Actress Sharada Sharing Memories of Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Madhu, Ummer, Bahdur – Film Festival

The Three time National Award Winning Actress Sharada and Film Editor Beena Paul Shares her memories on the “in Conversation” segment of the 24th International Film Festival of Kerala. Actress Sharada shared her memories about the past acting life with Malayalam Actors Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Bahdur, Madhu, Ummar. Sharada was honoured at the 24th International Film Festival of Kerala.

The 24th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will honour two-time National Award winning actress Urvasi Sarada, by screening seven of her most celebrated films in the Retrospective category.

Swayamvaram (One’s Own Choice), directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, will be the opening film in this category. The other six films are Adoor’s ‘Elipathayam’, K.S.Sethumadhavan’s ‘Yakshi’, P.Bhaskaran’s ‘Iruttinte Athmavu’, Mooladhanam, Bharathan’s ‘Oru Minnaminuginte Nurunguvettam’ and A.Vincent’s ‘Thulabharam’.

Sharada was born Saraswati Devi in Tenali, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her parents Venkateswar Rao and Satyavathi Devi belonged to a family of agriculturalists. She has a brother, named Mohan Rao. Sharada was sent to Madras in her childhood to live with her grandmother Kanakamma. Sharada describes her grandmother as a “strict disciplinarian” who in the later days “wouldn’t even let the heroes touch her” and allowed “rehearsals only on Sundays”.^[4] Sharada started to learn dance when she was six. She used to perform during Dasara and other temple festivals. It was because of her mother’s desire that she learned dance. Her mother wanted her to become a “big star in cine field”. Though Sharada’s father was not too interested in the idea, he did not stop her. Sharada married Telugu actor Chalam, the couple later divorced. Currently Sharada is living with her brother’s family in Chennai.

When she grew up, she started acting in Telugu theatre. Her debut cinema was with a minor role in the Telugu film Kanyasulkam. However, she returned to theatre after that and did a major role in the Telugu version of Rakta Kanneeru, a Tamil drama. The play went to get staged over 100 times in Tamil Nadu.