Kanchana

Biography:

On August 16, 1939, in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India, Kanchana was born Vasundhra Devi to a Telugu-speaking family. When she was spotted by a friend of movie director C. V. Sridhar on an aircraft where he was a passenger, who later referred her to him, she was working as an air hostess to support her family after her father experienced economic losses. In 1963, Sridhar offered her the major part in Kaadhalikka Neramillai and changed her name to Kanchana because Vasundhara Devi, the mother of actress Vyjayanthimala, was already an actor.

With a great acting career, Kanchana appeared in over 150 films in the languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. She enjoyed fame as a main heroine in Tamil movies, particularly between 1964 and 1977. Her critically acclaimed films include Kaadhalikka Neramillai, Thedi Vantha Thirumagal, Parakkum Paavai, Kodimalar, Adhey Kangal, Bama Vijayam, Naalum Therindavan, Thangai, Thulabaram, Ponnu Mappilai, Shanti Nilayam, Chella Penn, Uthiravindri Ulle Vaa, Vilaiyaattu Pillai, Sivanda Mann, Nyayam Ketkirom, Avalukendru Or Manam, and Engalakkum Kaadhal Varum. She stopped acting in movies in the early 1980s.

She received the MGR award in 2005 and the ANR Swarna Kankanam award in 2007. Adhey Kangal, Kadhalikka Neram Illai, Utharavindri Ullevaa, Kadhal Jyoti, Thedivandha Thirumagal, and Naalum Therindavan are just a few of the popular films starring her and Ravichandran in Tamil. In movies like Kaadhalikka Neramillai, Kodimalar, Thulabharam (Tamil version), Thangai, Bama Vijayam, and Avalukendru Or Manam, she appeared as an actor with R. Muthuraman. Along with Vilayattu Pillai and Avan Oru Sarithiram, she co-starred in the smash film Sivandha Mann with Sivaji Ganesan. She starred in two MGR films as the second main heroine, Naan Yen Pirandhen and Parakkum Paavai.

In addition, she appeared in Tamil films alongside several popular Tamil actors, including A. V. M. Rajan, S. S. Rajendran, Gemini Ganesan, Jaishankar, Ravichandran, and Sivakumar. In 1977, she appeared in Babruvahana in Kannada and Avan Oru Sarithiram in Tamil as the major heroine. Her performances in the films Manchivaadu and Pavitra Bandham received positive reviews. In the movie Veerabhimanyu, she portrayed Uttara. She appeared in the Annapurna Pictures feature Aatma Gowravam the next year under the direction of seasoned filmmaker K. Viswanath. Along with Shri Krishnavataram (1967), she appeared alongside Krishnam Raju in some glitzy parts like Neeti Nijayitee (1972), Parivartana (1975), Nenante Nene, and Dharma Daata.

After the court ruled against her parents, the actress was able to reclaim her properties in T. Nagar, Chennai, which were on around 6 grounds. It was discovered that one day her father signed Kanchana’s name on a piece of white paper and changed all of the assets into his name without her awareness. She prevailed in a protracted court struggle and reclaimed her money. On October 25, 2010, Kanchana and her sister Girija gave Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) their Chennai property, which was at the time estimated to be worth Rs. 15 crore. She is still content, unmarried, and living in Hyderabad right now.