Kumari Kamala

Kumari Kamala Biography

Kumari Kamala is a noted Bharatnatyam dancer and actress. She was earlier married to cartoonist R. K. Laxman, though it ended in a divorce in 1960. She entered movies as a child actress and later became heroine. She has acted in more than 100 films belonging to Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada languages. In the 1970’s she turned a teacher of Vazhuvoor style of dance form. She received Kalaimamani title in 1967 followed by Kendra Sahitya Academy award the next year. Indian government honoured her with Padma Bhushan in the year 1970. E. Krishna Iyer Medal from the Sruti Foundation, Sangeeta Ratnakara at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and National Heritage Fellowship in 2010 are the major awards received after that.

She was born on 16 June 1934 in Mayuram, Madras Presidency of British India. She was born in a family of artists where her sisters, Radha and Vasanti were also dancers. She got opportunity to learn Kathak from famous Lachhu Maharaj of Lucknow Gharana from Mumbai at a younger age. She also studied Hindustani classical music from Shankar Rao Vyas. Once Tamil film director A.N. Kalyanasundaram Iyer happened to watch her doing a dance performance and he offered her a role for his upcoming movies -Valibar Sangam (1938) and Ramanama Mahimai (1939). She was only four years old then and thus she was named Baby Kamala. She also appeared as a child artist in Hindi films like Kismet and Ram Rajya in 1943.

Later she moved to Chennai with her mother to learn Bharatnatyam dance form. Kattumannarkoil Muthukumara Pillai and Vazhavoor Ramiah Pillai were her gurus. She appeared in Tamil movie, Jagathalaprathapan (1944) where she performed the Paampu attam. In her next film Sri Valli (1945), she played double role. Her film Nam Iruvar, based on Bharatnatyam made a great impact on audience. In 1953, Kamala performed during her coronation festivities of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1980, Kamala moved to New York permanently where she started a dance school in Long Island, Shri Bharatha Kamalalaya. She was first married to cartoonist R. K. Laxman. After divorce in 1960, she married and Jainand Narayan, an army officer was born from this wedlock.

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Updated: January 30, 2014