Quick Facts
Biography
Kumari Rukmini (Birth: 19 April 1929 Death: 04 September 2007) is an Indian cine actress and dancer. She has acted in about 100 films in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages.
Childhood
She is the daughter of Nungambakkam Janaki, also an actress. She hails from Melattur in Thanjavur District.
During the shooting of Harichandra in Bombay (now Mumbai) the producers were looking for a young actor to feature as Lohidasan. Kumari Rukmini, as a child, was staying with her parents in the next room where T. P. Rajalakshmi who was the female lead in the film, was staying. The producers talked to the parents and made Kumari Rukmini to feature as Lohidasan in the film. Thus began her film career.
Film career
She featured in many films together with T. P. Rajalakshmi. Her first film as heroine was Sri Valli in which she acted as Valli paired with T. R. Mahalingam.
In 1946 she featured in Lavangi paired with the multi-talented Y. V. Rao. While the shooting of this film was going on both she and Rao fell in love with each other and later got married. Cine actress Lakshmi is their daughter.
Partial Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Harichandra | Lohidasan | Child Artist |
| 1937 | Chintamani | Child Artist | |
| 1937 | Balayogini | Child Artist | |
| 1938 | Desa Munnetram | Child Artist | |
| 1941 | Rishyasringar | Child Artist | |
| 1945 | Sri Valli | Goddess Valli | |
| 1946 | Lavangi | Jagannatha Pandita Rayalu's wife | |
| 1947 | Pankajavalli | Lord Krishna | |
| 1955 | Mullaivanam | ||
| 1961 | Kappalotiya Thamizhan | Meenatchiammal | V. O. Chidambaram Pillai's wife |
| 1963 | Mani Osai | ||
| 1963 | Idhayathil Nee | ||
| 1963 | Karnan | Radha | |
| 1965 | Vennira Aadai | Shobha's mother | |
| 1965 | Idhayak Kamalam | ||
| 1970 | Vilaiyaattu Pillai | ||
| 1971 | Irulum Oliyum | ||
| 1973 | Karaikkal Ammaiyar | Dharmavathi | Punithavathi's mother |
| 1976 | Rojavin Raja | ||
| 2000 | Kandukondain Kandukondain | Sivagnanam's mother |
Producer
She has produced two films in Hindi, viz. Lavangi and Manjari.
Death
After ailing for some time, Kumari Rukmini died on 4 September 2007 at her daughter's residence in Chennai.