Vanisri

Vanisri is a south Indian actress who shot to fame by acting in Telugu films. Later she carved out a niche for herself even in Tamil and Kannada films. Vanisri was the first heroine to innovate on various styles. When Savitri, Krishna Kumari, and Jamuna announced retirement, she featured in every film that turned out to be a success, and she had no other competitor except Kanchana. Her original name was Ratna Kumari. When she was a busy actress, she worked in 14 films per year and even had 16 hours shooting schedules. She had always mentioned that she had to get her own jewelry set and saris as she had no time to look herself in the mirror in the dressing room. Thus, this actress evolved her own style of make-up and dressing patterns, and she preferred he own make-up. She was averse to the same kind of style and look in every movie that is why she was regarded as style-queen in South Indian cinema. She preferred dark colors costumes and matching lipstick, nail polish and different hair style which were a trendsetter. Her greatest asset was her photogenic face and she even slimmed down so that she evolved a new striking appearance that caught the eyes of every cameraman and she became the glamorous star in 70’s. In order to cover up her dark complexion, she used to have heavy makeup. A cinematographer, who is a friend of her made her look best on camera. She played dual roles in "Vani Rani", "Ganga Manga", and "Iddaru Ammayulu". She won acting awards for her excellent performances in "Krishnaveni (1974)" and "Jeevana Jyothi (1976)". Her film Prem Nagar was made in Tamil where she was cast opposite Sivaji Ganesan. Her first Telugu film was ‘Bheeshma’ (1962). The studios produced during this period color films like Prem Nagar’ and ‘Dasara Bolludu’ where the directors utilized extensive color and long shots which magnified Vanisri’s screen image and even made a dramatic impact on her talent.

Vanisri’s earlier life was filled with sorrows as she lost her father and few family members. Her mother sold goat milk, and she assisted her mother too. Later she went to school but she was more interested in dancing. While she was performing in school on stage, she was noted by a director and she made her entry into the silver screen. When Jayaprada, Sridevi, and Jayasudha was trying for Vanisri’s post that she held for a decade, she felt to quit films and got married. She married a family doctor, and the couple had a son named Abinaya Venkatesha Kartik and daughter named Anupama. In 1989, she made a comeback in films and even opted to act in TV screen. Vanisri was born in Nellore on August 3, 1948.