Sreevidya

Srividya (24 July 1953 - 19 October 2006) was a leading Indian film actress of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s in the Tamil film Industry, in addition to being a good singer. In the latter part of her career, she concentrated on Malayalam films. Her brilliant portrayals as a mother in many films were highly acclaimed. Srividya's personal life was full of tragedies. She fought against all odds with dedication in her work until she died of breast cancer.

Srividya was born on 24 July 1953 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to Tamil film comedian Krishnamurthy and Carnatic classical singer M. L. Vasanthakumari. She had a brother, Sankararaman. Her mother tongue is Tamil. Her father had to stop acting in the year when she was born because of a disease which affected his facial muscles.[1] Her family fell into financial crisis. Her mother worked long hours to meet the family's financial needs. Srividya once reportedly said that her mother didn't even have time to breastfeed her.[1] Srividya debuted in acting at a very early age. When her parent's marriage faced problems due to financial difficulties, Srividya's youth was blighted. She got a marriage proposal from a scientist based in the U.S., but the marriage did not materialize due to financial problems faced by her family.

Srividya launched her career as a child artist in the 1966 Tamil film Thiruvarutchelvar (1966) alongside legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan. Later she entered Malayalam films with a dance scene in Kumara Sambhavam (1969), directed by P.Subramanyan and in Telugu film Tata Manavadu (1972) directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. However, her first major role was that of a college student falling in love with her professor in the 1971 Tamil film Nootrukku Nooru, directed by K. Balachander. Her first film as heroine was Delhi to Madras (1972) in which she was paired opposite Jaishankar. In mid-1970s, she became busy in the Tamil film industry. She acted in films such as Velli Vizha, Sollathaan Ninaikkiren and Apoorva Raagangal, all directed by K. Balachander. She was Rajinikanth's first heroine in Apoorva Raagangal (1975). She played a heroine in the film Chattambikkavala opposite Sathyan. She gained public attention in Chenda, directed by A. Vincent. Actress Lakshmi is her very close friend.

Srividya acted in Apoorva Raagangal opposite Kamal Haasan which virtually changed her life. In the film she acted as the wife of Rajinikanth and as the lover of Kamal Haasan. She fell in love with Kamal Haasan during the making of the film. They had the support of their families, but they broke up. Later she fell in love with George Thomas, an assistant director in her Malayalam film Teekkanal. She married him on 9 January 1978 despite opposition from her family. As George wished, she was baptised before the marriage. She wanted to stay as a housewife, but had to return to acting, when George forced her to, citing financial issues. She soon realised that she made a wrong decision in marrying him. Her family life became miserable and the marriage ended in divorce. It was followed by a prolonged legal battle to settle financial issues between the two. The case went up to the Supreme Court of India, where she won the final decision. After the divorce, she left Chennai and settled in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sheela

Sheela (born 24 March 1948), Malayalam: ഷീല), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films (107) together as heroine and hero.[1] In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale.[2] She has also acted in numerous films with Madhu, Sathyan, Jayan and [[M. G. Soman] and several film stars].
Sheela was born in a Syrian Catholic Christian family in Trissur.
Sheela made her debut in Paasom opposite MGR. Her first film in Malayalam was Bhagyajathakom, with Sathyan. The next two decades saw her essay roles in more than 475 films totally in various languages such as Tamil, telungu and Kannada and Malayalam. Very Famous Films such as Chemmeen, Kallichellama, Velutha Kathreena, and Vazhve Mayamwere a few among them. She has won many awards such as Kerala State Film Awards, the Lux award and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award.

Her name, along with Prem Nazir's name figures in the Guinness Book of World Records, for acting together consecutively in 107 films. In the 70s and 80s, Sheela's tried her hand at directing as well. She directed two films, Yakshaganom and Shikarangal. She wrote the story, script, and screenplay for Shikharangaland Yakshaganom, which was also remade in Tamil. Besides films, she has directed a tele-film Ninaivukale neengividu in which Jayabharathi acted. She acted with Kamal Hassan in films like Vishnu Vijayam and eeetta as heroine. She acted as Akhilandeswary in the 2005 blockbuster Chandramukhi alongside Rajinikanth. She has also authored a book, titled Kuilinte Kooduand many short stories. She is a very good painter and her oil paintings and portraits were commendable.

Sheela returned to acting, playing main role in Sathyan Anthikkad's Manassinakkare. The film was a huge hit, and her performance was critically acclaimed. Sheela bagged the Kerala State Film Award for best supporting actress in the film Akale.

Seema

Seema (Malayalam: :സീമ) is an Indian actress.[1] She has performed in approximately 250 films in Malayalam, nine in Tamil, seven in Telugu, three in Kannada and one in Hindi. Seema is still active in the movie industry.

She began her career in Tamil film at fourteen as a dancer. At the age of 19, she starred as the heroine in her first movie in Malayalam titled Avalude Ravukal (Her Nights), directed by I. V. Sasi. She continued acting till 1988 when she took a break after the Malayalam movie Mahayaanam. Seema became active again in 1998 in Olympiyan Anthony Adam. Seema won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 1984 and in 1985, and is known for her versatility.

Seema is married to I. V. Sasi, the veteran South Indian director, with whom she has a daughter and son.
Seema was born in Ernakulam, Kerala, in 1957 as an only child. At the age of twelve, she learned to dance from Kamal Hassan, who was the assistant of her dance master, Thankappan.

She entered the movies at age 14 as a normal group dancer, under dance master Chopra. Later, she became a dance master and worked in the film industry as a composer and dancer for almost five years. At the age of 17, she was asked to act in a Kannada movie as a second heroine with Kannada actor Ambarish. I. V. Sasi spotted her and gave her the opportunity to act in his film Avalude Raavukal (Her Nights) as the heroine, which was released on 3 March 1978. The movie, with Sherif's script and I. V. Sasi's direction, created waves among Malayali audiences because of its soft porn nature and its challenging subject. Seema's extra glamourous attire in the movie created ripples among the Malayali youth and she became an instant hit among the youth.

During that time, the Malayalam film industry was ruled by actresses Sheela, Sharada, Jayabharathi, K. R. Vijaya, and Srividya. Seema received roles from many directors. Things changed when her movies with the star Jayan proved popular. The Jayan and Seema pair attracted people to theatres. This made her an independent heroine in films such as Angaadi, Kaanthavalayam, Sakthi, Manushyamrugam, Benz Vasu, Meen, Karimpana, Thadavara, and Anupallavi. The hit pair acted together for eighteen movies in a very short span of time, but the unexpected demise of Jayan ended the partnership.

Seema was always at ease with both western and south indian attire as she had a very well maintained physique throughout her career as a mainstream actress. She did do a lot of glamour roles at the peak of her career and all were very well received by the public.

She also branched out to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She was Rajinikanth's heroine in films like Kaali and Ellam Un Kairasi.

Directors wanted to find another star to fill the gap left by Jayan. Many movies were planned for Jayan, such as Sphodanam directed by P. G. Viswambaran. He gave the chance to Mammooty to take the role of Jayan. Later Ratheesh came, also paired with Seema.

Jayabharathi

Jayabharathi (Malayalam: ജയഭാരതി) (Tamil: ஜயபாரதி) is a popular Malayalam film actress who started her career in late 1960s. She is a two-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress.[1] She was born in 1953.

Jayabharathi became one of the most successful Malayalam film actresses and performed with such notable leading men as Prem Nazir, Madhu, Jayan, M. G. Soman, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. She won the Kerala State Film Awards for her performances in various films in 1972 and Madhavikutty in 1973. One of her famous films was Rathinirvedam, directed by Bharathan, in which she played the role of a woman who fell in love with a boy younger than her.[2] She also directed few films in Malayalam.

After being trained since the age of five under Kalamandalam Natarajan, Rajaram (a student of Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai) and Vazhuvoor Samraj Pillai, Jayabharathi entered films as a teenager. Life revolved around film studios, dance rehearsals and stage performances. The actress is busy these days with her dance school, Aswathi Arts Academy, which she runs from home. She is also starting another one in Coimbatore. In 2003, Jayabharathi performed in nine temples in and around Kerala.[3] She is married to Malayalam actor Sathar with whom she has a son named AKS Unni.

Sugathakumari

Sugathakumari is an Indian poet - activist, born in 1934, who has been at the forefront of environmental and feminist movements in Kerala, South India. She played a big role in the Save Silent Valley protest. She formed Abhayagrama, aka Abhayagramam, a home for destitute women (Athani) and a day-care centre for the mentally ill. She was the former chairperson of the Kerala State Women's Commission.
Her father is Shribotheshvaran and her mother is V.K.Karthiyayini. Her husband is Dr K.Velayudhan Nair and her daughter is Lakshmi. She was the Principal of Jawahar Balabhavan. She was the Editor of a Magazine Thaliru. She has won several awards.
Kumari was inspired by her father's poetry as well as his strong beliefs: 'He was a freedom fighter filled with the all too rare ideals of patriotism and sacrifice.' His example influenced her deeply and led her eventually to the conviction that the writer has an important obligation as a social conscience. Although she is best known as a poet environmentalist, Kumari is also the founder of Abhaya (refuge) -- an organization which gives shelter and hope to female mental patients. Her work to launch Abhaya was prompted by an off-chance visit to the government-run Mental Hospital in the capital, Thiruvananthapuram. There women were housed in 19th century conditions, sexually abused and regularly prostituted to men in the neighboring police camp. When she visited the hospital she saw 'women's bodies covered with sores and stark naked. They were emaciated and their hair was matted. They didn't even look like human beings.' The horror of this experience was embedded in her mind and she decided on the spot to do something about it, despite opposition to interventions from ngos by professionals in the field. However, recent news reports

paint a totally different picture of the poet-activist and cast doubt on her credentials. The recent expose of alleged rape

of a lower caste woman by Abhaya office bearers within the center premises as reported in a leading political magazine - PATHRAM - and efforts to cover up the act have raised questions over the center which was originally constituted to treat and rehabilitate victims of such acts.