Remembering Soundarya, the star of “Padaiyappa” and “Arunachallam” on her birth anniversary

Soundarya was the daughter of Kannada film producer and director, K.S. Sathyaranarayan. She made her debut to Kannada films in 1992 and her debut to Tamil a year later through the Karthik starrer, Ponnumani. He role in Ponnumani brought her huge fame and accolades.

Her subsequent Tamil films – Muthu Kaalai, Dear Son Marudhu and Senathipathi – were average grossers. She then got the opportunity to star opposite Rajinikanth in Arunachallam, a film that enjoyed hit status at the box-office and one that won numerous awards, including three state awards.

She also had a hit with the Kamalhaasan-Prabhu Deva  starrer, Kaadhala Kaadhala and then shared the screen with Sivaji Ganesan in two subsequent films – Mannavaru Chinnavaru and Padaiyappa.

Her role in Vijayakanth’s Thavasi won her a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress and received another nomination for her role in R. Parthiban’s Ivan.

Her last Tamil film was Vijayakanth’s Chokka Thangam – written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj.

On 17 April 2004, Soundarya and her brother were tragically killed when the aircraft in which they were travelling crashed soon after take-off. She was only 27 at the time.

Although her mpther tongue was Kannada, she is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Telugu cinema because of the variety and intensity of her roles in Telugu films.

Today marks the 49^th birth anniversary of Soundarya.