P. Bhanumathi

P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist.

She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema.

Bhanumathi was born on 7 September 1925 in Doddavaram village of Prakasam district, near Ongole, Andhra Pradesh.

She is the third child to Bommaraju Saraswathamma, Venkata Subbayya.

She grew up watching her father perform in various stage shows.

Bhanumathi's father : Venkata Subbayya, was a lover of classical music and trained her in music from an early age.

She was honored among "women in cinema" at the 30th International Film Festival of India.

Bhanumathi entered the film industry in 1939, and acted in over 100 films in Telugu and Tamil.

She was also called as Ashtavadhani by the film industry people as she was a writer, actor, director, producer, singer, music director, editor and studio owner.

She also had a good knowledge of astrology and philosophy.

She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema.

She made her debut in Telugu cinema in 1939 as Kalindi (a 13 years old girl who is forced to marry an old man and ended her life by committing suicide) in Vara Vikrayam (Telugu), directed by C. Pullayya.

She had acted in Malathi Madhavam, Dharma Patni and Bhaktimala.

Her first popular film was Krishna Prema.

Her next popular film was Swargaseema, a milestone film in her career.

In Swargaseema, she played the role of a theater artist with negative shades who is after a married person for her personal benefits.

Oho Pavurama song (sung by her) in Swargaseema became a super hit and she was showered with offers.

She later acted in many memorable movies like Chakrapani, Laila Majnu, Vipranarayana, Malliswari, Batasari and Anthastulu.

Her first film in Tamil was Ratnakumar in the year 1949 along with the famous hero of those day P. U. Chinnappa.

This film was directed by Krishnan–Panju.

She is also considered the first female director of Telugu cinema with her debut directorial Chandirani (1953).

Bhanumathi appeared in over 100 films predominantly in Telugu and Tamil languages.

In 1953, she made her directorial debut with Chandirani (made simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi).

One of her memorable movies in Tamil was Annai, in the year 1962 directed by Krishnan–Panju, where her acting was appreciated by all and also got the National Award for the film and for also performances in movies Anthasthulu and Palnati Yudham (1964) she received National Awards (Rashtrapati Award).

She is the last recipient of Rashtrapati Award.

Due to her rift with Aluri Chakrapani, she left her role in Missamma movie (Initially Bhanumathi was shot for some scenes in the movie before being replaced by Savitri ) but after the release of the movie she watched and commented that "she lost a wonderful role but industry gained a talented actress like savitri" which showed her sportiveness and encouragement towards new actors.

Due to clash with Aluri Chakrapani, she produced a satirical movie on him titled Chakrapani which was a huge hit and became a classic in Tollywood for this movie she also worked as music director.

For the movie Anthasthulu (1964), VB Rajendra Prasad had approached Bhanumathi for the role of Akkineni Nageswara Rao's sister.

She liked the subject and agreed to do the film immediately.

The crew booked a room in "Ritz-Carlton" in Hyderabad and she did not want to waste money, so she offered to stay at Sarathi Studios, which had an open area and snakes.

The next morning she woke up with her nails bitten by rats.

The director decided to cancel the shoot, VB Rajendra Prasad rushed to see Bhanumathi applying iodine casually on the nails and asking when she could start work.

While continuing with the shooting, she said, "If you cancel shoot for small things how will I be a Bhanumathi (which means 'shining like the sun' in Sanskrit)."

India's First Vice-President Sarvepalli RadhaKrishnan was a fan of her work.

Telugu cinema Veterans like Jamuna, Savitri and so many actresses cited her as an inspiration for entering into movies.

she is widely recalled by her close associates as 'Epitome of Self-Respect and Versatility'.

Her last film was made in 1998, entitled Pelli Kanuka.

C. N. Annadurai gave her a title "Nadippukku Ilakkanam" (நடிப்புக்கு இலக்கணம்) (Grammar for acting) that suits her aptly.

She was revered by many actors she had worked with like N. T. Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Venkatesh for her bold and prolific versatility.

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for her contribution to the Indian cinema.