Prema (Kannada actress)

Prema (born Neravanda Chetticha Prema on 6 January 1977) is an Indian film actress. She has worked as a lead actress in numerous Kannada films besides Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. She has appeared in many commercially successful and critically acclaimed feature films. She was a top Kannada heroine at the turn of the century and has received the Karnataka State Film Award and Filmfare Best Actress awards for her performances in Kannada films. She has featured in Om and Yajamana, which are the two major blockbuster and highest-grossing films of their time in Kannada Cinema.

Prema
Born	Neravanda Chetticha Prema (1977-01-06) 6 January 1977 Bangalore, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–2009 2017–Present

She has shared screen space with stalwarts like Vishnuvardhan, Shivrajkumar, V. Ravichandran, Upendra, Saikumar, Ramesh Aravind, Mohanlal, Vikram, Venkatesh, Jagapati Babu and Mohan Babu. She has also starred opposite many newer actors in her career.

Personal life

Prema was born on 6 January 1977 into Neravanda family, of the Kodava community to Chetticha and Kavery, in military hospital, Bangalore. She received high school education in Mahila Seva Samaja High School and completed her Pre-university course in Murnad junior college, Kodagu. As a student she was involved actively in sports and represented her school and college in high jump and volleyball events at the national level.[1] Her younger brother Neravanda Aiyappa is a cricket player who represents Karnataka in Ranji Trophy. Her younger sister Indu NC lives in Dubai.[2] Prema is married to Jeevan Appacchu. She recently filed a divorce petition against him in the Family Court, Bangalore in March 2016.[2][3][4]

Film career

Prema began her career in the Rajkumar camp in 1995 starring opposite Shivarajkumar in Savyasachi and Raghavendra Rajkumar with Aata Hudugaata respectively. Though both films did not perform well at the box-office, she was given the lead role in yet another Shivarajkumar starrer Om directed by Upendra. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and also got her the Karnataka State Award for Best Actress.

In 1996 she acted in the Sunil Kumar Desai directed Nammoora Mandara Hoove co-starring Shivarajkumar and Ramesh Aravind. In the same year, she branched out to Malayalam and Telugu film industries. Her Malayalam debut in The Prince opposite Mohanlal. Dharma Chakram was her Telugu debut film.

In 1999 she starred in hit films which catapulted her to the top spot in Kannada movie. Chandramuki Pranasakhi, Upendra and V. Ravichandran's Naanu Nanna Hendthiru in Kannada and the Telugu language film, Devi which collected Rs. 18 crores at the box-office and was dubbed into Hindi as well.

2000 saw 6 releases of her films of which Yajamana opposite Vishnuvardhan was a runaway hit

2001 proved lucky again with the female-centric Kanasugara, the remake of Tamil film Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, which fetched her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She also won other awards for her portrayal of a simple girl who becomes a famous singer.

Her main release in 2002 was Sunil Kumar Desai's musical Parva co-starring Vishnuvardhan and Roja Selvamani. In 2003, she was praised by critics for her complex role in Singaaravva. In 2004, in Apthamitra, the remake of Malayalam Manichitrathazhu by P. Vasu, though her role was secondary to that of the legend star Soundarya, Prema played the leading lady of Vishnuvardhan.

She shared screen space with Vishnuvardhan in seven films - Yajamana, Apthamitra, Jamindaru, Kshana Kshanam, Ekadantha, Parva, Ellaranthalla Nanna Ganda.

Post her marriage in 2006, Prema cut down her film assignments. Her last release was Shishira in 2009.

She has, thus far, acted in more than 70 movies in Kannada and more than 28 movies in Telugu. In 2017 she made her comeback in Upendra matte baa.

Awards

• 1996: Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress — Om'

• 2001: Filmfare Best Actress — Kanasugara
• Udaya Award for Best Actress
• Screen Videocon Award for Best Actress
• Cinema Express Award for Best Actress
• Chitrapremigala Sangha Award
• Devikarani Memorial Award

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	No	Film	Role	Language	Notes
1995	1	Savyasachi		Kannada
	2	Om	Madhuri	Kannada	Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress
	3	Aata Hudugaata		Kannada
	4	Police Power		Kannada
1996	5	Nammoora Mandara Hoove	Suma	Kannada	Udaya Film Award for Best Actress
	6	Gaajina Mane		Kannada
	7	The Prince	Swarna	Malayalam
	8	Dharma Chakram	Surekha	Telugu
	9	Jagadeka Veerudu	Prema	Telugu
	10	Adirindi Guru		Telugu
1997	11	Atta Nee Koduku Jagratta		Telugu
	12	Korukunna Priyudu		Telugu
	13	Chelikaadu	Likhita	Telugu
	14	Omkaram		Telugu
	15	Ellaranthalla Nanna Ganda		Kannada
1998	16	Thutta Mutta	Pooja	Kannada
	17	Kaurava		Kannada
	18	Shanti Shanti Shanti	Suzy	Kannada
	19	Maa Avida Collector		Telugu
	20	Dheerga Sumnagali Bhava		Telugu
	21	Kangalin Vaarthaigal		Tamil
1999	22	Chandramukhi Pranasakhi	Sahana	Kannada	Cinema Express Award for Best Actress
	23	Chandrodaya	Divya	Kannada
	24	Naanu Nanna Hendthiru	Manisha	Kannada
	25	Upendra		Kannada
	26	Z	Prema	Kannada
	27	Devi	Devi	Telugu	Gemini Film award for Best Actress
	28	Raghavayya Gari Abbayi		Telugu
	29	Eetharam Nehru		Telugu
2000	30	Naga Devathe		Kannada
	31	Maya Bazaar		Kannada
	32	Nuvve Kavali		Telugu	Cameo appearance
	33	Ammo Okato Taariku		Telugu
	34	Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary	Nagasulochana	Telugu
	35	Nannavalu Nannavalu		Kannada	Asianet Kaveri Film Award for Best Actress (also for Yajamana and Chandramuki Pranasakhi)[5]
	36	Chiru Navvutho		Telugu
	37	Uttara Dhruvadim Dakshina Dhruvaku	Nandini	Kannnada
	38	Yajamana	Sangeetha	Kannada	ETV Film Award for Best Actress
	39	Daivathinte Makan	Anjali	Malayalam
2001	40	Anjali Geethanjali	Anjali	Kannada
	41	Kanasugara		Kannada	Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada
	42	Premi No.1		Kannada
	43	Kothigalu Saar Kothigalu		Kannada
	44	Grama Devathe	Kaveri	Kannada
	45	Neelambari		Kannada
	46	Prematho Raa	Sandhya	Telugu
	47	Devi Putrudu	Goddess	Telugu
2002	48	Balarama		Kannada
	49	Chelvi	Chelvi	Kannada
	50	Tapori		Kannada
	51	Jamindaru		Kannada
	52	Marma	Sudha	Kannada
	53	Parva	Suma	Kannada
	54	Kambalahalli		Kannada
	55	Mutthu		Kannada
	56	Prema	Prema	Kannada
	57	Singaaravva	Singaravva	Kannada
2003	58	Mooru Manasu Nooru Kanasu		Kannada
	59	Ai Naan Bhishma Kano		Kannada
	60	Sri Renuka Devi		Kannada
	61	Ananda Nilaya		Kannada
	62	Vijayadashami		Kannada
	63	Thaye Bhuvaneshwari		Tamil
	64	Lavve Pasagali		Kannada
	65	Janaki Weds Sriram		Telugu
2004	66	Apthamitra	Soumya	Kannada
	67	Azhagesan	Nandhini	Tamil
2005	68	Inspector Jhansi	Jhansi	Kannada
	69	Ranachandi		Kannada
	70	Pandu Ranga Vittala		Kannada
	71	Devi Abhayam		Telugu
	72	Ayodhya		Telugu
2006	73	A Aa E Ee		Kannada
2007	74	Ekadantha	Bhakti	Kannada
	75	Kshana Kshana	Phalguni	Kannada
	76	Dhee		Telugu
2008	77	Sundarakanda	Seetha	Telugu
	78	Navashakthi Vaibhava		Kannada
	79	Krishnarjuna		Telugu
2009	80	Anjani Putrudu		Telugu
	81	Shishira		Kannada
2017	82	Upendra Matte Baa	Sathyabhama	Kannada	[6]

References

1. Lasrado, Richard. "Madikeri: Keen on a Silver-screen Comeback, Talented Prema Trashes Rumours of Illness". mangalorean.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
2. "Prema weds Jeevan!". Sify. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
3. "Actress Prema files for divorce". ManoramaOnline. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
4. "Kannada actress Prema files for divorce". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
5. "Lifetime Achievement award for Rajkumar". The Times of India. 14 May 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
6. Sharadhaa, A. (23 May 2016). "Upendra, Prema combination back after 17 years". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

• "For Kannada actress Prema, it was beginning of a new 'Jeevan'". Daijiworld. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2008.