Memorable Mother Actresses of Kollywood
Tamil cinema and Thaaippasam (Motherly affection) are inseparable. One of the safest an80-90% of Tamil films
produced in a year will have a mother character with an importance in the script the screentime offered to them
will only differ.
Tamil cinema has seen some of the most memorable performances mother character and we have seen some great
actresses portraying the mother’s role in way that would give us the warmth of lying on our mother’s
lap.In this special occasion of International Mother’s day Indiaglitz presents a slideshow of the actresses
who have portrayed the most memorable mother roles in Tamil films, as a tribute to every mother on this earth.
Pandari Bai
She is the most respected woman artist during the black and white era. Though she has
acted as the pair of Sivaji Ganesan in a few films she is remember as the mother of MGR (Kudiyirundha Koil), Sivaji
Ganesan (‘Thavappudhalvan’, ‘Gauravam’), Rajinikanth (‘Mannan’) and many other
stars.
Manorama
Is it possible to complete the list without adding this acting legend? The
unavoidable comedienne cum character artis of the black and white era, Manorama gradually transformed as the
quintessential mother artist of Tamil cinema in late 1980s and 90s. She has acted in diversified mother roles in a
large number of films and it is hard to single out the best performance. She has acted of the mother of
Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, Sarathkumar, Sathyaraj and Karthik in many films.
S.N.Lakshmi
She is an actress who started acting in matured or aged roles. Her performance as
Nagesh’s widowed mother in the classic emotional flick ‘Server Sundaram’ will automatically make
you shed tears out of emotion. She has also given memorable motherly performances in later stages like the one in
‘Mahanadhi’ in which she is the mother-in-law but a mother like figure for Kamal Haasan.
Sujatha
Though she made her debut as a heroine, Sujatha very soon shifted to matured
characters and turned out to be the best fit for calm and caring mother characters of Tamil cinema in the 1990s. Her
performance as the mother of Superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan with whom she had acted as heroine during her
initial years and also in several other small budget films of the 90s, were well received by the audience.
Srividya
Srividya is considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses Tamil cinema has
ever seen. But she did not make it big as a heroine or at least as much as she did with character roles. She has
also performed some memorable mother characters in her illustrious career. The remarkable ones are ‘Aboorva
Sagotharargal’ with Kamal Haasan, ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’ with Vijay and ‘Aaha’ in
which she aptly represented the Brahmin mother who is rooted in tradition but very jovial with the younger members
of the family.
Sumithra
Like Srividya, Sumithra is also more popular for her character roles especially the
mother characters she effectively portrayed in the 1990s. Her performance in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Agni
Natchathiram’ as the mother of Prabhu and the step mother of Karthik is most remembered. She also gave some
dignified performances as the mother in super hit films like ‘Singaravelan.’
Kamala Kamesh
While there are a lot of other popular actresses who have made huge strides In mother
character, Kamal Kamesh is an actress who played mother roles and only mother roles without making much noise to
announce her presence. She has acted mainly in non-star small budget films but has won the hearts of audience with
her performance mostly as a coy and caring mother. She is a regular cast member for mother characters of Visu films.
The most memorable ones out of the long list are ‘Kudumbam ‘Manal Kayiru’ and ‘Samsaram Adhu
Minsaram’
Radhika
Radhika slowly evolved as a character artist who could portray elderly characters in
the late 1990s. She has been acting in mother characters since then. Her performance as the mother in films like
‘Suryavamsam’ , ‘Pavithra’ and ‘Uyirodu Uyiraga’ were impeccable. However the
recent ones, such as ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhan’ in which she played the police officer mother of Vijay
Sethupathi and ‘Theri her first film with Vijay in which she played the mother of a police officer are more
relatable to the current generation of audience.
Saranya
Saranya replaced Manorama as the quintessential mother actress of Tamil cinema in
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