Actress Sujatha

Sujatha is famous south Indian Film actress. She was born in Srilanka where she spent her childhood. She would actively participate in school plays, and later moved to Kerala when she was about 14. She acted in Ernakulam Junction, a Malayalam film

Sujatha entered the Tamil film industry in 1974 with an intense portrayal in ‘Aval Oru Thodarkadhai’ directed by K Balachandar.  She again collaborated with K. Balachander in the highly acclaimed Avargal (1977) along with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. In the film, she played the wife of the former and the lover of the latter. Her portrayal of a married woman Anu, who is caught between the torture she is subjected to by her sadistic husband and the unforgettable memories of her past romance, is till date, considered one of the best performances by a female lead.

She has acted with leading actors Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Shobhan Babu and Krishna Ghattameni.

During the eighties she started playing character roles, often portraying mother roles. Her performances as a senior actor in films like Kodi Parakuthu, Uzhaippali and Baba, in which she played Rajinikanth's mother, also saw her trademark restraint and dignity in performance.

A Malayali, Sujatha acted in more than 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. Her other famous roles include that in ‘Annakili’, ‘Andaman Kadhali’, ‘Vidhi’, ‘Amaidhi Padai’ and ‘Villain’. She last acted in ‘Varalaaru’ in Tamil and ‘Sri Ramadasu’ in Telugu in 2006.

Awards

• Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu
• Nandi Award for Pelli in 1998.

Sujatha died due to a cardiac arrest on 6th April 2011 .She was 58.  She is survived by husband Jayakar, a businessman, and son Sajith and daughter Divya.