Anjali Devi

Anjali Devi
Anjali Devi
	Anjali Devi in 1949
Born	Anjanamma; 24 August 1927; Peddapuram, East Godavari district, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	13 January 2014 (aged 86); Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Anjamma, Anjali Kumari, Anjali Devi
Occupation	Actress model
Spouse	P. Adinarayana Rao (1948-1991; his death)

Anjali Devi (pronunciation^ⓘ; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, former model and producer in Telugu and Tamil. She was well known for her role as the mythological Sita in Lava Kusha as well as for the titular roles in movies like Suvarna Sundari and Anarkali.

Early life

Anjali Devi was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, India,^[1] as Anjamma. She changed her name to Anjani Kumari when acting in dramas. Later, director C. Pullaiah changed her name to Anjali Devi.^{[citation needed]}

Career

As actress

She was a theatre artiste before venturing into movies. Her debut film role was as Lohitasya in Raja Harishchandra in 1936. Her first movie as a heroine was Kashtajeevi by L. V. Prasad in 1940, but that movie was abandoned after three reels shooting. Later, C.Pullayya discovered her and gave her the opportunity to star as Mohini in Gollabhama. Based on her acting ability and looks, she became a star overnight in 1947. She eventually acted^[1] in more than 350 Telugu films^{[citation needed]} and a few Tamil and Kannada films as the heroine.^{[citation needed]}

She acted in Lava Kusha, a milestone film and the first color film in the Telugu film industry in 1963. She is well known for playing Sita in Lava Kusha and her performances in films like Suvarna Sundari and Anarkali were also appreciated. She has acted in nearly 500 films. Brundavanam (1992), Anna Vadina (1993) and Police Alludu (1994) were the last few films of her career. In Balaiah's Police Alludu and Anna Vadina she appeared alongside Brahmanandam. She acted in various roles, such as a damsel, an angel, a dancer, a demon, a goddess, a traditional woman and later in mother roles.^[2]

As producer

In 1955 she produced the film Anarkali, in which she herself played the titular role, with Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Prince Salim. Then she produced V. Madhusudan Rao's Bhakta Tukaram and Chandipriya. Bollywood and Tollywood actress Jayapradha played the lead role in the latter alongside Shobhan Babu and Chiranjeevi. As a producer she has produced 27 films. She was an ardent devotee of Sathyasai Baba and produced a tele-serial on Sathyasai.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

She married P. Adinarayana Rao, a music director, in 1940.^[1] They settled in Chennai. They have two sons. Together, they produced many Telugu films under the banner, Anjali Pictures. Their granddaughter, Saila Rao, is also an actress.^{[citation needed]}

Death

She died at the age of 86 on 13 January 2014 at Vijaya Hospital, in Chennai, with her organs donated to Ramachandra Medical College.^[3]

Awards

Filmfare Awards South

Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu – Anarkali (1955)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu – Suvarna Sundari (1957)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu – Chenchu Lakshmi (1958)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu – Jayabheri (1959)
Honorary doctorate from Nagarjuna University, Guntur.
She received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 1994 for her lifetime service to the Telugu film industry.
She was conferred the Ramineni Award in 2006 in the fine arts category.
She received the prestigious ANR National Award in 2008.

Filmography

Actress

Year	Film	Language	Character	Co-Star
1947	Gollabhama	Telugu		Krishnaveni, Sriranjani
	Mahathma Udhangar	Tamil		Kothamangalam Seenu
1948	Balaraju	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao, S. Varalakshmi
	Aadhithan Kanavu	Tamil		T. R. Mahalingam
1949	Keelu Gurram	Telugu	Mohini	A. Nageswara Rao
	Maya Kudhirai	Tamil	Mohini	A. Nageswara Rao
	Mayavathi	Tamil		T. R. Mahalingam
	Mangaiyarkarasi	Tamil		P. U. Chinnappa, P. Kannamba
1950	Palleturi Pilla	Telugu	Santha	N. T. Rama Rao, A. Nageswara Rao
	Swapna Sundari	Telugu	Swapna Sundari	A. Nageswara Rao, G. Varalakshmi, S. Varalakshmi
	Swapna Sundari	Tamil	Swapna Sundari	A. Nageswara Rao, G. Varalakshmi, S. Varalakshmi
	Maaya Rambai	Tamil		N. T. Rama Rao
	Maya Rambha	Telugu		N. T. Rama Rao
1951	Nirdoshi	Telugu	Nirmala	Mukkamala Krishna Murthy, G. Varalakshmi
	Niraparadhi	Tamil		Mukkamala Krishna Murthy, G. Varalakshmi
	Sarvadhigari	Tamil		M. G. Ramachandran
	Sarvadhikari	Telugu		M. G. Ramachandran
	Marmayogi	Tamil		M. G. Ramachandran, Madhuri Devi
	Marmayogi	Telugu		M. G. Ramachandran, Madhuri Devi
	Mayakkari	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao
	Mayalamaari	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao
	Mayamalai	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao
	Strisahasam	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao
	Strisahasam	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao
1952	Ezhai Uzhavan	Tamil
1953	Pakkinti Ammayi	Telugu	Leela Devi	Relangi Venkataramaiah, A. M. Rajah
	Inspector	Tamil		Veenai S. Balachander
	Poongodhai	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, Pandari Bai
	Paradesi	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, Pandari Bai
	Ladki	Hindi	Kamini	Kishore Kumar, Bharat Bhushan, Vyjayanthimala
1954	Rechukka	Telugu	Nana	N. T. Rama Rao, Devika
	Naattiya Thara	Tamil	Nana	N. T. Rama Rao, Devika
	Penn	Tamil	Kamini	Gemini Ganesan, Veenai S. Balachander, Vyjayanthimala
	Sangham	Telugu	Kamini	N. T. Rama Rao, Veenai S. Balachander, Vyjayanthimala
	Sorga Vasal	Tamil	Thilagawathi	S. S. Rajendran, K. R. Ramaswamy, Padmini
	Ponvayal	Tamil	Semba	T. R. Ramachandran
	Rattha Pasam	Tamil		T. K. Shanmugam, T. K. Baghavathy
1955	Anarkali	Telugu	Anarkali	A. Nageswara Rao
	Anarkali	Tamil	Anarkali	A. Nageswara Rao
	Kanavane Kan Kanda Dheivam	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan, Lalitha
	Kalam Maripochu	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan
	Jayasimha	Telugu		N. T. Rama Rao, Waheeda Rehman
	Jayasimman	Tamil		N. T. Rama Rao, Waheeda Rehman
	Doctor Savithri	Tamil		B. R. Panthulu, Veenai S. Balachander
	Mudhal Thedhi	Tamil		Sivaji Ganesan
	Town Bus	Tamil		M. N. Kannappa, M. N. Rajam, Thambaram Lalitha
1956	Devta	Hindi		Gemini Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala
	Mathar Kula Manickam	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan, A. Nageswara Rao, K. Savithri
1957	Allauddin Adhbhuta Deepam	Telugu	Yasmin, the Princess	A. Nageswara Rao
1957	Alavudheenum Arputha Villakkum	Tamil	Yasmin, the Princess	A. Nageswara Rao
	Panduranga Mahatyam	Telugu	Rama	N. T. Rama Rao, Sowcar Janaki, B. Saroja Devi
	Suvarna Sundari	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao, Rajasulochana, Girija
	Manaalane Mangaiyin Baakkiyam	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan, Rajasulochana, Girija
	Chakravarthi Thirumagal	Tamil		M. G. Ramachandran, S. Varalakshmi
	Neelamalai Thirudan	Tamil		Ranjan
1958	Chenchu Lakshmi	Telugu	Goddess Lakshmi	A. Nageswara Rao
	Chenchu Lakshmi	Tamil	Goddess Lakshmi	A. Nageswara Rao
	Illarame Nallaram	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan, B. Saroja Devi
	Kanniyin Sabadham	Tamil		K. R. Ramaswamy, Rajasulochana
1959	Jayabheri	Telugu	Manjulavani	A. Nageswara Rao
	Kalaivanan	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao
	Naan Sollum Ragasiyam	Tamil		Sivaji Ganesan
1960	Bhatti Vikramarka	Telugu		N. T. Rama Rao, Kanta Rao
	Mannadhi Mannan	Tamil		M. G. Ramachandran, Padmini
	Aadavantha Deivam	Tamil		T. R. Mahalingam, E. V. Saroja
	Adutha Veettu Penn	Tamil		T. R. Ramachandran
	Engal Selvi	Tamil		A. Nageswara Rao
1961	Naganandhini	Tamil		K. Balaji
	Pangaaligal	Tamil		M. R. Radha
1962	Bhishma	Telugu	Amba	N. T. Rama Rao
	Mangaiyar Ullam Mangatha Selvam	Tamil		Gemini Ganesan
	Naag Devta	Hindi	Mohini	Mahipal
1963	Lava Kusha	Telugu	Sita	N. T. Rama Rao, Kanta Rao
1963	Lava Kusha	Tamil	Sita	N. T. Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan
1965	Sati Sakkubai	Telugu
1966	Chilaka Gorinka	Telugu		Krishnam Raju, Krishna Kumari
	Palnati Yudham	Telugu		N. T. Rama Rao, P. Bhanumathi, Jamuna
	Rangula Ratnam	Telugu		Ram Mohan, Chandra Mohan
1967	Bhakta Prahlada	Telugu	Leelavati	S. V. Ranga Rao
	Rahasyam	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao, B. Saroja Devi, G. Varalakshmi
1971	Kalyana Mandapam	Telugu		Shobhan Babu, Kanchana
1972	Badi Panthulu	Telugu		N. T. Rama Rao
	Bala Bharatam	Telugu
	Tata Manavadu	Telugu		S. V. Ranga Rao
1973	Bhakta Tukaram	Telugu	Avali Bai	A. Nageswara Rao, Kanchana
	Jeevana Tarangalu	Telugu		Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Vanisree, Lakshmi
1974	Urimai Kural	Tamil		M. G. Ramachandran, Latha, S. V. Sahasranamam
1975	Soggadu	Telugu		Sobhan Babu, Jayasudha, Jayachitra
1976	Mahakavi Kshetrayya	Telugu		A. Nageswara Rao
1977	Shri Ram Vanvas	Hindi
1977	Kurukshetram	Telugu	Kunti	Krishna, Sobhan Babu
1979	Annai Oru Alayam	Tamil		Rajinikanth, Sripriya
1980	Ram Robert Rahim	Telugu		Krishna, Rajinikanth, Chandra Mohan, Sridevi
	Chandipriya	Telugu		Chiranjeevi
	Bhale Krishnudu	Telugu		Mohan Babu, Krishna, Jaya Prada
1986	Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam	Telugu		Vijayachander, J. V. Somayajulu, Kanta Rao
1986	Sri Seeradi Saibaba	Tamil		Vijayachander, J. V. Somayajulu, Kanta Rao
1987	Srutilayalu	Telugu		Kaikala Satyanarayana, Rajasekhar, Sumalata
1987	Kadhal Parisu	Tamil		Kamal Haasan, Ambika, Radha
1993	Brundavanam	Telugu		Rajendra Prasad, Ramya Krishna, Gummadi Venkateswara Rao

Producer

Paradesi
Suvarna Sundari
Swarnamanjari
Chandi Priya
Sati Sakkubai
Shirdi Sai Sathya Sai Divya Katha (television series)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Anjali Devi". IMDB. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
^ http://biographymoviereview.weebly.com/
^ "Anjali Devi passes away". Filmcircle.com. Retrieved 13 January 2014.

External links

Anjali Devi at IMDb

Template:Persondata

[IMDB_dec_8-1] "Anjali Devi". IMDB. Retrieved 8 December 2012.

[2] ttp://biographymoviereview.weebly.com/

[3] "Anjali Devi passes away". Filmcircle.com. Retrieved 13 January 2014.

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