Krishna Kumari (actress)

Krishna Kumari was born in Naihati, West Bengal to Venkoji Rao and Sachi Devi. Her family hails from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Her sister, Sowkar Janaki was also a leading actress in Telugu and Tamil cinema.

T. Krishna Kumari started her career with movie Navvithe Navaratnalu in 1951. She featured as leading actress in several Tamil movies, notably Thirumbi Paar (1953), Manithan (1953), Azhagi (1953), Pudhuyugam (1954), Viduthalai (1954) and Thuli Visham (1954). Krishna Kumari then began to focus on Telugu cinema, which propelled her to superstardom. Her movies Bharya Bhartalu (1961), Vagdanam (1961), Kulagothralu (1962), Gudi Gantalu (1964) remain some of Telugu cinema's classics. In the early 60s, Krishna Kumari entered the Kannada film industry briefly, choosing to return to her preferred Telugu cinema within years. But in the short span of 5–6 years, she gave memorable performances, most of them co-starring Dr Rajkumar. In fact, her first ever award was for the Rajkumar starrer, Bhaktha Kanakadasa (1960). In Hindi, she acted in Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala (1958). She was rechristened Rati but again, Hindi cinema held no attraction for Krishna Kumari. Although she had several offers in Hindi cinema, she returned to Madras. Her most successful movies have been with Akkineni Nageswara Rao, NT Rama Rao and also several mythological roles with Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao.

Krishna Kumari acted in 150 Telugu films, and about 30 Tamil and Kannada films. Her repertoire won her fans across Indian states and the President's Award.

She was married to Ajay Mohan Khaitan (ex-Editor, Indian Express, founder of Screen magazine and Businessman) and they have a daughter, Dipika. After marriage, Krishna Kumari chose to step away from the arclights. She is interested in cooking and gardening. She lives in Bengaluru with her daughter, son-in-law, Vikram and grandson, Pavan.