# Saritha
**Saritha** (சரிதா) is an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and [Kannada cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/kannada-cinema) from the late 1970s and returned to Tamil films in the 2000s and 2020s. She was introduced as a heroine by the director [K. Balachander](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-balachander) in the Telugu romantic tragedy *Maro Charithra* (1978) opposite [Kamal Haasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kamal-haasan), and became one of the leading actresses of South Indian cinema in the 1980s, known for strong female-centered roles.[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 June; sources give 1960 in Munipalli, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) or 1964 in Guntakal[3](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/saritha.html) |
| Screen debut | *Maro Charithra* (Telugu, 1978), directed by K. Balachander, opposite Kamal Haasan[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) |
| Output | More than 150 films across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors); IMDb places the total above 250[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/) |
| Major awards | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress three times (1979–1980, 1982–1983, 1988); multiple Filmfare Awards; IMDb also lists six Nandi Awards[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/trivia/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/) |
| Dubbing career | Voice artist for actresses including Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan, and Soundarya[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) |
| Marriages | Venkata Subbiah (1975, separated the same year); Malayalam actor Mukesh (2 September 1988, separated 2011); two sons, Shravan and Tejas[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) |
| Comeback | *Maaveeran* (Tamil, 14 July 2023) with Sivakarthikeyan[6](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-11105987) |
## Early life and debut
Saritha was born into a Telugu-speaking family; the Malayalam film database MalayalaSangeetham places her birth in 1960 in Munipalli in [Guntur district](https://www.edgepedia.org/guntur-district), [Andhra Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/andhra-pradesh), and records her original name as Abhilasha, while Filmibeat gives 7 June 1964 and Guntakal as the birthplace.[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) • [3](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/saritha.html) According to IMDb's trivia page, director K. Balachander suggested the screen name Saritha because he feared audiences would mispronounce her real name.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/trivia/)
Her career changed when Balachander cast her opposite Kamal Haasan in *Maro Charithra* (1978), a Telugu romantic tragedy that became a major success and was later remade in Hindi as *Ek Duuje Ke Liye*; the Hindi version replaced her with [Rati Agnihotri](https://www.edgepedia.org/rati-agnihotri).[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) • [7](https://en.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) A Tamil press retrospective records that she was mocked before the film's release with the question of whether the heroine was dark-skinned.[8](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/558295-saritha.html) A Dinamalar retrospective credits her with breaking the prevailing convention that a film heroine had to be fair-skinned and slim.[9](https://www.dinamalar.com/cinemanews/121791)
## Career with Balachander and in Tamil cinema
Saritha became a staple of Balachander's films, with roles in *Thappu Thalangal*, *Idi Katha Kaadu*, *Agni Sakshi*, *Kalyana Agathigal*, and *Achamillai Achamillai*, and she also delivered noted performances in *Aval Appadithan*, *Vandichakkaram*, *Netrikan*, *Puthukavithai*, *Thanneer Thanneer*, and *Mouna Geethangal*, sharing the screen with [Sivaji Ganesan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sivaji-ganesan), Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and [Vijayakanth](https://www.edgepedia.org/vijayakanth).[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) Her Tamil debut came in 1978 with a small role in *Aval Appadithan*.[10](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE)
Her performance as a wife who kills her corrupt politician husband in *Achamillai Achamillai* drew national attention: the National Film Archive of India's 1984 catalog grouped her with Shobhana, Sreevidya, and [Bhanupriya](https://www.edgepedia.org/bhanupriya) as actresses of high caliber giving memorable performances.[11](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/140_IPCatalogue1984.pdf)
## Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu work
In Malayalam, Saritha played a series of strong characters, several opposite [Mammootty](https://www.edgepedia.org/mammootty) as his wife: Janu in *Oru Kochu Kadha Aarum Parayatha Kadha* (1984), Dr. Indu in *Sandarbham* (1984), Marykutty in *Kaathodu Kaathoram* (1985), Seethalakshmi in *Kuttettan* (1990), and Indu in [Sibi Malayil](https://www.edgepedia.org/sibi-malayil)'s *Thaniyavarthanam* (1987), written by A. K. Lohithadas.[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) The Malayalam database lists 24 films for her in that language between 1980 and 2017.[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors)
In Kannada she worked with the veteran star Rajkumar in films including *Keralida Simha*, *Hosa Belaku*, *Chalisuva Modagalu*, and *Kaamana Billu*.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) Her Telugu work included *Idi Katha Kaadu*, *Tholi Kodi Koosindi*, *Kokilamma*, *Kanchana Ganga*, and *Kaliyuga Pandavulu*.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/)
## Dubbing and voice work
Alongside acting, Saritha built a substantial career as a dubbing artist, lending her voice to other actresses' performances. The MalayalaSangeetham profile names Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan, and [Soundarya](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundarya) among the actresses she dubbed for.[1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors)
## Personal life
Saritha married the Telugu actor Venkata Subbiah in 1975, before her film career began, and the two separated the same year.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) At the peak of her career in 1988 she married the Malayalam actor Mukesh, who was a smaller star at the time, and stepped away from cinema; the couple had two sons, Shravan and Tejas, and separated in 2011.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) • [1](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors) In interviews she has described abuse during that marriage, saying her husband kicked her while she was pregnant.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/) Her younger sister is the actress Viji Chandrasekhar, who entered [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema) through Rajinikanth's *Thillu Mullu*.[12](https://cineulagam.com/article/do-you-know-who-is-actress-saritha-sister-1762868917)
## Later career and comeback
After a decade away from Tamil screens, Saritha returned with [Santosh Sivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/santosh-sivan)'s *Inam* (2014); a Gulf News profile at the time recalled her for *Thaneer Thaneer* and *Achamillai Achamillai* and noted that her father, a film producer and distributor from Guntur, had suggested she audition for Balachander when she was in class eight.[13](https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/yesteryears-saritha-returns-to-tamil-screen-with-inam-1.1305719) She played the mentally unstable title character in [Balu Mahendra](https://www.edgepedia.org/balu-mahendra)'s *Julie Ganapathi* (2003).[10](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE) In 2023 she returned to prominence as Sivakarthikeyan's mother in *Maaveeran*, released on 14 July 2023, her first notable Tamil role in many years.[6](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-11105987) • [3](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/saritha.html)
## References
1. [Saritha, MalayalaSangeetham.Info actor profile](https://ml.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors)
2. [South India's most celebrated actress of 80s ruled 4 industries, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-10522668/)
3. [Saritha: Height, Age, Husband, Biography, Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/saritha.html)
4. [Saritha, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/)
5. [Saritha, Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765248/trivia/)
6. [Saritha comeback with Maaveeran, Tamil Indian Express](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/saritha-ruled-south-india-cinema-80s-destroyed-by-husband-abuse-kicked-me-when-i-pregnant-11105987)
7. [Saritha, MalayalaSangeetham.Info (English interface)](https://en.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?artist=Saritha&category=actors)
8. ['நடிப்பு ராட்சஷி' சரிதா, Hindu Tamil Thisai](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/558295-saritha.html)
9. [பிளாஷ்பேக்: நடிகைளின் இலக்கணத்தை உடைத்து எறிந்த சரிதா, Dinamalar](https://www.dinamalar.com/cinemanews/121791)
10. [சரிதா, Tamilar Wiki](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE)
11. [National Film Archive of India, 1984 catalogue](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/140_IPCatalogue1984.pdf)
12. [Actress Saritha's sister, Cine Ulagam](https://cineulagam.com/article/do-you-know-who-is-actress-saritha-sister-1762868917)
13. [Yesteryears Saritha returns to Tamil screen with 'Inam', Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/yesteryears-saritha-returns-to-tamil-screen-with-inam-1.1305719)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Tamil film actors › Surnames R to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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