Actor · Telugu cinema
Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi
Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi movies: 42 Telugu films on file, 1968–2023. Earliest on file: Bandhavyalu (1968). Latest release: Kushi (1 September 2023).
- Films on file
- 42 (42 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1968–2023
- Born
- 13 December 1952 · December birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- O Baby! Yentha Sakkagunnave, Manmadhudu 2, Murari
- Record
- Q277698 on Wikidata
Lakshmi (Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi) is an Indian actress who has worked almost equally in all four South Indian film industries, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, as well as in Hindi films. In a career of more than five decades she has won the National Film Award for Best Actress and nine Filmfare Awards South. In Telugu she is known for Panthulamma (1978), Murari (2001), Midhunam (2012) and Oh! Baby (2019).
She was born on 13 December 1952, according to Wikipedia and Wikidata, and was born and raised in Chennai. Her mother, Kumari Rukmini, was a Tamil actress, and her father, Yaragudipati Varada Rao, was a Telugu producer, director and actor.
Career
She debuted as a lead in the Kannada film Goa Dalli CID 999 (1968) and in Tamil with Jeevanaamsam the same year. Her first Telugu film on our records is Bandhavyalu (1968). Her first Malayalam film, Chattakari (1974), was a major hit and won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress; its Hindi remake Julie (1975) won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the Tamil film Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal (1977).
In Telugu her performance in Panthulamma is often called one of her best, and she won the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress for Sravana Meghalu (1986). Other Telugu films of her lead years include Koduku Kodalu (1972), Andaru Dongale and Kode Nagu (1974), Mallepoovu (1978) and Raaga Deepam (1982).
When her years as a heroine ended in the 1980s, she moved to mother and grandmother roles. In Telugu these include Mahalakshmi in Ninne Pelladata (1996), Premante Idera (1998), Murari, Sakhiya (2004) and Chintakayala Ravi (2008). Her role in Midhunam is regarded as one of the 100 greatest performances of the decade by Film Companion. In Oh! Baby she played the older Savitri, and she also appeared in Manmadhudu 2 and Gang Leader (2019) and Kushi (2023). She played Aishwarya Rai’s grandmother in the Tamil film Jeans (1998).
She directed the Kannada film Makkala Sainya (1980) under K. Balachander’s supervision, and has hosted talk shows in Tamil and Kannada and judged reality shows.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Actress for Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal, per Wikipedia.
- Nandi Awards: Best Actress for Panthulamma and Sravana Meghalu, and Best Character Actress for Murari (Nandi Best Actress list; Character Actress list), plus a Nandi Special Jury Award for Mithunam, per Wikipedia.
- Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress for Sravana Meghalu, among nine Filmfare Awards South, and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Hindi) for Julie.
- SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for Oh! Baby (Wikipedia winners list).
Upcoming films
No upcoming Telugu film of hers is on our records. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch her films
- Kushi: Netflix, from 1 October 2023, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Oh! Baby: Netflix, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Chintakayala Ravi: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
- Murari: Sun NXT, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Sources: Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi appears in 42 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1968 to 2023. The earliest of them is Bandhavyalu (1968), and the most recent release is Kushi (2023). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are O Baby! Yentha Sakkagunnave (2019), Manmadhudu 2 (2019) and Murari (2001). Other recent releases on file are Gang Leader (2019), Midhunam (2012) and Chintakayala Ravi (2008).
Chandra Mohan is the most frequent co-star, sharing nine films with Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi, followed by Brahmanandam (8) and Sobhan Babu (8). Music on five of them is by K. V. Mahadevan, with K. Chakravarthy (4) and Koti (3) next. Suresh Productions produced three of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 35 different directors, 30 music directors and 98 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 28 of them; they average 150 minutes, and the longest is Nindu Dampathulu at 189 minutes. Four of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1960s (1), 1970s (16), 1980s (4), 1990s (11), 2000s (5), 2010s (4) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.