (actress par excellence), ‘Mahanati’ Savitri (1935-1981) was a star unlike any in her era and ruled the South Indian film industry for over three decades. Having worked in over 300 films in various languages, producers waited in line to get her dates and she was at par with her male co-stars like MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, and Gemini Ganesan in Tamil cinema and NTR and Nageswar Rao in the Telugu film industry. She is also one of the very few film artistes to have a statue raised in her honour. Born in Chirravuru in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Savitri began learning music and classical dance at the age of 8 and performed stage shows while still in school. Showcasing an interest in a career in acting since the age of 13, her uncle took their family to Madras to assist her in getting an entry into films.

After featuring in films like ‘Samsaram’ (1950), ‘Roopavathi’ (1951) and ‘Pathala Bhairavi’ (1951) and a few minor roles, Savitri became popular with ‘Pelli Chesi Choodu’ in Telugu/ ‘Kalyanam Panni Paar’ in Tamil (1952). She then bagged the dream role of Parvathi in the Tamil and Telugu versions of ‘Devdas’ (1953). Her great acting credentials were established with 1955’s ‘Ardhangi’ (Telugu)/ ’Pennin Perumai’ (Tamil) and the hit ‘Missamma’ (Telugu)/’Missiamma’ (Tamil). The Tamil version launched the Gemini Ganesan-Savitri pair and the comedy film helped break her image as a tragedy queen. Never using glycerine, Savitri’s performance in a tragic scene in ‘Maya Bazar’ (1957) was highly appreciated and mid 50s to late 60s marked her ascension to great heights as an actress.

Some of the important films that Savitri featured in include ‘Kanyasulkam’ (1955), ‘Kalathur Kannamma’ (1959), ‘Pasamalar’ (1961), ‘Pavamannipu’ (1961), ‘Gundamma Katha’ (1962), ‘Karnan’ (1963), ‘Kandan Karunai’ (1967), ‘Moogamanasalu’ (1963), ‘Varakatnam’ (1968) and ‘Maro Prapancham’ (1970). She played Draupadi in ‘Pandava Vanavasam’ (1962), perhaps her most acclaimed mythological film. The actress married Gemini Ganesan while working in ‘Manam Pola Mangalyam’ (1954). She also immortalized the song ‘Singaara Velane Deva’ with her flawless lipsync in the film ‘Konjum Salangai’ (1962).

Writers Nalini Shivkumar and Rema Mahalingam state, “For a movie buff, Savitri spells sheer nostalgia, capturing a montage of powerful scenes from her classics enshrined in the annals of South Indian cinema…She will be remembered as long as celluloid lives on, because her films mirror life itself with their veritable kaleidoscope of human emotions and passions, rendered in all their diversity. She is one of those rare actors who imparted a Shakespearian magnitude to the roles she enacted, making the audience experience a cathartic impact. It would not be a hyperbole to say that she has not been surpassed!”

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Legendary Indian actress Anjali Devi (1927-2014) enjoyed the rare status of her name featuring in the top slots of the credits with the hero’s name following hers and famously earned equal wages, on par with the hero, at her time. Featuring in around 400 films as the lead in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films, she is considered Sita personified to her fans after her memorable performance in ‘Lava Kusha’ (1963). When marriage was said to spell doom for an actress’ film career, Anjali was married and had 2 children when she made her entry into films. The actor was known for her bold portrayals and held her own in vampish glamorous roles as well as pious ones in mythological features. She went on to share the screen space with legendary figures like MGR, Jayalalitha, N.T. Rama Rao, ANR and Sivaji Ganesan.

Anjana, who was rechristened Anjali Devi for her career in films, began as a child artiste on stage at the age of eight, in the role of Lohitsaya in ‘Raja Harishchandra’. She was the mother of two sons when filmmaker C. Pullaiah invited her for a heroine’s role and was persuaded by her husband to take up the role, setting the screen on fire with ‘Gollabhama’ (1947). Tamil films like ‘Aadhithan Kanavu’ (1948) and ‘Mangaiyarkarasi’ (1949) followed. She was part of the blockbusters ‘Bala Raju’ (1948), ‘Kanavane Kankanda Deivam’ (1955), ‘Panduranga Mahatyam’ (1957), ‘Manalane Mangayin Bhagyam’ (1957), ‘Jayabheri’ (1959), ‘Adutha Veettu Penn’ (1960) and appreciated for ‘Marmayogi’ (1951) and ‘Sarvadhikari’ (1951). Anjali set up the production house Anjali Pictures with her husband, which came to be known for its musical and period films. She produced around 28 films in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil including ‘Anarkali’ (1955), ‘Swapna Sundari’ (1950), ‘Swarna Manjari’ (1962), ‘Bhakta Tukaram’ (1973), and many more.

Writers Nalini Shivkumar and Rema Mahalingam state, “‘Lava Kusha’, [Anjali’s] landmark movie, was a classic that took about six years in the making. It immortalized the lead cast - NTR as Lord Rama and Anjali Devi as Sita. There were several versions that have been made since then, but only this film remains etched in the memory of Telugu audiences.

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Accorded the sobriquet ‘Ashtavardhani’ for the multiple facets to her personality, the charismatic P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (1925-2005) enjoys a unique status of having acted in more than a 100 films in different languages, and having worked as a director, producer, dialogue and screenplay writer, lyricist and music composer, costume designer, and studio owner, in addition to singing - being probably the only woman to have worked on this many areas in the Indian film industry. She is also regarded as one of India’s highest paid actresses ever, is remembered as the first female superstar of Telugu cinema and also Telugu cinema’s first female director.

Born in a middle class family in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, Bhanumathi's parents were proficient in music, so she was taught the same at a very early age. Having made her film debut at the age of 13 with the Telugu film ‘Varavikrayam’ (1939), she was praised for her distinctive voice modulation and as a promising professional singer. She went on to feature in ‘Malathi Madhavam’ (1940), ‘Dharma Patni’ (1941) and the popular ‘Krishna Prema’ (1943). After marriage and a brief hiatus, Bhanumathi featured in ‘Swargaseema’ (1945) where her song ‘Ooh Pavurama’ was a big hit and the negative role catapulted her to stardom. She stated, “All the senior artists, like Sivaji Ganesan, Thangavelu and Balaiah told me that they had seen [the film] 45 times and that they were my fans!”

Bhanumathi and her husband started their own studio after their son was born and named it after him - Bharani, with their debut production being ‘Ratnamala’ (1947). Her first Tamil film was ‘Rajamukthi’ (1949) opposite M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. The first film that Bhanumathi directed, produced and also gave the musical score for was ‘Chandirani’ (1953). With her double role, the film was made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi at the same time. She went on to act opposite the top actors of her time including Sivaji Ganesan and MGR. Other top heroes of the day such as NTR and ANR acted in the films produced by Bhanumathi’s Bharani Studio. Every film that Bhanumathi took up was a story from the feminist perspective, given her understanding of the problems faced by the fraternity. She had a prolific career and later breathed life to different character roles. Writers Nalini Shivkumar and Rema Mahalingam state, “Ramakrishna will be remembered as a versatile genius who stormed into the male bastion and worked on her own terms, acquiring a magnificence and dignity by dint of her competence and demeanour.”