Malashri to Telugu speaking parents is an Indian film actress. She has predominantly worked in Kannada movies and was the topmost heroine in the 1990s. She has also worked in Tamil and Telugu cinema. Malashri was popular for playing diverse roles in women-centric movies many of which were highly successful at the box-office. She was popularly called Kanasina Rani in the media. Malashri made her debut as a heroine with the Kannada film Nanjundi Kalyana. Her portrayal of a haughty, shrewish woman won her accolades and heralded her as a top actress of Kannada Cinema. She established herself as the topmost heroine in Kannada cinema with films like Gajapathi Garvabhanga, Policena Hendthi, Kitturina Huli, Rani Maharani, Hrudaya Haadithu, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Ramachaari, Belli Kalungura, Solillada Saradara and Gadibidi Aliya. In 2015 she won her first Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for her actin-oriented role in Ganga.
Career
Child artiste
Malashri began her career as a child artiste and appeared in 34 films in Tamil and Telugu and she played the role of a boy in 26 of them. In a talk show, Majaa Talkies, she said that as a child, she was a fan of actor Amitabh Bachchan and would dress up like him, which prompted directors to cast her as a boy, in 1979 films like Imayam and Neela Malargal.
Lead roles
Writer and lyricist Chi. Udaya Shankar introduced Malashri to the Rajkumar family when they were on the look out for a fresh face opposite their son Raghavendra Rajkumar who was gearing to make his debut. Parvathamma Rajkumar decided to cast her in Nanjundi Kalyana and rechristened her from Durga to Malashri. Malashri went on to act in two other films with Vajreshwari Combines, Gajapathi Garvabhanga opposite Raghavendra again, and Mruthyunjaya with Shiva Rajkumar. In 1990 Malashri took on the famous double role in Rani Maharani and won a huge fan following with her powerhouse performance. Her next filmHrudaya Haadithu where she played a young woman inflicted with a heart problem won her acclaim from the masses and critics alike as well as the Filmfare Best actress award for 1991. As she churned out hit after hit even the stalwart V. Ravichandran, who till then believed only in importing heroines from other states, cashed in on her popularity by casting her in Ramachaari . The move paid off, enabling him to come out of the financial crisis he faced due to the debacle of Shanti Kranti. In later part of the 90s, Malashri had a string of less successful films like Prema Khaidi, Snehada Kadalalli, Megha Mandara, Arishina Kumkuma, and Solillada Saradara. She took brief hiatus after marriage and made comeback in the new millennium with "angry woman" roles in Chamundi, Kannadada Kiran Bedi, Shakti, Veera and Ganga.
Personal life
Malashri was born and brought up in Madras. She shot to fame with Nanjundi Kalyana in 1989 but her personal life hit an all-time low the same year when her mother died in a road accident. She was in a relationship with actor Sunil, her co-star of many films. But in 1994 they met with a car accident and while Malashree suffered multiple injuries, Sunil died on the spot. It was rumoured that they had been planning to get married. She is currently married to film producer Ramu and they have a daughter together, Ananya. Her sister Subhashri was also an actress, who appeared in South Indian films.
