Saritha facts for kids

Saritha is a well-known Indian actress. She has acted in over 150 movies and lent her voice to many actresses in more than 200 films. She worked in movies made in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu languages. During the 1980s, she was one of the most popular and praised lead actresses.

Saritha also appeared in a TV show called Selvi. She is also famous as a dubbing artist. This means she uses her voice for other actresses in movies. In the 1990s, she dubbed for actresses like Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan, and Soundarya.

She has won many awards from different states in India. These include six Filmfare Awards and six Nandi Awards. One of her Nandi Awards was a Special Jury Award for the movie Arjun. Saritha also received the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards four times and the Karnataka State Film Awards once.

Acting Journey

Saritha started her acting career in 1978 with the movie Manchiki Sthanam Ledu. Her next film was Maro Charitra, a Telugu movie directed by K. Balachander. In this movie, she played a Telugu-speaking girl and acted alongside Kamal Haasan. The story was about a romance between people from different cultures.

She received many offers for Tamil films, and the Tamil audience really liked her. She often worked in movies directed by K. Balachander. Some of her famous films include Thappu Thalangal, Idi Katha Kaadu, Vandichakkaram, Netrikan, Agni Sakshi, Puthukavithai, Kalyana Agathigal, and Achamillai Achamillai.

Her acting in Vandichakkaram (1980) and Achamillai Achamillai (1984) earned her the Filmfare Best Tamil Actress awards. She also made special appearances as herself in 47 Natkal and its Telugu version.

Kannada Films and Special Roles

Saritha acted in many popular Kannada movies with the famous actor Dr. Rajkumar. These films include Hosa Belaku, Keralida Simha, Bhakta Prahlada, Chalisuva Modagalu, and Kaamana Billu. She was highly praised for her roles in movies where the story focused on the female lead, like Eradu Rekhegalu, Sankranthi, and the musical Malaya Marutha. In Malaya Marutha, she acted opposite Dr. Vishnuvardhan.

For her role as a cancer patient in the 1980 film Sujatha, Saritha shaved her head. Later, for the 2005 film Julie Ganapathi, she gained weight to play a challenging role. Even though these films were not big box office hits, her performances were highly praised by critics. She also won a Nandi Special Jury Award for her role as Aandaalu in the 2004 movie Arjun.

Voice Acting Career

Saritha is also a talented voice actor in Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil films. She has lent her voice to many other actresses. These include Madhavi, Soundarya, Ramya Krishnan, Nagma, Vijayashanti, Simran, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Roja, Suhasini, Radha, Radhika, and Aarthi Agarwal.

She won the Nandi Award for Best Female Dubbing Artist four times. She received these awards for dubbing for Soundarya in films like Ammoru, Maa Ayana Bangaram (1997), and Anthapuram (1999).

After taking a long break from acting, Saritha returned to films in 2023. She appeared in the movie Maaveeran, which starred Sivakarthikeyan.

Life Outside Films

Saritha was born and grew up in Munipalle, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her birth name was Abhilasha.

She married Venkata Subbiah in 1975, but they separated after one year. Later, she married Malayalam actor Mukesh on September 2, 1988. They had two sons, Shravan and Tejas. The couple separated in 2011. Saritha now lives in the UAE with her son Shravan. Shravan made his acting debut in the 2018 film Kalyanam.

Awards and Recognition

Saritha has received many awards for her acting and voice work.

Filmfare Awards South

• 1980 – Best Actress – Tamil for Vandichakkaram
• 1982 – Best Actress – Kannada for Hosa Belaku
• 1984 – Best Actress – Tamil for Achamillai Achamillai
• 1985 – Best Actress – Kannada for Mugila Mallige
• 1986 – Best Actress – Kannada for Mouna Geethe
• 1989 – Best Actress – Kannada for Sankranthi

Nandi Awards

• 1982 – Special Jury – Best Actress for Kokilamma
• 1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist for Ammoru
• 1996 – Best Female Dubbing Artist for Maavichiguru
• 1997 – Best Female Dubbing Artist for Maa Ayana Bangaram
• 1998 – Best Female Dubbing Artist for Anthapuram
• 2004 – Special Jury for Arjun

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu State
• 1979 – Best Actress for Oru Vellaadu Vengaiyagiradhu
• 1982 – Best Actress for Agni Sakshi
• 1988 – Best Actress for Poo Pootha Nandavanam
• 1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist for Amman (1995)

Karnataka State Film Awards

• 1989 – Best Actress for Sankranthi

South Indian International Movie Awards

• 2024 – SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Tamil for Maaveeran

Selected Filmography

Here are some of the movies Saritha has been a part of:

Tamil Films

Malayalam Films

• Oru Kochu Kadha Aarum Parayatha Kadha (1984) as Janu
• Kaathodu Kaathoram (1985) as Marykutty
• Thaniyavarthanam (1987) as Indu Balan
• Kuttettan (1990) as Seetha Lakshmi
• Life Is Beautiful (2000) as Vice Principal
• Ammakilikkoodu (2003) as Janaki

Kannada Films

Telugu Films

• Maro Charitra (1978) as Swapna
• Idi Katha Kaadu (1979) as Gayathri
• Kokilamma (1983) as Kokilamma
• Kanchana Ganga (1984) as Kanchana
• Kaliyuga Pandavulu (1986) as Krishnaveni
• Arjun (2004) as Andal

Television Appearances

Voice Artist Roles

Saritha has lent her voice to many actresses in various films.

Films (as Dubbing Artist)

Television (as Dubbing Artist)