Lakshmi (actress) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lakshmi
Lakshmi at Naan Suvasikkum Sivaji book launch in 2015
Born	Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi (1952-12-13) 13 December 1952 (age 72) Madras, Madras State, India
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	Bhaskaran ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1974)​ Mohan Sharma ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 1980)​ Sivachandran ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	2, including Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran
Parents	Y. V. Rao (father) Kumari Rukmini (mother)

Lakshmi (born 13 December 1952), whose full name is Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi, is a very famous Indian actress. She has acted in many movies in four different South Indian languages: Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam. She has also appeared in some Hindi films.

Lakshmi started her acting journey in 1968 with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam. In the same year, she got her first main role in the Kannada movie Goa Dalli CID 999. She also made her debut in Telugu cinema that year with Bandhavyalu.

In 1974, her first Malayalam film, Chattakari, became a huge hit all over India. Lakshmi has acted in more than 650 films! She is known for her amazing acting skills and for speaking her own lines in all her movies, no matter the language. This is something very few actors can do.

Over her long career, which has lasted for more than five decades, Lakshmi has won many important awards. These include the National Film Award for Best Actress and nine Filmfare Awards South. She is the only actress to have won the Filmfare Awards South in all four South Indian languages.

Early Life and Family

Lakshmi grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Her mother, Kumari Rukmini, was also a Tamil actress. Her father, Yaragudipati Varada Rao, was a well-known producer, director, and actor in South Indian cinema. He worked mostly in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil films.

Acting Career Highlights

Lakshmi became a very successful and popular actress in South India during the 1970s. She acted in many films across all four major South Indian languages.

Rise to Fame

Lakshmi became famous with her first Malayalam movie, Chattakari (1974). This film was so popular that it ran for 40 weeks straight in a Bangalore theater! Her role in Chattakari earned her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.

The movie Chattakari was later remade in Hindi as Julie (1975) and in Telugu as Miss Julie Prema Katha (1975). Lakshmi also starred in Julie, which was her first Bollywood film. For her work in Julie, she won a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Lakshmi with Syed Sallauddin Pasha at a show

Lakshmi is known for being a very versatile actress. This means she can play many different kinds of roles. Her acting in the Telugu film Panthulamma is often considered one of her best performances. After the success of Chattakari, she continued to star in many other Malayalam films. She won Filmfare Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Chalanum and Mohiniyaattam.

Working with Other Stars

Lakshmi has acted with almost all the leading actors and stars in South India. She even played different roles like daughter, sister, and wife to the famous actor Sivaji Ganesan.

She formed a very popular acting pair with the Kannada star Anant Nag in the 1970s and 1980s. They acted together in many films and were considered one of the best on-screen couples in South Indian cinema. Their movies often showed the lives of married middle-class couples.

Later Roles and Directing

After her success in Julie, Lakshmi focused more on South Indian films instead of Hindi films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the Tamil film Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal (1977). She was one of the first South Indian actresses to win this award for a Tamil film.

As her career as a main actress changed in the 1980s, she started playing supporting roles. She often played mothers and later grandmothers. For example, she played Aishwarya Rai's grandmother in the Tamil film Jeans (1998) and Kareena Kapoor's grandmother in the hit film Hulchul (2004).

Lakshmi has acted in over 400 films. She also tried her hand at directing. She directed the Kannada film Makkala Sainya (1980), which was a remake of an American film.

Television Work

Lakshmi is fluent in all four South Indian languages. She took a break from acting in films to host talk shows on television. She hosted shows like Achamillai, Achamillai and Kadhai Alla Nijam in Tamil. She also hosted Idu Kathe Alla Jeevana and Neena? Naana? in Kannada. After these shows ended, she returned to acting in films.

Currently, she is a judge on the Malayalam reality show Champions on Surya TV. She is also a judge for the Kannada reality show Drama Juniors on Zee Kannada.

Personal Life

Lakshmi with her husband Sivachandran

Lakshmi has been married three times. Her first marriage was to Bhaskaran, and they had a daughter named Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, who is also an actress. They later divorced.

Her second marriage was to her co-star Mohan Sharma in 1975, but they divorced in 1980.

In 1987, while filming En Uyir Kannamma, she fell in love with actor-director M. Sivachandran. They got married and later adopted a daughter named Samyuktha in 2000.

Awards and Recognitions

Lakshmi has received many awards for her outstanding performances in films.

National Film Awards

• 1977 – National Film Award for Best Actress for Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal

Filmfare Awards

• 1976 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Julie

Filmfare Awards South

• 1974 – Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for Dikkatra Parvathi
• 1974 – Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress for Chattakari
• 1975 – Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress for Chalanum
• 1976 – Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress for Mohiniyaattam
• 1978 - Filmfare Special Jury Award for Panthulamma
• 1983 – Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for Unmaigal
• 1986 – Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress for Sravana Meghalu
• 1993 – Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress for Hoovu Hannu
• 1998 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (South)

Cinema Express Awards

• 1986 – Cinema Express Award for Best Actress – Tamil for Samsaram Adhu Minsaram

Nandi Awards

• Best Actress - Panthulamma (1977)
• Best Actress - Sravana Meghalu (1986)
• Best Character Actress - Murari (2001)
• Special Jury Award - Mithunam (2012)

Karnataka State Film Awards

• 1993 – Best Actress for Hoovu Hannu
• 2008 – Best Supporting Actress for Vamshi
• 2017 – Dr. Rajkumar Award (Highest honor in the Kannada Film Industry)

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• 1978 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Oru Nadigai Naatakam Paarkiraal

Kerala State Film Awards

• 1974 – Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for Chattakari

Bengal Film Journalists Association Awards

• 1975 - Most outstanding work of the year for Julie

South India International Movie Awards

• 2021 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Oh! Baby

Filmography

Lakshmi has acted in a huge number of films across different languages. Here are some of her notable works:

Tamil Films

Telugu Films

Malayalam Films

Kannada Films

Hindi Films

Television Shows and Web Series

Lakshmi has also appeared in TV serials and hosted talk shows.

TV Serials

• Adutha Veetu Kavithai
• Nallathor Veenai
• Mahalakshmi

Web Series

TV Shows

• Kannadada Kotyadhipati as Contestant (Kannada)
• Kadhai Alla Nijam reality show in Vijay TV (Tamil)
• Neena Naana as Host (Kannada)
• Champions as Judge (Kannada)
• Drama Juniors as Judge (Kannada)
• Kathe Alla Jeevana (Kannada)