- Saritha, a versatile South Indian actress, has left an indelible mark on the film industry with a career spanning over 250 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu languages. Rising to prominence during the 1980s, she garnered both popularity and critical acclaim as a lead actress. Her talent extended beyond acting, as she also showcased her skills as a dubbing artist.
In addition to her film endeavors, Saritha ventured into the television realm with her appearance in the serial "Selvi." Her contributions as a dubbing artist are noteworthy, lending her voice to esteemed actresses such as Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan, and Soundarya in the 1990s.
Recognized for her outstanding performances, Saritha has been honored with numerous accolades, including state awards from Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, six Filmfare Awards, and six Nandi Awards. Notably, she received a Special Jury Award for her role in the film "Arjun."
Saritha embarked on her acting journey with the Telugu film "Maro Charitra," directed by K. Balachander. This marked the beginning of a prolific career, where she starred opposite Kamal Haasan in a cross-cultural romance narrative. She continued to receive offers predominantly in Tamil films, many directed by Balachander, including notable titles like "Thappu Thalangal," "Idi Katha Kaadu," "Vandichakkaram," "Netrikan," "Agni Sakshi," "Puthukavithai," "Kalyana Agathigal," and "Achamillai Achamillai."
Her exceptional portrayals in "Vandichakkaram" (1980) and "Achamillai Achamillai" (1984) earned her the prestigious Filmfare Best Tamil Actress awards. Saritha also made guest appearances as herself in films like "47 Natkal" and its Telugu remake, both directed by K. Balachander.
In Kannada cinema, Saritha collaborated with the legendary Dr. Rajkumar in several successful ventures such as "Hosa Belaku," "Keralida Simha," "Bhakta Prahlada," "Chalisuva Modagalu," and "Kaamana Billu." Her repertoire of popular Kannada films also includes "Eradu Rekhegalu," "Sankranthi," and "Malaya Marutha."
Notably dedicated to her craft, Saritha underwent significant physical transformations for challenging roles, such as having her head tonsured for a cancer-affected character in "Sujatha" (1980) and gaining weight for the psychotic role in the 2005 film "Julie Ganapathi." Despite the films not achieving commercial success, her performances garnered praise. She was honored with a Nandi Special Jury Award for her role as "Aandaalu" in the movie "Arjun" in 2004.
Saritha's influence extended to the realm of voice acting, where she lent her voice to actresses like Madhavi, Soundarya, Ramya Krishnan, Nagma, Vijayashanti, Simran, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Roja, Suhasini, Radha, Radhika, and Aarthi Agarwal. Her contribution in this domain was acknowledged with the Nandi Award for Best Female Dubbing Artist for her work in films like "Ammoru," "Maa Ayana Bangaram" (1997), and "Anthapuram" (1999). Saritha's multifaceted career continues to be celebrated in the South Indian film industry.- IMDb mini biography by: Shrinivas G. Kulkarni
- SpouseMukesh (divorced, 2 children)
- She has acted in 140 feature films, and also in a television serial, "Selvi." (2005).
- After acting in films from 1979 to 1989, she took a long break to get married and raise two sons, but she still worked in films by dubbing voices.
- Director K. Balachander so liked her performance in "Marocharithra" (1979) that he cast her in 22 more films, including "Agni Satchi," "Kalyana Agathigal," and "Achamillai Achamillai."
- She was the 162nd girl who auditioned for the heroine role in "Marocharithra" (1979), when director K. Balachander decided she was the right actress for him.
- Saritha was discovered by the famous director K. Balachander who cast her in the heroine role for the Telugu film "Marocharithra" (1979) opposite Kamal Hassan, which became a huge, memorable hit.
- On director K.Balachander who discovered her: "I've worked in 23 films of his - each was a milestone. KB is like a godfather. I grew up under his banner. I didn't know anything about acting, it was he who taught me the nuances."
- Explaining why her dark complexion and full figure worked in her favor: "Looking back, I'm very happy and thankful to the directors to have come up with scripts that were performance-oriented. Nowadays, heroes dominate films. Perhaps, if I looked glamorous, directors would have concentrated on my looks than on my performance."
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