Pushpavalli

Kandala Venkata Pushpavalli Tayaramma, better known as Pushpavalli (3 January 1926-28 August 1991[2]) was an Indian actress active in Telugu and Tamil cinema.[3] Her film work includes title roles in Miss Malini (1947),[4] and the Telugu film Satyabhama.[5] Pushpavalli died on August 28, 1991.

Pushpavalli
Pushpavalli in 1948
Born(1925-01-03)3 January 1925
Pentapadu, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died28 August 1991(1991-08-28) (aged 66)
OccupationFilm actress
Years active1936-1969
Spouse(s)I. V. Rangachari
Partner(s)Gemini Ganesan
Children5
1 son and 4 daughters including Rekha and Radha
RelativesShubha (niece)
Vedantam Raghavaiah (brother-in-law)[1]

Initially married to I V Rangachari[6], Pushpavalli became the mistress of the actor Gemini Ganesan. She had two daughters with Ganesan, Rekha and Radha. Her elder daughter is the Hindi actress Rekha.[7]

Biography

Pushpavalli was born into the Kandala family to Kandala Ramakotamma and Kandala Thathachary in Pentapadu village of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh (at that time in Madras Presidency). She entered the film industry as a child actress, credited as Pushpavalli Tayaramma, with a small role as young Sita in the film Sampoorna Ramayanam (1936, 8 August), shot in Rajamundry in the first Studio in Andhra Region, Durga Cinitone, which was released when she was only nine years old. She was paid Rs 300/- for a three day shoot, which was a princely sum in those days. This was followed by a few more roles as child star, and Pushpavalli's income became important to her family. Due to these preoccupations, she spent significant time in film shooting, she missed out on schooling and had only a rudimentary education. She married a Lawyer named I V Rangachari in about 1940. However, the marriage did not last (circumstances are not known) and they began living apart from 1946[8].

Pushpavalli graduated to doing adult roles with hardly any break from playing a child star. This was a necessity, because acting was the source of income for the family, and she could not afford to take a break. However, this continuity may have affected her acting career and she was never really accepted as a leading lady. She did only a few roles as heroine, and in between did many films where she played the second lead. In all, she acted in around 20-25 Telugu and Tamil films (including child roles) and met with only moderate success. She was never a top-level star, nor did she receive any critical acclaim for her acting talents. Perhaps her biggest hit was the Telugu film Bala Nagamma (1942), where she played an important supporting role. Her 1947 film Miss Malini, where she played the lead role, received great critical acclaim from the intelligentsia, but flopped at the box office.[9]

Miss Malini (1947) also marked the acting debut of Gemini Ganesan, her future consort. Pushpavalli next worked with Ganesan in the Tamil film Chakradhari (1948), where she was the heroine and he played a small role. After this point, the situation reversed; Ganesan became a huge star and Pushpavalli started getting only supporting roles, her films as heroine having mostly flopped. She did a few more films with Ganesan, the two got along very well together, and entered into a relationship, despite the fact that both of them were married to other people (Ganesan had married his first wife Alamelu, known informally as Bobji, at a very young age and would remain married to Bobji until his death).

Pushpavalli and Ganesan had two daughters together in quick succession. The elder of them is the Bollywood actress Rekha (born in 1954) and the younger is Radha, who briefly worked in Tamil movies before marrying and moving to the United States. Ganesan did not acknowledge paternity of the girls for several years, and was only an occasional visitor to Pushpavalli's house. The relationship deteriorated quickly and the couple was soon estranged. As early as 1955, before the birth of Radha, Ganesan had secretly married the famous actress Savitri, and that relationship was publicly acknowledged as a valid marriage. This was possible because until 1956, it was legally permissible for a Hindu man to have more than one wife. Since Savitri was unmarried, it was possible for her to become Ganesan's legal second wife. Since Pushpavalli was still legally married to Rangachari (divorce was not available to Hindus at all until 1956), that option was not available to her and it was impossible for her to marry anyone else. Some sources say Pushpavalli and Ganesan were married in Tirupathi.

After being estranged from Ganesan, Pushpavalli did a few more films, mostly bit roles, including a couple of Hindi films made by her old associates in the south Indian film industry. She did these bit roles in order to support her daughters, whom she brought up single-handedly in a very frugal way. The fact that Rekha became so successful in films was a source of great satisfaction to her, as was the fact that her second daughter, Radha settled very respectably in marriage to Syed Usman, a former Bollywood model in 1976. They reside in USA.[10]

Pushpavalli died in 1992 of ailments associated with diabetes in Madras. She was survived by her 5 children including a son Babji, and daughters Rama, Dhanalakshmi and two daughters, Rekha and Radha by Gemini Ganesan[11].

Filmography
YearFilmLanguageRoleNotes
1936Sampoorna RamayanamTeluguChild artist/Sita
1938Mohini BhasmasuraTeluguMohini/Vishnu
1938Satyanarayana VrathamTelugu
1939Vara VikrayamTeluguKamala
1940Malathi MadhavamTelugu
1940Viswa MohiniTelugu
1941ChoodamaniTeluguChoodamani
1941Tara sasankamTeluguTara
1942Bala NagammaTeluguSangu
1942SatyabhamaTelugu
1944Dasi AparanjiTamilAparanji
1945Paduka PattabhishekamTeluguSita
1947Miss MaliniTamilMalini
1948VindhyaraniTeluguVindhyarani
1948Queen of the VindhiyasEnglishVindhyarani
1948ChakradhariTamilThulasi Bai
1951SamsaramTamilManjula
1951SansarHindiLakshmi
1952DaasiTelugu
1953Pempudu KodukuTeluguMangamma
1954Bahut Din HuweHindiBhulakshmi Devi
1956Sri Gowri MahatmaTeluguGuest Appearance
1957Bhaktha MarkandeyaTamilMarudvati
1957Bhaktha MarkandeyaTeluguMarudvati
1958Chenchu LakshmiTeluguLeelavathi
1958Chenchu LakshmiTamilLeelavathi
1958Inti Guttu TeluguMahalakshmamma
1958Sampoorna RamayanamTamilKausalya
1960Petra ManamTamil
1963GrahastiHindiRadha
1963BandipotuTeluguAnnapoorna
1964Amara Shilpi JakkannaTeluguQueen Shanthala
1964Amarashilpi JakanachariKannadaQueen Shanthala
1964Sirpiyin SelvanTamilQueen Shanthala
1964Manchi CheduTelugu
1964Kai Kodutha DeivamTamil
1964ZindagiHindi
1965Aada BrathukuTelugu
1965Vaazhkai PadaguTamil
1965Sati SakkubaiTelugu
1966Rangula RatnamTelugu
1966ShakuntalaTeluguRaja Maata
1966Pratigna PalanaTeluguMaha Rani
1966Bhoolokamlo YamalokhamTelugu
1967Sati SumathiTelugu
1967Bhama VijayamTeluguMaha Rani
1969Bangaru PanjaramTeluguGowri
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References
  1. "Memories of the Southern Devadas". thehindu.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTqY70SS_4
  3. http://www.ghantasala.info/tfs/cdata1028.html
  4. "Miss Malini 1947". The Hindu. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  5. "Trendsetter - YV Rao". Screen India. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTqY70SS_4
  7. "Drama In Real Life". The Hans India.
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTqY70SS_4
  9. "Gemini Ganesan celebrates 80th birthday". Screen India. 15 December 2000. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTqY70SS_4
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTqY70SS_4
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