Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, Selvi. She is also credited as a dubbing artist. She has dubbed her voice for Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu movies for actresses like Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya in 1990s.
She is a recipient of several state awards from Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, six Filmfare Awards and six Nandi Awards including a Special Jury Award for the film Arjun. Saritha received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards four times, Karnataka State Film Awards once and many Film fans association award.
Career
Saritha made her acting debut through Manchiki Sthanam Ledu a movie produced by producer based in Warangal in 1978 with a different screen name followed by Maro Charitra, a Telugu film directed by K. Balachander. The movie dealt with cross-cultural romance, where she acted opposite Kamal Haasan as a Telugu-speaking girl. She received more offers in Tamil films and Tamil Audience accepted herself as her own,she mostly acted films directed by Balachander. Some of her films are Thappu Thalangal, Idi Katha Kaadu, Vandichakkaram, Netrikan, Agni Sakshi, Puthukavithai, Kalyana Agathigal and Achamillai Achamillai. Her performance in Vandichakkaram (1980) and Achamillai Achamillai (1984) won her the Filmfare Best Tamil Actress awards. She also played guest roles as herself in 47 Natkal and its Telugu remake, directed by Balachander.
She acted in many popular Kannada movies with famous Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar like Hosa Belaku, Keralida Simha, Bhakta Prahlada, Chalisuva Modagalu and Kaamana Billu. Her other popular Kannada movies include the heroine-oriented Eradu Rekhegalu and Sankranthi and the musical Malaya Marutha opposite Dr. Vishnuvardhan.
She had her head tonsured for the cancer-affected role in Sujatha in 1980 and gained several pounds to play the psychotic role in the 2005 film Julie Ganapathi. Neither of these films were successful but won Critical acclaim. She also won a Nandi Special Jury Award for her performance as "Aandaalu" in the movie Arjun in 2004.
Saritha also worked as a voice actor in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil films. She has lent her voice to other actresses, including Madhavi, Soundarya, Ramya Krishnan, Nagma, Vijayashanti, Simran, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Roja, Suhasini, Radha, Radhika and Aarthi Agarwal. She won four times the Nandi Award for Best Female Dubbing Artist for her voice to Soundarya in Ammoru, Maa Ayana Bangaram (1997) and Anthapuram (1999).
After a long break, she made her comeback as an actress through the Sivakarthikeyan-starrer film Maaveeran (2023).
Personal life
Saritha was born and brought up as Durga in Munipalle, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Saritha married Venkata Subbiah in 1975 though they separated after a year, their case involving the restitution of conjugal rights has become important in Hindu marriage law in India. She then married Malayalam actor Mukesh on 2 September 1988 and they have two sons, Shravan and Tejas. The couple separated in 2011. Saritha now resides with Shravan (made his acting debut in the 2018 film Kalyanam) in UAE.
Awards
Filmfare Awards South
1980 – Best Actress – Tamil - Vandichakkaram
1982 – Best Actress – Kannada - Hosa Belaku
1984 – Best Actress – Tamil - Achamillai Achamillai
1985 – Best Actress – Kannada - Mugila Mallige
1986 – Best Actress – Kannada - Mouna Geethe
1989 – Best Actress – Kannada - Sankranthi
Nandi Awards
1982 – Special Jury – Best Actress - Kokilamma
1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - Ammoru
1996 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - Maavichiguru
1997 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - Maa Ayana Bangaram
1998 – Best Female Dubbing Artist - Anthapuram
2004 – Special Jury - Arjun
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu State
1979 – Best Actress - Oru Vellaadu Vengaiyagiradhu
1982 – Best Actress - Agni Sakshi
1988 – Best Actress - Poo Pootha Nandavanam
1995 – Best Female Dubbing Artist – Amman (1995)