Sumathi (actress)
Encyclopedia
Sumathi (born 19 August 1964) is an India
n actress from Madurai
, Tamil Nadu
. She started her career at the age of two. She starred in many Tamil
, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada
, and Hindi
language films.
; a city in Tamil Nadu
, India. Her mother tongue is Saurashtra
. Her father and mother were originally from Madurai. Her father managed several businesses such as photo studio and printing press. Her mother, was a housewife taking care of Sumathi and her seven brothers and three sisters. Her elder brother Prabakhar was the first one in the family to enter the film industry.
In 1966, Sumathi moved in with her Aunt along with Prabakhar to pursue his dreams. Sumathi entered the film industry when a director was looking for a young baby to play a role in a Malayalam film along with veteran actor Bharath Gopi
.
in the late 60's. She appeared in many children's movies. She played dual roles and in some movies acted as a boy. Soon she moved to Telugu and Malayalam films, where she starred in many films.
As Baby Sumathi grew up, she took to modeling and started endorsing many products. She has won many Nandi and Filmfare awards
as a child. She acted many films with her third elder brother Master Prabhakar and second younger brother Kumar. As soon as her brothers entered the film industry, most of her family members were interested to go on the same line. Sumathi's cousin was a well known actress who was successful in various Tamil films. Sumathi's other cousins were cinematography and assistant directors. Sumathi also dubbed
for many actresses in the past in every language.
In her acting career, she was often stereotyped as the girl next door
. She acted with many stars such as M. G. Ramachandran
, Sivaji Ganesan
, Gemini Ganesan
, Jaya Bachchan
, Manorama, Nagesh
, Rajinikanth, Jayalalithaa
, Ambika
, and Bhagyaraj to name a few. Her debut film, as heroine, was Bhagyaraj's directorial debut; Suvarillatha Chittirangal (1979) in Tamil. She gave up her acting career at the peak after her marriage in 1989 to move to America.
for Best Child Artist (female).
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n actress from Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. She started her career at the age of two. She starred in many Tamil
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada
Cinema of Karnataka
The cinema of Karnataka , sometimes colloquially referred to as Sandalwood and as Chandanavana in Kannada, encompasses movies made in the Indian state of Karnataka based in Bangalore. Most of the movies are made in Kannada, with a handful of them in Konkani or Tulu. Today more than 100 films are...
, and Hindi
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
language films.
Early life
Sumathi was born in MaduraiMadurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
; a city in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India. Her mother tongue is Saurashtra
Saurashtra language
Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...
. Her father and mother were originally from Madurai. Her father managed several businesses such as photo studio and printing press. Her mother, was a housewife taking care of Sumathi and her seven brothers and three sisters. Her elder brother Prabakhar was the first one in the family to enter the film industry.
In 1966, Sumathi moved in with her Aunt along with Prabakhar to pursue his dreams. Sumathi entered the film industry when a director was looking for a young baby to play a role in a Malayalam film along with veteran actor Bharath Gopi
Bharath Gopi
V. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Bharath Gopi was an Indian film actor, producer, and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala....
.
Career
She started her film career in Tamil movies as a child actress (Baby Sumathi) by playing the role of daughter of GopiBharath Gopi
V. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Bharath Gopi was an Indian film actor, producer, and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala....
in the late 60's. She appeared in many children's movies. She played dual roles and in some movies acted as a boy. Soon she moved to Telugu and Malayalam films, where she starred in many films.
As Baby Sumathi grew up, she took to modeling and started endorsing many products. She has won many Nandi and Filmfare awards
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry. The awards are separately given for Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films...
as a child. She acted many films with her third elder brother Master Prabhakar and second younger brother Kumar. As soon as her brothers entered the film industry, most of her family members were interested to go on the same line. Sumathi's cousin was a well known actress who was successful in various Tamil films. Sumathi's other cousins were cinematography and assistant directors. Sumathi also dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
for many actresses in the past in every language.
In her acting career, she was often stereotyped as the girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
. She acted with many stars such as M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
, Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
, Gemini Ganesan
Gemini Ganesan
Ramaswami Ganesan , popularly known as Gemini Ganesan , was an Indian actor. He was nicknamed "Kadhal Mannan" of Tamil cinema for the romantic roles he played in movies....
, Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
, Manorama, Nagesh
Nagesh (actor)
Nagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
, Rajinikanth, Jayalalithaa
J. Jayalalithaa
Jayalalithaa Jayaram ; born 24 February 1948) commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian party. She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her...
, Ambika
Ambika (actress)
Ambika is an Indian film actress. She was worked in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu films. Ambika's sister Radha was also an actress. Both of them acted in a number of south Indian films in 80s and they have a movie studio called "ARS Studios"....
, and Bhagyaraj to name a few. Her debut film, as heroine, was Bhagyaraj's directorial debut; Suvarillatha Chittirangal (1979) in Tamil. She gave up her acting career at the peak after her marriage in 1989 to move to America.
Child Artist awards in Malayalam
Baby Sumathi is a three-time winner Kerala State Film AwardKerala State Film Award
The Kerala State Film Awards are the most prestigious film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala, India....
for Best Child Artist (female).
- Child artist (female) Baby Sumathi - Nadhi (1969)
- Child artist (female) Baby Sumathi (1972)
- Child artist (female) Baby Sumathi - Shankupushpam (1977)
Filmography
- Iru Kodugal (1967)
- Nadhi (1969)
- Va Raja Va (1969)
- Balaraju KathaBalaraju KathaBalaraju Katha is a 1970 Telugu Drama film written by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana and directed by Bapu.-The Plot:This is the story of a young boy Balaraju in a historical town Mahabalipuram. He becomes a tourist guide to support his entire family. An elderly childless couple takes a liking to him...
(1970) - Panithiratha Veedu (1972)
- Velli Vizha (1972)
- Sethu Bandhanam (1974) - in dual role
- Hiridhayam Oru Kshethram (1976)
- Shankupushpam (1977)
- Rathi Nirvedam (1978)
- Swarg NarakSwarg NarakSwarg Narak is a 1978 Hindi movie produced by B.Nagi Reddy and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. This family and comedy drama stars Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, Moushumi Chatterjee, Shabana Azmi...
(1978, Hindi film, as Baby Sumathi) - Sarapanjaram (1979)
- Suvarillatha Chittirangal (1979)
- Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985)