1923
Kundrathur, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu
Actress, singer, dancer
Kundrathur L. V. Vasantha (1923–2008) was an Indian actress, singer and dancer who worked mainly in Tamil language films.[1]
Biography
Vasantha was born in 1923 in Kundrathur, then based in Ramanathapuram district. As a young girl, she was actively involved in singing and dancing. According to actress S. D. Subbulakshmi, Vasantha played in a minor, uncredited role in Pavalakkodi (1934). After becoming a teenager, she appeared in B. N. Rao's Rambaiyin Kaathal (1939), a box-office success that catapulted Vasantha into stardom. Rao later cast her in Bhooloka Ramba (1940), also a hit.[1]
When Gemini Studios opened in 1941, Vasantha portrayed the lead female character in its debut production Madanakamarajan, financed by Gemini founder S. S. Vasan. The success of this film further enhanced Vasantha's reputation. When Vasan planned Chandralekha in 1943, he announced that Vasantha would star as the lead female, but she was eventually replaced by T. R. Rajakumari. Vasantha shifted to Salem where she joined T. R. Sundaram's Modern Theatres, and played the female lead in many of Sundaram's films such as Rajarajeswari (1944), Burma Rani (1945) and Sulochana (1947).[1]
Vasantha was already an accomplished dancer and singer, so she did both in most of her films. Her dance-drama sequence in Madanakamarajan became notable. In 1946, she played the lead roles in two Modern Theatres films: the Wahab Kashmiri-directed Chitra which was not successful, and Subhadhra. After acting in a few more films, she returned to Chennai (then known as Madras) and lived there till her death in 2008.[1]
Personal life
Vasantha married producer K. N. Vasu,[2] following the death of her husband T.R.Sundaram (1907-1963), the founder of Modern Theatres in Salem.[3]
Partial filmography
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1939 | Rambaiyin Kaathal |
| 1940 | Satyavaani |
| 1941 | Madanakamarajan[4] |
| 1944 | Raja Rajeswari |
| 1945 | Burma Rani[5] |
| 1946 | Subathra |
| 1947 | Sulochana |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Remembering Vasantha. The Hindu(29 February 2008). Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ↑ MGR Remembered – Part 38 | Testimony of producer K.N. Vasu, Sri Kantha, Sachi. Ilankai Tamil Sangam(25 April 2017). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ↑ ... And thus he made Chandralekha sixty years ago. Madras Musings. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ↑ Madanakamarajan (1941). The Hindu(8 October 2009). Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ↑ War relic, Baskaran, S. Theodore. Frontline(6 October 2006). Retrieved 23 October 2021.