Malashri | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sri Durga Madras, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Other names | Malashree |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 Aradhana |
| Relatives | Subhashri (step-sister) |
Malashree (bornSridurga Pandey) is an Indian actress who works predominantly inKannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared inTelugu andTamil language films. "She has appeared in 100 and more films in a career spanning three decades." .[2] She began her career as a child artiste in the 1979 Tamil filmImayam.[3] She made her debut as a adult in the 1989 Kannada-language filmNanjundi Kalyana. In the following years, she established herself as one of Kannada cinema's top heroines.[4] She had been called, by the media and fans, "Kanasina Rani".[5] She is popular for playing diverse roles in women-centric movies many of which were highly successful at the box-office.[6]
Her debut filmNanjundi Kalyana with Raghavendra Rajkumar was a major box office success, which was her breakthrough. Throughout the '90s, she starred in several successful films like:Gajapathi Garvabhanga (1989),Policena Hendthi (1990),Kitturina Huli (1990),Rani Maharani (1990),Mruthyunjaya (1990),Hrudaya Haadithu (1991),Ramachaari (1991),Belli Kalungura (1992),Solillada Saradara (1993) andGadibidi Aliya (1995), establishing herself as one of the top heroines of theKannada film industry. In 1992, she starred in 19 films, breaking the 24-year-old record of highest releases in Kannada in a lead role in a single year, held byDr. Rajkumar.[7] She won theFilmfare Award for Best Actress in 1991 for her performance as a young woman inflicted with an incurable heart disease in the movieHrudaya Haadithu.[8] In 2015, she won her firstKarnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for her action-oriented role inGanga.[9] She was consideredHema Malini of Kannada cinema by Dr. Rajkumar.[citation needed]
Malashri was born and brought up inMadras (now known as Chennai) to a Telugu-speaking mother, Chandralekha, and a Punjabi-speaking father, Pandey. Named Sridurga at birth, her mother tongues are Telugu, Punjabi, and Hindi.[10] She shot to fame withNanjundi Kalyana in 1989 but her personal life hit an all-time low the same year when her step mother and grandmother died in a road accident. She was in a relationship with actorSunil, her co-star of many films.[11] But in 1994 they met with a car accident and while Malashree suffered multiple injuries, Sunil died on the spot. It was rumoured that they had been planning to get married.[citation needed] She was married to film producerRamu in 1997 and they had a daughter and son together, Ananya (b. 2001) and Arjun.[citation needed] Her sisterSubhashri was also an actress, who appeared inSouth Indian films. Her husbandRamu died on 26 April 2021 due toCOVID-19.[12]
Malashri began her career as a child artiste and appeared in 35 films in Tamil and Telugu and she played the role of a boy in 26 of them.[13] In a talk show,Majaa Talkies, she said that as a child, she was a fan of actorAmitabh Bachchan and would dress up like him, which prompted directors to cast her as a boy, in 1979 films likeImayam andNeela Malargal.[14]
Writer and lyricistChi. Udaya Shankar introduced Malashri to theRajkumar family when they were on the lookout for a fresh face opposite their sonRaghavendra Rajkumar who was gearing up to make his debut.Parvathamma Rajkumar decided to cast her inNanjundi Kalyana (1989) for her production banner, Vajreshwari Combines and rechristened her Malashri. Malashri went on to act in two other films with Vajreshwari Combines,Gajapathi Garvabhanga opposite Raghavendra again, andMruthyunjaya withShiva Rajkumar. Between the years 1989-1991, she starred in around 50 films, out of which 35 films hits and 15 were average grosses, making her the heroine with the highest hit percentage in theKannada film industry.
In 1990 Malashri took on the famous double role inRani Maharani (immortalized bySridevi inChaalBaaz) and won a huge fan following with her powerhouse performance. Her next filmHrudaya Haadithu where she played a young woman inflicted with a heart problem won her acclaim from the masses and critics alike as well as theFilmfare Best Actress award for 1991. As she churned out hit after hit even the stalwartV. Ravichandran, who till then believed only in importing heroines from other states, cashed in on her popularity by casting her inRamachaari (a remake of Tamil HitChinna Thambi). The move paid off, enabling him to come out of the financial crisis he faced due to the debacle ofShanti Kranti.
In the later part of the 90s, Malashri had a string of less successful films likePrema Khaidi,Snehada Kadalalli,Megha Mandara,Arishina Kumkuma, andSolillada Saradara. She took brief hiatus after marriage and made a comeback in the new millennium with "angry woman" roles inChamundi (2000),Durgi (2004),Kannadada Kiran Bedi (2009),Shakti (2012),Veera (2013) andGanga (2015).
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ide Naa Samadhanam | Credited as Durga | |
| 1987 | Ramu | Jalaja | |
| 1988 | Chinababu | Poorna | |
| Ramudu Bheemudu | Surpanaka | ||
| Varasudochadu | Bujji | ||
| 1989 | Chinnari Sneham | ||
| 1990 | Prema Khaidi | Neelima | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu |
| 1993 | Paruvu Prathistha | ||
| Akka Chellelu | |||
| Urmila | |||
| Lovers | |||
| Bava Bavamaridi | Geeta | ||
| 1994 | Police Alludu | ||
| Allari Police | Kasturi | ||
| Bhale Maavayya | |||
| Bangaru Mogudu | |||
| Gharana Alludu[15] | Padmavathi | ||
| Thodi Kodallu | |||
| 1996 | Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya | Ganga | |
| 1997 | Surya Putrulu |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Imayam | Credited as Baby Durga | |
| Neela Malargal | Master Kannan | ||
| 1986 | Manakanakku | An actress | |
| 1989 | Chinna Chinna Aasaigal | Credited as Rasika | |
| 1990 | Aatha Naan Pass Ayittaen |
1990 - Nandi Award for best Supporting Actress - Prema Khaidi
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| 1981–1990 |
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| 1991–2000 |
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| 2001–2010 |
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| 2011–present |
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