Soundarya | |
|---|---|
 Soundarya in 2002 | |
| Born | Sowmya Sathyanarayana 18 July 1972 Mulabagilu, Kolar district, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 17 April 2004(2004-04-17) (aged 31) Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Occupations | Actress, producer |
| Years active | 1992–2004 |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | G. S. Raghu (m.2003) |
Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage nameSoundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily inTelugu cinema.[1][2] She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu cinema.[3] She also acted in a fewKannada,Tamil,Hindi andMalayalam films. She has received threeNandi Awards, twoKarnataka State Film Awards and sixFilmfare Awards South. In 2002, she received theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film as a producer for theKannada filmDweepa.
Soundarya established herself as the most popular Telugu actress of the 1990s and is best known for her performances in films such asAmmoru (1995),Pavitra Bandham (1996),Anthahpuram (1998),Raja (1999),Doni Saagali (1998),Dweepa (2002) andApthamitra (2004).[2] She won threeNandi Awards forPavitra Bandham and Special Jury Prize forAmmoru andAnthahpuram. On 17 April 2004, she died in a plane crash inBengaluru at the age of 31.[4]
Soundarya was born into a Kannada speaking family inMulabagilu,Kolar district on 18 July 1972,[5][6][7] and brought up inBengaluru.[8] Her parents are K. S. Sathyanarayana and Manjula.[9][6] Her father was a Kannada film writer and producer. She discontinued her Intermediate after her first year in Bangalore.[10] On 27 April 2003, she married G. S. Raghu, asoftware engineer by profession.[11][12][13]
Soundarya's first film was the Kannada filmBaa Nanna Preethisu, directed by S. Siddalingaiah, released in April 1992, immediately followed byGandharva in July 1992 which was a hit. She did lead roles in Kannada and went on to become a popular actress.[14] Her first film in Telugu wasManavarali Pelli (1993).[15]
In Tamil, she got major acclaim for her debut filmPonnumani (1993), oppositeKarthik for playing the role of a mentally disabled person.
Real commercial recognition came to her withHello Brother (1994), directed byE. V. V. Satyanarayana, in which she starred alongsideNagarjuna andRamya Krishna.[16] She has also collaborated with actorKarthik forMuthu Kaalai (1995). She played an award-winning role inAmmoru (1995), directed byKodi Ramakrishna, starring alongside Ramya Krishna andSuresh and played the role of Bhavani, a devotee of Goddess Ammoru. She had eleven releases in 1995.[14]
She continued her successful run withAmma Donga (1995),Sipayi (1996),Pavitra Bandham (1996),Maa Aayana Bangaram (1997),Dongaata (1997),Aaro Pranam (1997) andOsi Na Maradala (1997). She also starred alongsideRajinikanth inArunachalam (1997), which became the highest-grossing film of 1997 inTamil cinema. The industry regarded her to be the golden hand, as a former director's daughter, she always regarded the success not as a one-man show, but teamwork across 36 departments.[14]
In 1998,Doni Saagali in Kannada were commercially successful. In Tamil, she also starred alongsideKamal Haasan andPrabhudeva inKaathala Kaathala directed bySingeetam Srinivas Rao.Choodalani Vundi oppositeChiranjeevi took her to the pinnacle.Anthahpuram, directed byKrishna Vamsi, stood as one of the finest performances of Soundarya in her career, winning her a StateNandi Award for Best Actress and also her second consecutiveFilmfare Award for Best Actress.
The romantic dramaRaja (1999), oppositeVenkatesh, was another blockbuster and won her a thirdFilmfare Award. Her other releases,Padayappa (1999) opposite Rajinikanth. She starred oppositeAmitabh Bachchan in the Hindi movieSooryavansham.[14]Premaku Velayera (1999),Premaku Swagatam (2002) withJ. D. Chakravarthy further solidified her position.
She starred inAnnayya (2000), oppositeChiranjeevi,Ninne Premistha (2000) andAzad (2000), oppositeNagarjuna,Jayam Manadera (2000) andDevi Putrudu (2001) oppositeVenkatesh, and several others that displayed her acting abilities andSri Manjunatha (2001) oppositeArjun Sarja.[14] She shared screen space with actorVijayakanth forThavasi (2001) andChokka Thangam (2003).[14]
In 2002, she received theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film (producer) forDweepa. She has acted in the Malayalam comedy filmYathrakarude Sradhakku (2002) withJayaram andKilichundan Mampazham (2003), withMohanlal andSreenivasan.
In 2004,Balakrishna announced the remake ofNartanasala, and a launch event was held inHyderabad. Soundarya was signed to playDraupadi[17] but the film was shelved following her death. However the first 17 minutes are available to stream online.[18]
Her last film wasApthamitra, a runaway hit starringVishnuvardhan andRamesh Arvind. The film won her theFilmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada posthumously in 2004.
She worked with almost all the top directors, likeDasari Narayana Rao,K. Raghavendra Rao,Singeetam Srinivasa Rao,A. Kodandarami Reddy,Priyadarshan,Girish Kasaravalli,S. V. Krishna Reddy,K. S. Ravikumar,Krishna Vamsi,Kodi Ramakrishna,E. V. V. Satyanarayana,Muthyala Subbaiah,Gunasekhar,P. Vasu,Muppalaneni Shiva,Bharathi Kannan,Sundar C.
On 17 April 2004, Soundarya died in anaircraft crash along with her brother Amarnath inBengaluru.[4]
The aircraft, aCessna 180, took off at 11:05 a.m. and turned west before crashing on the campus of theGandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra of theUniversity of Agricultural Sciences. It had reached a height of 150 feet (46 m) and, before achieving the required rate of climb speed, took a steep left turn, leading to a stall. It crashed into the ground nose down and burst into flames. B. N. Ganapathi, one of the two persons working on the experimental fields of the university, who rushed to the aircraft to save the occupants, said the plane wobbled before the crash.[19]
Soundarya is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu cinema.[3] She was known as a versatile actress, who played distinctive roles. Critics noted that she had a fine sense of characterisation. Due to this ability, Soundarya struck a chord with the Telugu audience despite being from Karnataka.[20]Ammoru,Pavithra Bandham,Doni Saagali,Raja,Sooryavansham, andDweepa are her best known films that saw her playing strong female characters.[21]
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Ammoru | Won | [22] |
| Nandi Awards | Special Jury Award | Won | |||
| 1996 | Best Actress | Pavithra Bandham | Won | [23] | |
| 1998 | Karnataka State Film Awards | Best Actress | Doni Saagali | Won | [24] |
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Anthapuram | Won | [25] | |
| Nandi Awards | Special Jury Award | Won | [23] | ||
| 1999 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Raja | Won | [26] |
| 2001 | Best Actress - Tamil | Thavasi | Nominated | ||
| 2002 | Best Supporting Actress - Tamil | Ivan | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | National Film Awards | Best Feature Film | Dweepa | Won | [27] |
| Karnataka State Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | [28] | ||
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Kannada | Won | [29] | ||
| Best Film – Kannada | Won | ||||
| 2004 | Best Actress – Kannada | Apthamitra (Posthumously awarded) | Won | [30] |
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