T. R. Rajakumari

Thanjavur Ranganayaki Rajayee (c. 1922 – September 20, 1999), popularly known by her screen name T. R. Rajakumari, was a Tamil film actress, Carnatic singer and dancer. She has been called the first "dream girl" of Tamil cinema.^[1]

Early life[edit]

Rajayee was born in 1922 in a family of carnatic musicians. Both her mother and her grandmother wanted Rajayee to become a singer and trained her in Carnatic music. Tamil movie director T. R. Ramanna is her brother who is married to Sakkubai.^{[citation needed]}

Film career[edit]

Rajayee made her film debut as "T. R. Rajakumari" in the 1939 Tamil film Kumara Kulothungan which was an average grosser. Her second film Kacha Devayani(1941) was a hit and helped launch her career in movies. There is some confusion about in which film she actually made her debut as Kacha Devayani's director K. Subramaniam later insisted that he was the one who introduced her to films.^[2]^[3] In 1944, Rajakumari starred in the record-breaking film Haridas alongside M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and gained recognition for her glamorous portrayal.^[4] Ekaambavanan (1943)

In her Tamil film career, Rajakumari acted as the female lead to many major film stars including Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Mahalingam, K. R. Ramaswamy, P. U. Chinnappa, M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. She also started a film production company (with her brother T. R. Ramanna) called "R. R. Pictures" and produced films like Vaazhapirandhavan (1953), Koondukkili (1954), Gul-E-Bagaavali (1955), Paasam (1962), Periya Idathu Penn (1963), Panam Padaithavan(1965) and Parakkum Paavai (1966). Her last film as an actress was Vaanampadi (1963).^[5]

Later life and death[edit]

Rajakumari died on September 20, 1999 after a prolonged illness.^[6]

Partial filmography[edit]

Year	Title^[7]	Role	Co-Star	Notes
1936	Devdas	Chandramukhi		Hindi film
1939	Kumara Kulothungan
1941	Kacha Devayani
1941	Manthaaravathi
1941	Soorya Puthiri		Kothamangalam Seenu
1942	Sathi Suganya		C. Honnappa Bhagavathar
1942	Manonmani		P. U. Chinnappa
1943	Sivakavi		M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, S. Jayalakshmi
1943	Kubera Kuchela		P. U. Chinnappa
1944	Haridas	Haridas' mistress	M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, N. C. Vasanthakokilam
1944	Prabhavathi		C. Honnappa Bhagavathar
1945	Saalivaahanan		Ranjan, K. L. V. Vasantha
1946	Valmiki		C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, U. R. Jeevarathinam
1946	Vikatayogi		P. U. Chinnappa
1947	Pankaja Valli		P. U. Chinnappa
1948	Chandralekha		M. K. Radha
1949	Krishna Bakthi		P. U. Chinnappa
1949	Pavalakkodi		T. E. Varadhan
1950	Idhaya Geetham		T.R. Mahalingam
1950	Vijaya Kumari		K. R. Ramaswamy
1951	Vanasundari		P. U. Chinnappa
1952	Amarakavi		M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
1953	Anbu		Sivaji Ganesan
1953	En Veedu		Chittor V. Nagaiah
1953	Panakkaari		Chittor V. Nagaiah, M. G. Ramachandran
1953	Vazha Pirandavan
1954	Manohara	Vasanthasenai	Sivaji Ganesan
1955	Rajakumari
1955	Gulebagavali		M. G. Ramachandran, G. Varalakshmi
1957	Pudhumai Pithan		M. G. Ramachandran, B. S. Saroja
1957	Thangamalai Ragasiyam		Sivaji Ganesan, M. N. Nambiar
1959	Thanga Padhumai		Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini
1962	Paasam		M. R. Radha, M. G. Ramachandran
1963	Periya Idathu Pen ]] M.G.R., Saroja Devi Vanambadi \|\| \|\| S. V. Sahasranamam, S. S. Rajendran \|\|