Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi (born on 13th December 1952) is known as Lakshmi. She is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the South Indian cinema. She made her debut with the Tamil film Sri Valli in 1961. Her debut as an actress was with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam in 1968.
Table of Contents
Lakshmi Actress, Age, Biography, Movies
| Name | Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi |
| Nickname | Mahalakshmi |
| Profession | Actor |
| Height | 170cm or 1.70m or 5’7” |
| Weight | 55kg or 121lbs |
| Eye colour | Black |
| Hair colour | Black |
| Debut | Chattakari (1974) |
| Date of birth | 13 December 1952 (67 years as of 2020) |
| Zodiac | Sagittarius |
| Birthplace | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Hometown | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Schools | Unknown |
| College/University | Unknown |
| Educational Qualification | Graduate |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Hobby | reading books |
| Marital status | Married |
| Affairs | Bhaskar, Mohan Sharma and M. Sivachandran |
| Father | Yaragudipati Varada Rao(Indian film producer, director, thespian, screenwriter, actor and editor) |
| Mother | Kumari Rukmini (Tamil actress) |
| Husband | Bhaskar (1969-74), Mohan Sharma (1975-80) and M. Sivachandran(1987-present) |
| Children | Aishwarya(1971) and Samyuktha (adopted, 2000) |
Early life and background
Lakshmi was born to Tamil actress Kumari Rukmini and Indian film producer, director, thespian, screenwriter, editor and actor Yaragudipati Varada Rao. She was born and brought up in a Telegu and Tamil family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her father was and still is a known name in Telegu, Tamil and Kannada film industry.
Personal life
The actor was first married to insurance company worker Bhaskar in 1969. They have a daughter- actress Aishwarya who was born 1971. The couple got divorced in 1974.
In the seat of the film Chattakari, she fell in love with her co-star Mohan Sharma and married him in 1975 but the duo divorced in 1980 after 5 years of being together.
During shooting the film En Uyir Kannamma, the star and actor-director M. Sivachandran fell in love and got married in 1987. They adopted a girl named Samyuktha in 2000. The couple is still very much in love and together after these many years.
Personal favourites
- Cuisine – Italian
- Actor – Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan
- Actress – Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi
- Director – Mani Ratnam
- Colour – Black and white
- Destination – Kerala and London
Career
The actor established herself after appearing in all four South Indian language films in the 1970s. She rose to fame with her successful film Chattakari in 1974, which won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best actress. The film was remade in Hindi as Julie in 1975 and in Telegu as Miss Julie Prema Katha in 1975.
This won her the Bengal Film Journalist’s Association Award for the most outstanding work of the year in addition to a Filmfare Best Actress Award. After the Malayalam film success, she acted in a number of Malayalam films. She won Filmfare awards for Best Actress for Chalanum and Mohiniyaattam. Her pairing with Kannada star Anant Nag in the 70s and 80s is considered one of the best of all time in South Indian cinema. They have acted in over 25 films together.
She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargi in 1977 becoming the first South Indian Actress to win that category for a Tamil Film. She played as a supporting character in films like Jeans(1998) and Hulchul (2004). She has acted in more than 400 films and has also been involved in politics. She made her directorial debut with the Kannada film Yours, Mine and Ours and Makkala Sanya.
She hosted two walk shows during her film break. The Tamil talk show was Achamillai, Achamillai and the Kannada talk show Idu Kathe Alla Jeevana in Savarna Channel. She also hosts a talk show in Tamil for Vijay TV called Kadhai Alla Nijam. She has hosted a talk show in Kannada for Suvarna Channel, Neena? Nana? After the end of the shows, she returned to the cinema. Currently, she judges Malayalam reality show Champions on Surya TV. She is also the Judge of Kannada reality show called Drama Juniors on Zee Kannada.
Lesser-known facts
- Lakshmi was born and brought up in a Telegu and Tamil family in Chennai.
- Lakshmi made her Bollywood debut in 1975 with the film Julie.
- She has won one National Filmfare and award and three Nandi awards.
- The actor rose to fame with her film Chattakari in 1974.
- Anant Nag and the star is considered as one of the all-time greatest pairs in South Indian cinema.
- She has performed in more than 400 films and has also been involved in politics.
- The star made her directorial debut under K. Balachander with a remake of Yours, Mine and Ours: the Kannada film Makkala Sanya.
