Aarathi

Aarathi ( Kannada : ಆರತಿ ) is an actress, and a producer of Kannada movies. As a versatile actress, she dominated the Kannada film industry during the late 1970s and 1980s and was critically acclaimed for her roles in movies like Naagarahaavu, Edakallu Guddada Mele, Bili hendthi, Dharmasere, Paduvaaralli Pandavaru, Ranganayaki, Hombisilu, Upasane and Shubhamangala.

Career

Arathi was married initially to Puttanna Kanagal; she was Puttana's second wife. Arathi has acted with almost all the leading Kannada actors. With Rajkumar, she has acted in Kasturi Nivasa, Raja Nanna Raja, Sipai Ramu, Bangarada Panjara and Premada Kanike. However she was famous as a pair with "Pranaya Raja" Srinath, Ambarish and Vishnuvardhan. She fondly remembers that she was most comfortable working with Srinath and She was the first heroine for "Sahasa Simha" Vishnuvardhan. However she asserts that it was only immense respect to DR Rajkumar as he was much elder to her.

Former Minister Raghupathy married actress Arathi and later broke off the relationship [ [http://sify.com/movies/kannada/fullstory.php?id=14597046 S.M.Krishna and B Saroja Devi affair create ripples! - Sify.com ] ] . She quit the industry in 1987, and migrated to USA with Chandrashekar Desaigoudar an NRI - whom she later married for the Third time - and has been living there for the past 18 years. She has 2 daughters, Yashaswini from Puttanna Kanagal and another from Chandrashekar Desaigoudar.

During her career, she received both popular and critical acclaim—she won the state award several times, and is the second actress to be nominated to the Vidhana Parishat. Earlier she had also directed a TV Serial which she says she enjoyed the experience thoroughly. Currently she is back in Bangalore and has produced and directed a movie called Mithayi Mane(Candy House in English) based on her daughter Yashaswini's story. Did she find it difficult to direct a film? “No,” she replies thoughtfully. “It was actually a wonderful experience. I just would give my idea about how something should be done, and my artistes would understand and bring it out beautifully.” Was she influenced by the work of any talented directors she has worked with in the past, like Puttanna Kanagal, who was known to be her mentor? “Oh yes, not just by great directors I have worked with, but by many great movies I have watched,” she says. “My memories of my work with Puttanna Kanagal too, of course

She is also involved in many projects undertaken by her husband for underprivileged people taken up by the foundation started by him. Initially she had worked with battered women, street kids, and homeless immigrants from Mexico in California. Then Chandrashekhar suggested that she come back to India to do similar work. She landed in North Karnataka, where her star value, which she had quite forgotten, came in handy. "Many home-bound women were willing to get out because I was there!" she remembers. The foundation has given scholarships to many kids. "One of them is a doctor now," says Aarathi, eyes shining with pride. What dragged her back to films, finally, was her daughter's touching story on child labour which had "immense visual possibilities". With her husband's assurance on funding and a "three-day crash course" in filmmaking backing her, she jumped into directing. "I was nervous the first day, but it all came back to me once I got into it," she says beamingly.

The movie Mithayi Mane has won the Best Children's Film award for the year 2004-2005 issued by the Government of Karnataka.

References

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2005/05/13/stories/2005051303160100.htm

http://www.my-kannada.com/n/a/arc8-2005.shtml

http://wwwin.kodak.com/IN/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/publications/images/archived/janmarch05.pdf