#GoldenFrames: T. R. Rajakumari, Life in pictures...

Thanjavur Radhakrishnan Rajayee was born on May 5, 1922, to Radhakrishnan and Ranganayaki in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. She had two siblings, T. S. Damayanthi and T. R. Ramanna. T. R. Rajakumari was a Carnatic singer and dancer who is called the first 'dream girl' of Tamil cinema. Initially, she was known as T. R. Rajayee in movies, but later she was credited as T. R. Rajalakshmi. In her Tamil film career, Rajakumari acted as the female lead to many major movie stars, including Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Mahalingam, K. R. Ramaswamy, P. U. Chinnappa, M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. T. R. Rajakumari also started a film production company with her brother T. R. Ramanna, called 'R. R. Pictures' and produced quite a few movies.

In This Pic : T. R. Rajakumari, golden frames

Pic Courtesy : Wikipedia

T. R. Rajakumari was trained in music by her grandmother, who was a well-known Carnatic singer in Thanjavur. The actress was first spotted by American film director Ellis R. Dungan when she visited her aunt SP.L. Dhanalakshmi during the shooting of 'Kalamegam' (1940) in Chennai. Sadly, the director had no roles for her in his movie—all parts were filled. T. R. Rajakumari's aunt was a known actress in the Tamil industry.

(Photo: Still from the song 'Manam Mohana')

In This Pic : ​T. R. Rajakumari, golden frames

The family wanted Rajakumari to be an actress, so she continued to stay in Chennai. In 1938, the actress got her first break in the movie 'Kumara Kulothungan' (1939), which took almost four years to release. The movie was completed in 1938-1939, but there were no takers for it.

In This Pic : T. R. Rajakumari, golden frames

The actress's second movie, 'Manthiravathi' (1941), was directed by D.S. Marconi. However, the third movie 'Kacha Devayani' (1941), helped launch her career in movies. In the initial press ads of 'Kumara Kulothungan', her name appeared as T.R. Rajayee, and when the movie was released later, she was credited as T.R. Rajalakshmi. In 'Kacha Devayani', she was T.R. Rajakumari.

In This Pic : T. R. Rajakumari, golden frames

Pic Courtesy : Wikipedia

In no time, she became the top heroine of Tamil cinema—'Manonmani' (1942), 'Sivakavi' (1943), 'Haridas' (1944), and 'Chandralekha' (1948) are some of her best cinematic memories.

(Photo: Still from the movie 'Sivakavi')

In This Pic : T. R. Rajakumari, golden frames