Actor · Telugu cinema
Revathi
Revathi movies: 16 Telugu films on file, 1984–2022. Earliest on file: Seethamma Pelli (1984). Latest release: Major (24 May 2022).
- Films on file
- 16 (16 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1984–2022
- Born
- 8 July 1966 · July birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Size Zero, Brahmotsavam, Gaayam 2
- Record
- Q277996 on Wikidata
Revathi (born Asha Kelunni, 8 July 1966) is an Indian actress, director, voice actress, Bharatanatyam dancer and philanthropist who works mainly in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, as well as in Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished actresses in South Indian cinema, she is known for her natural style and for playing strong, relatable women. Her honours include three National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Kerala State Film Award and the Kalaimamani, which she received in 1993. In Telugu, her performance in Ankuram (1993) won her a Filmfare Award.
Early life
Revathi was born in Kochi, Kerala, to Kelunni, a major in the Indian Army, and Lalitha Kelunni. She trained in Bharatanatyam from the age of seven and performed her arangetram in Chennai in 1979. Her route into films came by chance: a photograph from a school fashion show appeared on the cover of a Tamil magazine, where it caught the eye of the director Bharathiraja, who was looking for a new heroine.
Debut and rise
Bharathiraja cast her in Mann Vasanai (1983), a silver jubilee hit that won her the Filmfare Special Award – South. Her Malayalam debut, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, came the same year and was one of her biggest hits of the 1980s. She entered Telugu cinema in 1984 with Bapu’s Seethamma Pelli and Manasa Veena, and in Tamil worked with Mahendran and Bharathiraja again that year.
Leading actress of the 1980s and 1990s
Her big break came as Divya, a spirited, headstrong young woman, in Mani Ratnam’s Mouna Ragam (1986), and the hit Punnagai Mannan (1986), opposite Kamal Haasan, made her one of the most sought-after actresses in Tamil films. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the Malayalam Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal (1988) and for the Tamil Kizhakku Vaasal (1990), and gave one of her finest performances in Priyadarshan’s Kilukkam (1991). She made her Hindi debut in Love (1991), opposite Salman Khan.
For Thevar Magan (1992), in which she played an innocent, devoted wife, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Ankuram and Marupadiyum (both 1993) brought more Filmfare Awards. She was the only South Indian actress of the 1980s and 1990s to win the Filmfare Best Actress award in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
Director
Revathi made her directing debut with the English-language film Mitr, My Friend (2002), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English. She went on to direct Phir Milenge (2004) and Salaam Venky (2022), and contributed a segment to the anthology Kerala Cafe (2009). She has also worked as a voice actress since 1995.
Later acting
In later years she appeared in the Hindi films Margarita with a Straw and 2 States (both 2014), the Tamil films Pa. Pandi (2017) and Jackpot (2019), and the Malayalam Virus (2019). In the Telugu-Hindi bilingual Major (2022) she played Dhanalakshmi, the mother of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Her performance in the Malayalam Bhoothakaalam (2022) won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.
Social work
Outside films, Revathi has been involved with a number of social organisations, most notably the Banyan, the Ability Foundation and the Tanker Foundation.
Career on file
Revathi appears in 16 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1984 to 2022. The earliest of them is Seethamma Pelli (1984), and the most recent release is Major (2022). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Size Zero (2015), Brahmotsavam (2016) and Gaayam 2 (2010). Other recent releases on file are Yuddham Sharanam (2017), Loafer (2015) and Anukshanam (2014).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing seven films with Revathi, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (4) and Prakash Raj (2). Among directors, Ram Gopal Varma cast Revathi most often, in two films. Music on two of them is by Ilaiyaraaja. Across these films the credits on file name 15 different directors, 14 music directors and 58 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 15 of them; they average 142 minutes, and the longest is Ganesh at 166 minutes. Three of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1980s (4), 1990s (4), 2000s (1), 2010s (6) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.