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Bharathi Vishnuvardhan
Born	Bharathidevi Rao (1950-08-15)15 August 1950 (age 75) Bhadravati, Karnataka, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1966–present
Spouse	Vishnuvardhan ​ ​ (m. 1975; died 2009)​
Children	2
Awards	Padma Shri (2017)

Bharathi Vishnuvardhan (born 15 August 1950),^[1] also knownmononymously asBharathi, is an Indian actress known primarily for her work inKannada cinema and television serials.^[2] She began her career in 1966, as a lead actress, with theKannada movieLove in Bangalore thoughDudde Doddappa was her first release.^[3] In a career spanning over 50 years, Bharathi has appeared in 150 films. Apart from 100 films in Kannada, she has also acted in a handful ofHindi,Tamil,Telugu andMalayalam films.

Through the course of her career, Bharathi was known for her portrayal of roles of mythological and historical characters, and also that of a student, a romantic and a rural belle.^[1] Her role inSri Krishnadevaraya (1970) as Chennambike won her theKarnataka State Film Award for Best Actress. In 2017, she was honoured with thePadma Shri by theGovernment of India.^[4] She has the distinction of having paired withDr.Rajkumar as a lead actress in all the 26 movies she acted with him and is also paired with him the most no. of times (6 movies) in those movies where he played multiple roles.^[5]

Bharathi was born in Bhadravathi on 15 August 1950, in the erstwhile Indian state ofMysore (nowKarnataka), in aMarathi- speaking family.^[6][1] Her father V. M. Ramachandra Rao was atailor and her mother Bhadravathi Bai was a homemaker. Bharathi studied at Malleswaram Ladies Association (M.L.A) High School and then joined Maharani's Women's Science College inBengaluru.^[7] While she was active in both sports and dance, her ambition at the time was to become a badminton player or an athlete. She even represented Karnataka State Level Throw-ball team during her college days. Destiny willed otherwise. In 1964, photos of her dance performance caught the eye of Kannada actorKalyan Kumar, who cast her inLove in Bangalore.

Bharathi married actor Dr.Vishnuvardhan on 27 February 1975 inBengaluru. They have two adopted daughters Keerthi and Chandana.^[8] Dr. Vishnuvardhan died on 30 December 2009, aged 59 from acardiac arrest.^[9]

Her first Kannada release wasDudde Doddappa followed byLove in Bangalore. Her sensitive portrayal of a singer inSandhya Raga won her critical acclaim and she went on to form a successful romantic pair withDr. Rajkumar. The pair acted together in 28 films and went on to give hit after hit until 1973, very significant among them areMayor Muthanna,Sri Krishnadevaraya andBangaarada Manushya.Doorada Betta was the last film of Bharathi withDr. Rajkumar.

In 1966, Bharathi played supporting roles in twoM. G. Ramachandran moviesNadodi andChandhrodhayam which elevated her profile in the Tamil arena. She then graduated to lead heroine roles withDeiva Cheyal,Avalukendru Or Manam andThanga Surangam, opposite stars likeMuthuraman,Gemini Ganeshan, andShivaji Ganeshan. Bharathi acted in Telugu movies likeJai Jawan (1970),Govula Gopanna (1968) andSipayi Chinnayya withAkkineni Nageswara Rao and variousMalayalam films with many leading actors, mainly in character roles.

In 1967, Bharathi was introduced to Hindi cinema by directorA. Bhimsingh withMeherban. She went on to act in severalHindi films likeSaadhu Aur Shaitaan withMehmood,Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani oppositeRakesh Roshan,Manoj Kumar'sPurab Aur Paschim andHum Tum Aur Woh withVinod Khanna and laterMastana andKunwaara Baap (1974).

In the 1970s she formed a popular pair with Vishnuvardhan (who then became her husband) and they starred together in blockbusters likeBhagya Jyothi,Makkala Bhagya,Devara Gudi,Nagara Hole andBangarada Jinke (1980). After a brief hiatus, she returned to the Kannada screen in 1984 withPuttanna Kanagal's much acclaimedRunamukthalu and started her second innings as a lead heroine in slightly more mature roles, going on to star in several movies each with lead actors of the time -Anant Nag (Maneye Manthralaya,Shanthi Nivasa),Tiger Prabhakar(Bandha Mukta,Thaliya Aane),Ambareesh(Matsara) andRajesh (Tavaru Mane). She also starred in several Hindi films in her second innings -Uttar Dakshin (1987),Izzatdaar (1990 withDilip Kumar),Khel andAao Pyaar Karen.

In the late 90s she acted in the Kannada Doordarshan serialJanani. In 2012, she appeared as a strict, no-nonsense sessions court judge inT.N. Seetharam's Kannada daily serialMukta-Mukta.

Apart from acting, Bharathi has sung a few songs, a duet with T.M. Soundarrajan, a Tamil song "Thanga Nilave Nee Illamal" picturised on her and Gemini Ganesan and a Kannada song "Ee Notake Mai Matake" with her husband Vishnuvardhan forNagara Hole. She has worked as an associate director withK. S. L. Swamy for the moviesKarune Illada Kanoonu,Huli Hejje and the classicMalaya Marutha.

Below is a partial list of her films.

• AmruthaVarshini as Annapoorneshwari Devi - serial aired inStar Suvarna
• Sevanthi as Pramoda Devi - serial aired inUdaya TV
• Janani -serial aired inDoordarshan
• Samarppan - Doordarshan Hindi

• 2017 -Padmashri - the 4th highest civilian award ofIndia.^[12]
• 2010 -Honorary Doctorate fromKarnataka State Open University.^[13]
• 1969-70 -Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress -Sri Krishnadevaraya^{[citation needed]}

• Bharathi atIMDb

• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Actresses from Bengaluru
• Marathi actresses
• Living people
• 1950 births
• Indian film actresses
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
• Actresses in Tulu cinema
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
• 20th-century Indian actresses
• 21st-century Indian actresses
• Actresses in Kannada television

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