Palivai Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (English: Palivai Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, born- 7 September, 1925; died- 24 December, 2005) was an Indian actress, film director, music director, singer, producer, novelist and lyricist. Widely known as the first female superstar of Telugu cinema, P. Bhanumathi appeared in more than 100 films mainly in Telugu and Tamil languages. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the year 2001 for her contribution to Indian cinema. She was honored at the 30th ‘International Film Festival’ of India. P. Bhanumathi has a great reputation as a great storyteller in the field of literature.
P. Bhanumathi was born on September 7, 1925 in Doddavaram village in Prakasam district near Ongole in Andhra Pradesh. She was the third child of Bommaraju Saraswathamma, Venkata Subbaiah. She grew up watching her father perform in various stage shows. P. Bhanumathi’s father Venkata Subbaiah was a lover of classical music and taught her music from an early age.
Considered the first female superstar of Telugu cinema and the South Indian film industry, P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna was a versatile actress, composer, director, singer and writer who was also known for her philanthropy. She was called ‘Ashtavadani’, one who could perform eight tasks simultaneously. She acted in over a hundred Tamil and Telugu films, from her debut film in ‘Vara Vikrankatam’ (1939) at the age of 13 to her last film ‘Pelli Kanuka’ in 1998.[1]
In her first role in ‘Vara Vikramayam’ directed by C. Pullayya, P. Bhanumathi played a teenager who is forced to marry an old man. The character eventually commits suicide. The director of the film was looking for an actress who could sing and the young Bhanumathi Ramakrishna emerged as the ideal choice. Her skills as a singer landed her lead roles in films like ‘Malathi Madhavam’ (1940) and ‘Dharma Patni’ (1941).
By the age of 18, Bhanumathi had established herself as an actor. It was on the sets of her fifth film ‘Krishna Prema’ (1943) that she met her future husband, assistant director P.S. Ramakrishna Rao. Despite her father’s objections, she proposed to Rao and married him the same year. She later named her production house ‘Bharani Pictures’ after her son.
When P. Bhanumathi entered the Tamil film industry, she used to earn up to Rs 25,000 per film. This was almost half the production cost of those times. One of her most famous roles was in the 1951 musical hit and Telugu classic ‘Malliswari’, in which she starred opposite Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao or N.T.R., who went on to become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.[1]
With the launch of their production house in 1947, the husband-wife duo made a total of 15 films, including superhits like ‘Laila Majnu’ (1949) and the National Award-winning ‘Vipranarayana’ (1954). After this, P. Bhanumathi started exploring other roles behind the camera, from directing to writing.
Bhanumathi had decided to retire from acting after her marriage, but it was director B.N. Reddy who convinced her to do so. The actor made a comeback with the 1943 film ‘Swarga Seema’, a loose adaptation of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. The film was a success in India and abroad and cemented P. Bhanumathi’s status among cinema icons.
One of the things that set P. Bhanumathi apart from her peers in the industry at the time was her diverse choice of roles in films. She was not just a romantic, fun-loving woman on screen. She also played women who could be manipulative and who indulged in adultery. No matter what role P. Bhanumathi played, her strong personality and sense of humour remained intact. Famous Telugu director Chakrapani said in an interview, “The audience would not watch Bhanumathi cry, rather they would love to see if she makes others cry”.[1]
P. Bhanumathi died on 24 December 2005 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
