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Sukumari
Born	(1940-10-06)6 October 1940 Nagercoil,Travancore,British India (present-dayTamil Nadu, India)
Died	26 March 2013(2013-03-26) (aged 72) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupations	Actress classical dancer voice artist
Years active	1946–2013
Works	Partial list
Spouse	A. Bhimsingh ​ ​ (m. 1959; died 1978)​
Children	1
Relatives	Travancore family
Awards	See below

Sukumari (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works inMalayalam andTamil films.^[1] In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly inMalayalam,Tamil,Telugu, along with fewHindi and one each inSinhala,French,Italian,Bengali,Tulu,English andKannada films.^[2] Sukumari began acting at the age of 10.^[3] In 2003, she was awarded thePadma Shri by theGovernment of India for her contributions toward the arts.^[4] She won theNational Film Award forBest Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil filmNamma Gramam (2010).^[5] Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.^[6]

Sukumari was born on 6 October 1940^[7] inNagercoil,Travancore (Currently inTamil Nadu), to Malayali parents Madhavan Nair (a bank manager) and Sathyabhama Amma^[8] of Tharishuthala Valia Veedu in Kalkulam (in present-dayKanyakumari District). Sathyabhama Amma was the niece of Narayani Pillai Kunjamma, a famous beauty who spurned the king in favour of marrying the aristocratic landownerKesava Pillai of Kandamath^[9] Through her cousin,Ambika Sukumaran, she is related to the Travancore Royal Family.

She studied at Poojappura LP School until second grade, she then moved toMadras, where she studied until fourth forum.^[10] She had four sisters (Rajakumari, Sreekumari, Jayasree and Girija) and one brother, Shankar.Lalitha,Padmini andRagini (Travancore Sisters) were her cousins.

Sukumari was noticed by a director when she visited the sets of a film with Padmini, and she made her film debut in the lead role in theTamil filmOre Iravu.^[11] She acted in various Malayalam and Tamil Films of the black and white era, such asUdhyogastha, byP. Venu,Chettathi,Kusruthikkuttan,Kunjali Marakkar,Thacholi Othenan,Yakshi andKarinizhal. She later became popular after starring in various films ofPriyadarshan such asPoochakkoru Mookkuthi,Odaruthammava Aalariyam,Boeing Boeing andVandanam. She also appeared in various films directed by Balachandra Menon such asManicheppu Thurannappol andKaryam Nissaram.^[11] In later years, she played a major role inNizhalkuthu (2002), directed byAdoor Gopalakrishnan.^[12] She played many notable mother roles most notably withMammootty.

She mastered dance forms likeKathakali,Bharathanatyam,Kerala Natanam and many musical instruments. From the age of seven, she performed all over India and different parts of the world including USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Ceylon, Australia and so on. Sukumari is also known for her stage career in her early days, most prominently as a member ofCho Ramaswamy's theatre group;Viveka Fine Arts (more than 5000 stage shows). She was a member ofY. G. Parthasarathy's and Pattu's drama troupe;United Amateur Artists (more than 1000 stage shows),Rajasulochana's dance troupe;Pushpanjali (more than 5000 stage shows),Travancore Sisters'Dancers of India troupe (many stage shows),T. D. Kusalakumari's troupe; (more than 1000 stage shows) andPadmini's independent dance drama troupe;Premanand Pictures (many stage shows) etc. for many decades. Awards in the name of Sukumari have been instituted for the memory like "Vanita Ratnam Award" : in the field of acting. "Mikacha Nadi Sukumari Puraskaram" by ACTA annakkara, "Sukumari Smaraka Foundation Award" by True Indian Information and Guidance Society and "Famea Sukumari Puraskaram".

Her memoirs in the film industry have been compiled in a book called "Ormakalude Vellithira" by M.S Dileep. "Sukumari Sradhanjali Parambara" is another book on her.

Sukumari married directorA. Bhimsingh in 1959. He died in 1978, when she was 38. The couple had a son, Suresh, who has acted infilms such asAmme Narayana,Yuvajanotsavam andCheppu, and is a professionaldoctor. Suresh married Uma, acostume designer. Suresh and Uma have a son named Vignesh.^[13]

On 26 March 2013, Sukumari died from a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Chennai, where she was receiving treatments for burns she had sustained while lighting a traditional lamp at her residence in February 2013.^{[6][14][15][16]}

Following her death, several South Indian personalities offered their condolences. Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterJayalalithaa, who had co-starred with Sukumari, said in a condolence message that Sukumari had left a unique imprint on South Indian cinema and theatre with her talents. Kerala's Chief Minister,Oommen Chandy called Sukumari a "phenomenon in Malayalam cinema". Actor and Minister for CinemaK. B. Ganesh Kumar said actors in the Malayalam film industry had lost "the loving presence of a mother in the sets". Leader of the OppositionV. S. Achuthanandan called Sukumari's death a "huge loss for Indian cinema".Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidentRamesh Chennithala said Sukumari would be remembered for "the diversity of characters that she gave life to".Communist Party of India State Secretary Pannian Ravindran said Sukumari was "an unforgettable acting genius". Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer AffairsK. V. Thomas described Sukumari as an actor who conquered the film scene with her unique acting style.^[17]South Indian Film Artistes Association presidentR. Sarathkumar remembered the actress as being an inspiration to others. Actor and renowned television producerRadhika recalled Sukumari's many dance performances.^[18] Actor and president ofAssociation of Malayalam Movie ArtistsInnocent said at a condolence meeting at Kochi that her death was an irreparable loss to Malayalam film industry. Malayalam movie starMammootty had expressed his grief at her death. South Indian film starMohanlal likened her death to the loss of "a mother, sister and a good friend". SpeakerG. Karthikeyan also expressed grief at her death.^[19] DirectorShaji Kailas deemed her loss an "irreparable one for the film industry".^[20]

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Sukumari appeared in various print features, audio-visual endorsements, online promotions, commercial public campaigns etc.

• Cinema of India

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSukumari.

• Sukumari atIMDb
• Sukumari atBollywood Hungama
• Vasantha Mullaiyum onYouTube – Sukumari's debut inOr Iravu featuring as youngLalitha

• People from Kanyakumari district
• 1940 births
• 2013 deaths
• Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram
• 20th-century Indian actresses
• Indian film actresses
• Kerala State Film Award winners
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Best Supporting Actress National Film Award winners
• Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award
• 21st-century Indian actresses
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Tamil television actresses
• Indian stage actresses
• Child actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses in Malayalam television
• Actresses in Tamil television
• Tamil comedians
• Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
• Indian female dancers
• Dancers from Kerala
• Women artists from Kerala
• Actresses in Malayalam theatre
• Indian voice actresses
• Indian women television presenters
• Indian television presenters
• Telugu comedians
• Female models from Kerala

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