Meet Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan's heroine who worked in over 800 films.
Many actors like Dharmendra, Amrita Singh, Sharmila Tagore, and others changed their religion for some or the other reason. Another actress who changed her religion to get married, regretted her decision as her life became miserable after the marriage and ended in divorce.
The actress we are talking about grew up in poverty and had to start working at the of 13 to support her family financially. In her career span, she worked in over 800 films and starred opposite superstars like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, and others. She is none other than Srividya.
Srividya was born in July 1953 in Madras, Tamil Nadu into a Tamil family. Tamil film comedian Krishnamurthy and Carnatic classical singer M. L. Vasanthakumari were her parents. However, when she was born, her father left acting due to a disease that affected his facial muscles. Because of this, their family had to face financial struggles. To support her family, Srividya decided to start working at the age of 13.
She made her debut in the 1967 Tamil film Thiruvarutchelvar alongside legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan. She entered Malayalam films with a dance scene in Kumara Sambhavam. Her first film as a heroine was Delhi to Madras (1972) in which she was paired opposite Jaishankar. In the 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 which also starred Kamal Haasan.
While working in Apoorva Raangangal, Srividya fell in love with Kamal Haasan and he proposed to the actress, however, her mother stopped them from getting married. A few years later Kamal Haasan began courting Vani Ganapathy and they got married. During this period she fell in love with film director Bharathan who made many films with her as the female lead. But they couldn't continue the relationship and eventually, Bharathan married KPAC Lalitha.
After getting her heart broken twice, Srividya fell in love with George Thomas, an assistant director in her Malayalam film Teekkanal. She married him on January 19, 1978, despite opposition from her family. She was baptized before the marriage. Though she wanted to be a housewife, her husband forced her to continue acting due to their financial instability and soon Srivdiya realized that she made a mistake. Her life became miserable and their marriage ended in divorce. However, that was not all, after the divorce she had to seek legal action against George Thomas as he had snatched all her properties, even her prizes, from her. The case went to Supreme Court and the verdict was in her favour.
In 2003, she underwent a biopsy test following physical problems and was diagnosed positive for metastatic breast cancer. She underwent treatment for three years. However, she lost the battle to cancer and breathed her last in 2006.
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