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Latha Sethupathi, also known asLatha, is anIndian actress who starred in leading roles inSouth Indian films from 1973 to 1983.^[1] She is also known for her roles in variousTamil television series.^[1][2]

Latha Sethupathi was born into theSethupathi clan, the royal family ofRamnad, inTamil Nadu,India. She is the daughter of politicianShanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi; her mother was named Leelarani. As her mother was not her father's official wife, Latha's status within the family was consideredillegitimate. She has a brother, actorRajkumar Sethupathy, and half-brothers Dasarathan Sethupathi andRamanatha Sethupathi. Latha's fluency in bothTamil andTelugu stemmed from her mother's origin inKurnool,Andhra Pradesh.^[3] Her father died in 1967, when she was still a young girl.^[4]

She started her career at the age of fifteen with encouragement from her aunt, actressKamala Kotnis.^[5] Her first film wasUlagam Sutrum Valiban (1973), starring and produced byM. G. Ramachandran.^[6][7]

Sethupathi has been featured in over a hundred films, spanning theTamil-,Telugu-, andMalayalam-language cinemas. Her first film, in Tamil, wasUlagam Sutrum Valiban (1973), in which she starred alongsideM. G. Ramachandran. It was shot exclusively outside of India inThailand,Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong, andJapan.M.G Ramachandran recommended her for the role alongsideAkkineni Nageswara Rao forAndala Ramudu (1973), marking her debut inTelugu films.^[8]

She specialized playing roles inTamil andTelugu films. She playedZeenat Aman's role in the two remakes ofYaadon Ki Baaraat (1973): the Telugu film,Annadammula Anubandham (1975) and theTamil filmNaalai Namadhe (1975). She playedJaya Bhaduri's role fromZanjeer (1973) in the Telugu remakeNippulanti Manishi (1974), and the Tamil remake,Sirithu Vazha Vendum (1974). She won aFilmfare Award for her performance inVattathukkul Sadhuram.

She was given theKalaimamani Award by the StateGovernment of Tamil Nadu for her achievements in the film industry.^{[citation needed]} She has also received additional awards from theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh for her acting. She was also briefly involved in politics, following her fatherShanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi, the Raja of Ramnad.^[9][5] She played a lead role inRajinikanth's movieShankar Salim Simon (1978). This role made her one of the only two actresses, along withLakshmi, to be paired withMGR andRajinikanth in the 1970s Tamil movies.^{[citation needed]}

After a hiatus of 14 years, she began acting again in Tamil and Telugu series. In 2002, she played a mother-in-law role in the Telugu television seriesEenati Ramayanam,^[10]Pavithrabandham, andMatti Manishi.^[11]

She married Sabapathy, a businessman fromSingapore, in 1983. She has two sons, Karthik and Srinivas.^[6][12] Following her marriage, she gradually reduced her acting commitments, focusing more on her personal life. Despite stepping away from the limelight, she has remained a well-known figure in Tamil cinema.

• Latha atIMDb

• Indian film actresses
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• Actresses in Telugu television

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