Sharadha, The famous Malayalam actress of 60′s 70′s was born 12 June 1945 as Saraswati Devi in Tenali, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her parents Venkateswar Rao and Satyavathi Devi belonged to a family of agriculturalists. She has a brother, named Mohan Rao. Sharada was sent to Madras in her childhood to live with her grandmother.

Kanakamma. Sharada describes her grandmother as a strict disciplinarian who in the later days wouldn’t even let the heroes touch her and allowed rehearsals only on Sundays.Sharada started to learn dance when she was six. She used to perform during Dasara and other temple festivals. It was because of her mother’s desire that she learned dance. Her mother wanted her to become a big star in cine field. Though Sharada’s father was not too interested in the idea, he didn’t stop her either.

She bagged national award three-time. Winner actress Sharada dons the grease paint after taking a five-year sabbatical from acting. Sharada, who was a popular actress in Malayalam film, Telugu film and Tamil films in her heydays – her best innings was in Malayalam – gave life to many a role with her dignified, sensitive performances.

Sharada started in acting in theatre, under the supervision of her grandmother. She acted as the wife of a person 30 years older than she was when she was just 13. As the female lead stars used to leave the field as soon as they are married. So, most of the female lead stars were very young compared to the male leads.

Her debut in films was with a minor role in the Telugu film Kanya Sulkam. However, she returned to theatre after it and did a major role in the Telugu version of Raktha Kanneer, a Tamil drama. The play went to get staged over 100 times in Tamilnadu.

She began her career as Sharada. The change in name was attributed to the presence of a few other actors in the industry with the name Saraswati. She came under contract to L.V. Prasad, a Telugu producer. Though she didn’t get to act in any of his films, she got her formal training in acting under him, including the Navarasa lessons. She largely attributes her performances and growth in the field to this training.

Her first break came with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao starrer Iddaru Mithrulu, which was a major hit. Noted for the role in the film, she got chances from Tamil and Malayalam films as well. The year 1965 changed her career as Sharada carved her niche for herself in the Malayalam film industry with her performances in Shakuntala, Murappennu, Kattu Thulasi and Inapravukal. After that, she focused in Malayalam films, acting only a few roles in other languages. Recognition came in 1967 in the form of a national honorary award for her performances in various films of 1966 including Iruttinte Athamavu.

Later she saw success in Telugu films in protagonist roles. She was so popular that she did lead roles in films starring most of the successful heroes of Telugu film industry. Post 1993, she became choosy and did only a few films. Her major films off late were Mazhathullikkilukkam (2002, Malayalam), Rappakal (2005, Malayalam) and Stalin (film) (2006, Telugu).

Sharada married Chalam, a famous Telugu hero, producer, and comedian. Chalam was the co-star of her debut film Tandrulu Kodukulu. They divorced later on.

She owns a chocolate factory named Lotus Chocolates. She was elected as Member of Parliament on Telugu Desam Party ticket from her native town of Tenali

She is also known as Urvashi Sharada because earlier the National Film Award for Best Actress was officially designated the Urvashi Award.

Awards:

National honorary award for her performances in various films
First National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Thulabharam.
The Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress one time.
The National Film Award 2 more times, for Swayamvaram (1972, Malayalam) and Nimajjanam (1978, Telugu).

Name                     : Sharada
Original Name       : Saraswati Devi
Famous Name       : Urvasi Sharada
Date of Birth         : 1945-06-12
Place of Birth        : Tenali, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Profession              : Actress
Debut Film            : Valmiki

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