Shanthamma

Biography Shanthamma was born in Kannuru, a locality in Bangalore of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore (in present-day Karnataka) in 1928. Despite initial opposition from her family, she began her career as an actor, first on stage, in 1949. In 1950, while with Gubbi Veeranna's stage company, she married co-actor Anil Kumar, the brother of B. Jayamma and Veeranna's brother-in-law. She had six children with him, the eldest of who, Suma, became an actress. As a child actor, she appeared in Shri Shaila Mahathme (1961). Another daughter Sunanda was also an actress, who quit the profession after appearing in seven films. Shanthamma's family resided in Madras (now Chennai) for 15 years, before moving to Bangalore.

Anil Kumar encouraged Shanthamma to act in films; he would later work a dance teacher in Vinayaka Krishna Gokak's company. Shanthamma made her film debut in 1956 with the Kannada film, Hari Bhakta. Her final screen appearance came in Endendigu (2015).

Selected filmography

Hari Bhakta (1956) Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960) Kaiwara Mahathme (1961) Mullum Malarum (1978) Kaamana Billu (1983) Indina Bharatha (1984) Bombay Dada (1991) Sabarimale Bombat Hendthi (1992) Rupayi Raja (1993) Aakasmika (1993)...Rajeeva Chinnari Mutha (1993) Karulina Koogu (1994) Doni Sagali (1998) Kallarali Hoovagi (2006) Romeo (2012) Alone (2015)