# Sulakshana (actress)
**Sulakshana** (சுலக்ஷனா; born 1965 in [Rajahmundry](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajahmundry), Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian film and television actress who worked predominantly in [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema), with appearances in Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam films.[1](https://www.archytele.com/person/sulakshana) • [2](https://cinemaone.net/actor/584410) She is a distinct person from the Hindi playback singer and actress [Sulakshana Pandit](https://www.edgepedia.org/sulakshana-pandit), who shares the given name.[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/the-life-and-times-of-the-singer-and-star-of-the-70s-sulakshana-pandit-20035.amp)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India[1](https://www.archytele.com/person/sulakshana) |
| Languages | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema[2](https://cinemaone.net/actor/584410) |
| Screen debut | Child artist at about two and a half years old, playing the child Krishna in *Kaaviya Thalaivi*, billed as Baby Dolly[4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) |
| Heroine debut | *Subhodayam* (1980, Telugu) opposite Chandramohan; Tamil heroine debut in *Thooral Ninnu Pochchu* (1982) opposite Bhagyaraj[5](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%A9%E0%AE%BE_%28%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%88%29) • [4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) |
| Film count | Over 350 films and more than 10 television serials, by her own account in a 2015 interview; a later interview gives more than 450 films[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQDP9IUSF8) • [4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) |
| Marriage | Married Gopikrishnan, son of the music director M. S. Viswanathan, with three sons from the marriage; she has spoken of the separation, which came when she was 23[7](https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/tamil/actress/sulakshana-gopikrishnan) • [8](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/celebrity-news/actress-sulakshana-gets-emotional-when-she-talks-about-her-divorce/articleshow/105949862.cms) |
| Comeback | Returned to acting through the television serial *Sahana* after a 12-year break from films[2](https://cinemaone.net/actor/584410) |
## Child artist years
Sulakshana entered films as a child performer. In interviews she has described an early scene at a shooting location: a three-year-old child chosen for a role was crying, and Sulakshana soothed the child and acted in her place, which led the producer and director present to ask her to act and brought her first opportunities.[4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) Her first credited role was as the child Krishna in *Kaaviya Thalaivi*, under her childhood screen name Baby Dolly.[4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) She debuted as a child star in the 1968 film *Thulabharam* and went on to appear as a child in films of the veteran actors [Sivaji Ganesan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sivaji-ganesan) and [Gemini Ganesan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gemini-ganesan).[9](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/interview/actress-sulakshana-reveals-many-secrets-about-sivakumar-123259.html)
## Heroine years
**Thooral Ninnu Pochchu.** After heroine roles in two other-language films, Bhagyaraj offered her the lead in *Thooral Ninnu Pochchu* (1982), which he directed and in which he starred. She has said she was a newcomer to Tamil and assumed she would be released after one schedule, but the film ran for about a year, and she has described it as the film that changed her career.[4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) She calls Bhagyaraj her guru, crediting his acting guidance for the fact that she continues acting today, though she said the two never worked together again after that film.[4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html)
She followed with a steady run of Tamil films through the 1980s and early 1990s, including *Police Police* (1983), *Thambikku Entha Ooru* (1984, opposite [Rajinikanth](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajinikanth), as Azhagi), *Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal* (1986), *Sindhu Bhairavi* (1985, as Bhairavi), *Paattukku Naan Adimai* (1990), and *Vaigasi Poranthachu* (1990, as Lakshmi).[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sulakshana) • [9](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/interview/actress-sulakshana-reveals-many-secrets-about-sivakumar-123259.html) In a December 2023 interview she recalled films such as *Thooral Ninnu Pochchu*, *Sindhu Bhairavi*, *Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey*, and *Thambikku Entha Ooru*, and collaborations with Rajinikanth and [Kamal Haasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kamal-haasan).[9](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/interview/actress-sulakshana-reveals-many-secrets-about-sivakumar-123259.html) A TMDB-based profile records 56 credited acting roles over the period 1980 to 2012.[1](https://www.archytele.com/person/sulakshana)
She also worked behind the microphone as a dubbing artist, dubbing for Revathi in *Punnaivai Mannan* and for Amala in [T. Rajendar](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-rajendar)'s *Mythili Ennai Kadhai*, at the request of her close friend Usha. She stopped after members of the dubbing union objected.[9](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/interview/actress-sulakshana-reveals-many-secrets-about-sivakumar-123259.html)
## Television and later career
After a twelve-year break from the film industry, Sulakshana returned to acting through the teleserial *Sahana*.[2](https://cinemaone.net/actor/584410) Her later television work includes *Deivam Thanda Veedu*, broadcast on Vijay TV, and *Kannana Kanne*, broadcast on Sun TV, alongside several other serials.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQDP9IUSF8) • [4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html) In 2015 she gave a retrospective interview covering her decades in the industry, her films in four South Indian languages, and her serial work.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQDP9IUSF8)
## Name confusion and source discrepancies
The name Sulakshana attaches to two Indian actresses of overlapping generations. This article concerns the South Indian film actress born in Rajahmundry; the separate figure Sulakshana Pandit, a Hindi playback singer and actress of the 1970s, is covered under her own name.[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/the-life-and-times-of-the-singer-and-star-of-the-70s-sulakshana-pandit-20035.amp)
The South Indian Sulakshana's own birth date is reported inconsistently: 1965 in TMDB-derived profiles and the Tamil wiki, 8 September 1964 in a Nettv4u profile, and 1 August 1965 in a YouTube biography description.[1](https://www.archytele.com/person/sulakshana) • [7](https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/tamil/actress/sulakshana-gopikrishnan) • [11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZX8zw4-x1g) Her total film count also varies between interviews, from more than 350 to more than 450.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQDP9IUSF8) • [4](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html)
## References
1. [Sulakshana: Movies, TV Shows & Biography, Archytele (TMDB-derived)](https://www.archytele.com/person/sulakshana)
2. [Sulakshana: Movies, CinemaOne](https://cinemaone.net/actor/584410)
3. [The life and times of the singer and star of the '70s, Sulakshana Pandit, Filmfare](https://www.filmfare.com/features/the-life-and-times-of-the-singer-and-star-of-the-70s-sulakshana-pandit-20035.amp)
4. [Actress Sulakshana talked about her experiences acting with actor Bhagyaraj, Tamil Oneindia](https://tamil.oneindia.com/television/actress-sulakshana-talked-about-her-experiences-acting-with-actor-bhagyaraj-506023.html)
5. [சுலக்சனா (நடிகை), தமிழர்விக்கி](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%A9%E0%AE%BE_%28%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%88%29)
6. [Exclusive Interview with Sulakshana Actress, Nettv4u/Thandora (YouTube, 2015)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQDP9IUSF8)
7. [Tamil Actress Sulakshana Gopikrishnan Biography, Nettv4u](https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/tamil/actress/sulakshana-gopikrishnan)
8. [Actress Sulakshana gets emotional when she talks about her divorce, Samayam Malayalam](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/celebrity-news/actress-sulakshana-gets-emotional-when-she-talks-about-her-divorce/articleshow/105949862.cms)
9. [Actress Sulakshana reveals many secrets about Sivakumar, Tamil Filmibeat](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/interview/actress-sulakshana-reveals-many-secrets-about-sivakumar-123259.html)
10. [Sulakshana Movies List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sulakshana)
11. [Actress Sulakshana Biography, AllCineGallery (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZX8zw4-x1g)
---
*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 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license