Kanaka (actress)

Last updated

Kanaka
Born
Kanaka Mahalakshmi
Occupation
Years active1989–2006
Parents
Relatives Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu (great-grandfather)

Kanaka Mahalakshmi, known mononymously as Kanaka, is an Indian former actress who appeared in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. She is known of her role in her debut Tamil film Karakattakkaran (1989).

Contents

Personal life

Kanaka is the daughter of actress Devika. [1] [2] She is also the great-granddaughter of Telugu cinema pioneer, Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu.

Career

She started her career as a heroine in the Tamil movie Karakattakkaran , directed by Gangai Amaran, a blockbuster movie which ran more than a year. [3] Kanaka acted in many Tamil movies, including Periya Veetu Pannakkaran (1990), Athisaya Piravi (1990), Samundi (1992), Periya Kudumbam (1995) and Viralukketha Veekkam (1999). She also starred in a few Telugu and Malayalam movies with major stars like Mukesh, Mammootty and Mohanlal. She has acted in more than 50 films in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu in a span of 10 years.

Filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
1989 Karakattakkaran Kamakshi Tamil
Thangamana Raasa Kannamma
1990 Seetha Seetha
Muthalali AmmaKaveri
Periya Idathu Pillai Geetha
Periya Veetu Pannakkaran Chella Meena
Athisaya Piravi Gowri
Durga Kannamma
Enga Ooru Aattukkaran Unknown
Sathan Sollai Thattathe Chitra
Amman Kovil Thiruvizha Bhavani
Vellaiya Devan Santhi
Ethir Kaatru Anita
1991 Kumbakarai Thangaiah Mangamma
Sendhoora Devi Selvi
Thalattu Ketkuthamma Pechiamma
Brahmarshi Vishwamitra Sita Telugu
Godfather Malu Malayalam
1992 Purushan Enakku Arasan KalpanaTamil
Valu Jada Tolu Beltu SeethaTelugu
Vasudha VarshaMalayalam
Ezhara Ponnana Ashwathi
Mudhal Kural VaaliTamil
Samundi Ponnuthayi
Vietnam Colony UnnimolMalayalam
1993 Koyil Kaalai ArasaayiTamil
Sakkarai Devan Dhanam
Thaali Kattiya Raasa Mythili
Kilipetchu Ketkava Sivagami
Golanthara Vartha RajaniMalayalam
1994 Vardhakya Puranam Rajani
Sakthivel LalliTamil
Pingami SrideviMalayalam
Jallikattu Kaalai RadhaTamil
1995 Kusruthikaatu IndiraMalayalam
Mangala Soothram Indu
Periya Kudumbam JyothiTamil
1996 Katta Panchayathu Shenbagam
1997 Mannadiar Penninu Chenkotta Checkan ArchaMalayalam
Bhoopathi Lakshmi
1998 Manthri Kochamma Maya
Simmarasi LakhsmiTamil
Thalaimurai Herself
1999 Viralukketha Veekkam Malu
2000 Narasimham IndulekhaMalayalam
Ee Mazha Then MazhaRekha

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shobana</span> Indian dancer and actor (born 1970)

Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Film Awards, one Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South with 14 Nominations for Best Actress Category in three different south Indian languages. She was honoured with Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu State Government in 2011 and numerous other awards. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Shobana has starred in 230 films across several languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meena (actress)</span> Indian actress (born 1976)

Meena Durairaj, known professionally as Meena, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in South Indian films as well as Hindi cinema. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Meena has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films She is one of the most sought after actresses in the South Indian film industry. In addition to acting, Meena is also a playback singer, TV judge, and occasional dubbing artist. She has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Nandi Award for Best Actress and Cinema Express Awards. In 1998, she was honoured with the Kalaimamani Award by Government of Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramya Krishnan</span> Indian actress (born 1970)

Ramya Krishnan, also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Ramya has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shalini Ajith</span> Indian actress (born 1979)

Shalini Ajith Kumar, known mononymously as Shalini is a former Indian actress and child artist who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. During the 80s, Shalini was the most successful child artist in both Malayalam and Tamil film industry and also in Telugu films. After a brief hiatus from acting, Shalini made a come back in 1997 through Malayalam and Tamil language films as a lead heroine. She married popular Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, on 24 April 2000 and did one more film after her wedding before officially retiring from films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaya Prada</span> Indian actress and politician (born 1962)

Jaya Prada Nahata is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Hindi cinema as well as in Telugu and Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu and Hindi films along with several Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films. She left the film industry at the peak of her career, as she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994 and entered politics. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revathi</span> Indian actress

Asha Kelunni, better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films.

Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 150 films and provided voice for many actress for more than 200 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, Selvi. She is also credited as a dubbing artist. She has dubbed her voice for Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu movies for actresses like Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya in 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambika (actress)</span> Indian film and television actress

Ambika is an Indian actress known for her work predominantly across the entire southern film industry and in several tele serials. She has also acted in an English film (Indian-American), to date. She was one of the top South Indian heroines for more than a decade from 1976 to 1989. Her younger sister Radha was also an actress. They acted together in a number of South Indian films during the peak of their career. The sisters runs a movie studio called 'ARS Studios', which they converted into a hotel complex in 2013.

Kanaka Vijayalakshmi, known by her stage name Maadhavi, is an Indian former actress known for her works in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. In a career spanning of almost 2 decades she has been featured in around 300 films and was hailed as one of the leading actresses of South Indian Cinema in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urvashi (actress)</span> Indian actress

Kavitha Manoranjini, known professionally as Urvashi, is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, screenwriter and film producer known for her work in the Southern film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, and also in Kannada and Telugu films. In a career spanning over four decades, she has won one National Film Award, six Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Award South. Known for her distinct style of acting, she is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in Malayalam and Tamil cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakshmi (actress)</span> Indian actress (born 1952)

Yaragudipadi Venkata Mahalakshmi, known professionally as Lakshmi, is an Indian actress known for her works primarily in all 4 Southern Indian language film industries. She has also acted in some Hindi films. Her debut as a full fledged actress happened with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam in 1968. In the same year, she acted in the Kannada film Goa Dalli CID 999 and Telugu film Bandhavyalu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijaya Nirmala</span> Indian film actress (1946–2019)

Vijaya Nirmala was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over six decades, she acted in more than 200 films and directed 44 films. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the female director who has directed the most number of films in the world. In 2008, she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for lifetime achievement in Telugu cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Srividya</span> Indian actress

Srividya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, she had acted in more than 800 films. In the latter part of her career, she concentrated on Malayalam films. In addition to acting, Srividya occasionally worked as a playback singer as well as carnatic singer. She was also a well trained Bharathanatyam dancer. She was best known for restraint and subtlety in portrayal of varied emotions. She used her own voice for dubbing almost in all movies in all languages. She died in 2006 after battling metastatic breast cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raasi (actress)</span> South Indian actress

Raasi is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Telugu and Tamil films. She is credited as Manthra in Malayalam and Tamil films. She appeared in films such as Subhakankshalu (1997), Gokulamlo Seeta (1997) and Pelli Pandiri (1998). She made her debuted in television with Telugu soap operas Girija Kalyanam (2020) and Janaki Kalaganaledu (2021).

<i>Karakattakkaran</i> 1989 film by Gangai Amaran

Karakattakkaran is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasundaram, Raja Bahadur, Gandhimathi and Kovai Sarala play supporting roles. It revolves around two karakattam dancers who fall in love with each other, but circumstances prevent them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome these forms the rest of the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shakeela</span> Indian actress and politician

C. Shakeela, known mononymously as Shakeela, is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly acted in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu language films. She is a member of Indian National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nizhalgal Ravi</span> Indian actor and voice actor (born 1956)

Ravichandran Samanna, known professionally as Nizhalgal Ravi, is an Indian film, television and voice actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has performed in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films and television series. He started his career in 1980 with the film Nizhalgal. He has acted in 550 films. He is best known for his dubbing work for Amitabh Bachchan in Tamil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kovai Sarala</span> Indian actress

Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who plays supporting roles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in Sathi Leelavathi (1995), Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) and Uliyin Osai (2008). She has also won two Nandi Awards for Best Female Comedian and the Vijay Award for Best Comedian for her performance in Kanchana (2011). She is now part of Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indraja</span> Indian actress

Rajathi, better known by her stage name Indraja, is an Indian actress known for her work in Telugu and Malayalam films. She has also appeared in a few Tamil and Kannada films, in addition to television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jyothi Lakshmi</span> Indian actress (1948–2016)

Jyothi Lakshmi was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a trained dancer. She predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam movies. In the early 1980s, her popularity gradually declined due to her sister Jayamalini's entry into the movie industry. Her debut was in the film Vanambadi in 1963 as a dancer in the song 'Yaaradi Vanthaar'. She is best remembered for her supporting roles in Thedi Vandha Mapillai and Periya Edathu Penn.

References

  1. "Kanaka keen on comeback, clears the air on rumours". Onmanorama . 5 May 2018.
  2. S. R. Ashok Kumar (10 May 2002). "Blend of grace and charm" . The Hindu . Archived from the original on 24 February 2020.
  3. Suganth, M (16 June 2019). "Celebrating 30 Years of Karagattakaran". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.