P. BhanumathiTamil Actor – Movies List & Song Lyrics

Bhanumathi was born on 7 September 1925 in Doddavaram village of Prakasam district, near Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. She was the third child to Bommaraju Saraswathamma, Venkata Subbayya - 6000 Niyogi Brahmin. She grew up watching her father perform in various stage shows. Bhanumathi's father, Venkata Subbayya, was a lover of classical music and trained her in music from an early age.

Though her father wanted her to be a great singer, fate had other plans. She became a wildly successful actress and ruled the cinema industry.

Bhanumathi entered the film industry in 1939. After marriage, she quit acting and became a homemaker. B.N. Reddy convinced her to act in the 1945 film Swargaseema, which was turning point in her life. "She also shone as a singer, writer, director, music director, composer, producer, studio owner and editor". She is famous for being paid more than the male contemporaries of her time. She also sang two songs in English: "When I was just a little girl" in Thodu Needa and "Let me try" from Pathu Maadha Bandham. She acted in over 100 films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. She is regarded as the first female superstar of Telugu cinema. Bhanumathi was active in the film industry for six decades.

She made her debut in Telugu cinema in 1939 as Kalindi in Vara Vikrayam directed by C. Pullayya. Her first popular film was Krishna Prema. Her next popular film was Swargaseema, a milestone film in her career. In Swargaseema, she played the role with negative shades. Oho Pavurama song (sung by her) in Swargaseema became a super hit and she was showered with offers. She later acted in many movies such as Chakrapani, Laila Majnu, Vipranarayana, Malliswari, Batasari and Antastulu. Her first film in Tamil was 1948 Raja Mukthi Pairing to MGR.

The duo paired as the second hero and heroine. With MGR, she acted in films that included Malaikallan, Madurai Veeran, Thaikkupin Tharam, Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum, and Nadodi Mannan. She also acted in films including Kalvanin Kadhali, Makkalaipetra Magarasi, Ambigapathy, Manamagan Thevai, Arivali, Rani Lalithangi with Sivaji Ganesan.

In 1953, she made her directorial debut with Chandirani (made simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi). She also directed films like Ippadiyum Oru Penn. Additionally, she directed Bhakta Dhruva Markandeya, an all-children film featuring a cast under 16 years of age, a notable person who acted in this film is Shobana.

Bhanumathi also worked as Music director for few films. Her last film was made in 1998, entitled Pelli Kanuka.

In her film career, Bhanumathi worked alongside five future Chief Ministers: writers C.N. Annadurai (Tamil Nadu) and M. Karunanidhi (Tamil Nadu), co-stars MGR (Tamil Nadu), NTR (Andhra Pradesh) and V.N.Janaki (Tamil Nadu).

C. N. Annadurai gave her a title "Nadippukku Ilakkanam" (Tamil: நடிப்புக்கு இலக்கணம்) (Grammar for acting) after seeing her performance in Rangoon Radha film, that suits her aptly. In a Telugu interview, she also proudly stated that C.N.Annadurai conferred upon her the title Nadippukku Ilakkanam. She is called as "Ashtavadhani" by Tamil people.

She was revered by many actors she had worked with like N. T. Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Venkatesh for her bold and prolific versatility. One of her memorable movies in Tamil was Annai, in the year 1962 directed by Krishnan–Panju, where her acting was appreciated by all and also got the National Award for the film and for also performances in movies Antastulu and Palnati Yuddham, she received National Awards (Rashtrapati Award).

The film Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum, starring MGR and Bhanumathi made history in Tamil cinema by being the 'First Tamil Film' to be entirely shot and released in Gevacolor. It was also the first full-length colour film released in South India. MGR and Bhanumathi also acted in the film Kalai Arasi, a Tamil movie released in 1963. It is considered the 'First Indian Film' to feature 'Aliens' visiting Earth.

Her rivalry with MGR in Nadodi Mannan gave B. Sarojadevi a breakthrough. (MGR changed the script. Bhanumathi's character the revolutionary Madhana, was written out by being killed off early. Sarojadevi then carried the film as the lead heroine, Princess Ratna).

Bhanumathi's rift with Aluri Chakrapani in Missamma gave Savitri a breakthrough, she left her role in Missamma movie (Initially Bhanumathi was shot for some scenes in the movie before being replaced by Savitri ) but after the release of the movie she watched and commented that "she lost a wonderful role but industry gained a talented actress like savitri" which showed her sportiveness and encouragement towards new actors.

Due to clash with Aluri Chakrapani, she produced a satirical movie on him titled Chakrapani which was a hit and became a classic in Tollywood for this movie she also worked as music director.