Rajasulochana

Rajasulochana
Rajasulochana
Born	Pilliarchetty Bhakthavatsalam Naidu Rajeevalochana; 15 August 1935; Bezawada, Madras Presidency
Died	5 March 2013 (aged 77); Chennai
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1950s to 1970s
Spouse	C. S. Rao

Pilliarchetty Bhakthavatsalam Naidu Rajeevalochana (15 August 1935 – 5 March 2013), better known as Rajasulochana, was a South Indian classical dancer and film actress.^[1] She has acted in more than 300 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films.^[2]

Early life

She was born on 15 August 1935 in Bezawada (now Vijayawada), in the Andhra Pradesh. Her father Bhakthavatsalam Naidu worked in Indian Railways and was transferred to Madras as PA to the General Manager of M&SM Railway. At school her name was recorded in error as Rajasulochana.^[3]

Career

She learned Indian classical dance from Lalithamma, K. N. Dhandayuthapani Pillai, Acharyulu and Vempati Chinna Satyam, Krishnakumar, Vishnu Vysarkar, and Kalamandalam Madhavan.

The Kannada stage and screen maestro H. L. N. Simha gave her an acting opportunity in "Gunasagari" (Kannada, 1953), produced by Gubbi Veeranna. Subsequently she acted in about 274 films in all South Indian languages. She acted with all the leading stars of South Indian cinema such as M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Rajkumar, S. S. Rajendran, Prem Nazir, A. P. Nagarajan and M. N. Nambiar.

Pushpanjali Nritya Kala Kendram

She founded the dance school "Pushpanjali Nritya Kala Kendram" in 1961 in Chennai. It has trained many students in Indian classical dance forms and celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1986. She gave many dance performances in India and abroad and got critical acclaim for the dance dramas.

Personal life

She married actor-director C. S. Rao and had twin daughters and a son. One daughter is a talented dancer and lives in Chennai. Her other twin daughter and son live in the US.

Death

Rajasulochana died in Chennai on 5 March 2013 at the age of 77.^[4] Condoling her death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said the actress had left an imprint for herself in the film industry. She was engaged in creating artistes in her dance school 'Pushpanjali Nrithya Kala Kendram' here, Jayalalithaa said.^[5]