Suryakantam

Suryakantam is a popular Telugu actress of yesteryears. She was born in the year 1924. She was very famous in performing the mother role. She was born in a small village near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. She is a versatile singer cum dancer. Chandralekha was the first film committed by Suryakantam, which was the high budgeted movie in those days. This film was produced under the banner of Gemini Studios. She was remunerated by Gemini Studios for acting under their banner. After some time, she left Gemini Studios and started to act in other production companies. Gruhapravesham was her first movie, after she left Gemini banner. At a certain stage of popularity, she got an offer to perform as heroine. But she did not want her acting skill to be limited in a circle. So, she denied to act as the heroine and started to do character roles. She was popular in the Mother in Law roles, as she could perform with utmost cruelty. When a heroine in Hindi film was dropped out of that movie, Suryakantam was requested to do that role; she denied it without any second thought. In the movie Gundamma Katha Gundamma Katha is a serial that airs on Zee Telugu >> Read More... , Suryakantam did the lead role and earned a good name. Padmavati Mahila University honored her with a Doctorate. She was honored with various titles in Telugu and Tamil for her performance. She died in the year 1994 at the age of 70.

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Suryakantam was born on 28 October 1924 in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The iconic actress remembered for her roles as a cruel mother in law died on 18 December 1994 at the age of 70 due to diabetes. She is an actress who truly retained her place in not just films, but also in the minds and hearts of all and can never be replaced. Her loss to the industry is one which can never be truly filled. She carved for herself a unique place in the industry.

She was born as the fourteenth child of parents whose ten earlier children had died. At the age of 6, she started learning how to dance and sing. In the year 1950, she married a High Court Judge, Peddibhotla Chalapati Rao. She began as a dancer in the movie Chandralekha and frequently worked as a dancer at Gemini Studios but later quit her job. She acted in a few films after that and got an offer for the lead role in Soudamini, but the chance slipped away as she met with an accident in which she suffered injuries on her face. Her career had a boost when she bagged a negative role in the 1950 film Samsaram for which she gained a lot of appreciation, applause and recognition. She established that she was the best choice to portray the role of a wicked woman, a vamp who wished to destroy households and create problems in the family.

She was a woman of principles. Her dream to become a lead heroine and the opportunity she had lost earlier came again tapping at her door from the Bollywood industry. But when she learnt that the producer had removed another actress so that she could fill the role, she refused to do it. She was a soft-hearted and gentle woman by nature. She always tried to help others and make others happy. It was this quality of hers, due to which she also became active in social work. She used to make a lot of donations and charity to noted organisations and NGOs. She did a total of about 750 films. Her performances and her image still rest in the hearts of all her lovers.

Suryakantam Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)