Srividya

Srividya was this absolute powerhouse in South Indian cinema, especially from the '70s up into the early 2000s. She wasn’t just another pretty face on screen, either—she could act, she could sing, and she had this way of just owning every role she touched. Born in Chennai, with a comedian dad (Krishnamurthy) and a legit Carnatic legend for a mom (M. L. Vasanthakumari), you’d think life was set, but nah—her childhood was rough. Money problems. Her dad got sick, couldn’t work, so her mom had to hustle hard to keep things afloat. She started young, jumping into films with this little dance number in "Kumarasambhavam." People started noticing her after flicks like "Chattambikkavala" and "Chenda." But, honestly, the real game-changer was when she hit the Tamil film industry. That role in "Apoorva Raagangal" with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan? Huge. Total turning point. Her personal life was kind of a mess. There was this thing with Kamal Haasan that didn’t pan out. She married George Thomas even though her family wasn’t on board, and that blew up too—dragged out in court, but she came out on top. Later, she nailed those “mother” roles, like in "Thalapathi," where she played Rajinikanth’s mom. After losing her own mom, she shifted gears to TV, and honestly, she killed it there too. Srividya could sing, legit—she belted out songs in films and at music festivals, showing off her classical chops. Even when cancer hit, she kept working, just grinding through it all. She left such a mark—total legend, honestly.