Bhanupriya

Bhanupriya (born Manga Bhanu; 15 January 1967) is an Indian actress and dancer. In a four decade old career, she has appeared in 155 feature films, predominantly in Telugu and Tamil, and a few in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She has starred in a variety of roles, which garnered her three state Nandi Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and two Cinema Express Awards.

Bhanupriya
Bhanupriya Portrait.
Born	Manga Bhanu (1967-01-15) 15 January 1967 (age 57) Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Adarsh Kaushal ​ (m. 1998⁠–⁠2018)​
Children	1
Relatives	Shantipriya (sister)

Early life

Bhanupriya was born on 15 January 1967^[1] in Rangampeta village near Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu-speaking family, to Pandu Babu and Ragamali. She was named Mangabhanu after birth.^[2][3] Her family later moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She has an elder brother Gopikrishana and a younger sister Shantipriya, who has also been a film actress since the 1990s.^[4][5]

Career

She was one of the top mainstream actresses for more than a decade from 1983 to 1995. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film Mella Pesungal (1983).^[6] She then appeared in the Telugu hit Sitaara, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. She then played an ornithologist in the 1985 mystery film Anveshana. In 1986, she made her Hindi film debut with Dosti Dushmani.^[7] In 1988, she appeared in Swarnakamalam, which was screened at the Indian panorama section of the 1988 International Film Festival of India^[8] and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.^[9] Bhanupriya received the Indian Express Award for Best Actress,^[10] the Nandi Award for Best Actress, and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance in the film.^[11][12] In 1989 and 1991, her performances in the Tamil hits Aararo Aariraro, and Azhagan brought her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prizes, respectively.^[13] She received the JFW Divas of South India Award for her contribution to South Indian cinema, the Gemini TV Puraskaram for lifetime achievement in television and various other honours.^[4][5]

Personal life

Bhanupriya married Adarsh Kaushal, a digital graphics engineer, at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Malibu, California, on 14 June 1998. The couple has a daughter, Abhinaya, born in 2002.^[4][5] Bhanupriya returned to India, and resumed her acting career. She lives in Chennai with her daughter.^[14] Kaushal died in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest.^[15]

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

List of films and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1983	Mella Pesungal	Uma	Tamil	Tamil debut
1984	Etho Mogam
	Sitaara	Sitaara/Kokila	Telugu	Telugu debut
	Rowdy	Ganga
	Eduruleni Monagallu	Rani
	Ramayanamlo Bhagavatam
	Palnati Puli	Rani
	James Bond 999	Neelima
	Chadarangam	Meena
	Gruhalakshmi	Swapna Priya
	Illale Devata	Radha
1985	Jhansi Rani	Jhansi Rani
	Mogudu Pellalu	Saroja
	Musugu Donga	Swapna
	Chiranjeevi	Shanti
	Bangaru Chiluka	Hema/Chilaka		Dual Role
	Preminchu Pelladu	Radha
	Jwala
	Thendral Thodhata Malar		Tamil
	Garjana	Vijaya	Telugu
	Kutumba Bandham	Lakshmi
	Illaliko Pariksha
	Aatmabalam	Vaishali
	America Alludu	Radha
	Vijetha	Priyadarsini
	Anveshana	Hema
1986	Bhale Mitrulu	Bharathi
	Manchi Manasulu	Janaki
	Pratibhavantudu
	Sravana Meghaalu
	Samajamlo Sthree
	Konaseema Kurradu	Jyothi
	Kashmora	Tulasi
	Dosti Dushmani	Rekha	Hindi	Hindi Debut
	Aalapana	Usha	Telugu
	Apoorva Sahodarulu	Roja
	Anadiga Aadadi
	Anasuyamma Gari Alludu	Rukmini
	Chadastapu Mogudu	Janaki
1987	Srinivasa Kalyanam	Lalitha
	Shankaravam	Jyothi
	Prema Samrat	Madhulatha
	Insaf Ki Pukar	Rani	Hindi
	Prema Deepalu		Telugu
	Chakravarthy	Rani
	Karthika Pournami	Abilasha/Gowri		Dual Role
	Khudgarz	Jaya Saxena	Hindi
	Donga Mogudu	Priyamvada	Telugu
	Allari Krishnayya	Lalitha
	Dharmapatni	S.I Vidya
	Jebu Donga	Bujji
1988	Mar Mitenge	Jenny	Hindi
	Bharatamlo Bala Chandrudu	Bhanu	Telugu
	Nyayaniki Siksha
	Agni Keratalu	Bhanurekha
	Tiragabadda Telugu Bidda	Padma
	Tamacha	Seema	Hindi
	Khaidi No. 786	Radha	Telugu
	Trinetrudu	Pratyusha
	Swarnakamalam	Meenakshi		Nandi Award for Best Actress
1989	Suryaa: An Awakening	Shanoo	Hindi
	State Rowdy	Asha	Telugu
	Bhagawan	Rekha
	Black Tiger
	Dav Pech	Sunita Verma	Hindi
	Garibon Ka Daata	Naina
	Gudachari 117		Telugu
	Kasam Vardi Ki	Aarthi	Hindi
	Ashoka Chakravarthy	Urmila	Telugu
	Aararo Aariraro	Meenu	Tamil	Filmfare Award for Best Actress Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize
1990	Zahreelay	Seema	Hindi
	Sirayil Pootha Chinna Malar	Chitra	Tamil
	Jayasimha	Geetha	Telugu
	Chatriyan	Banu	Tamil
1991	Bhabhi	Sita/Kamini	Hindi	Dual Role
	Pudhu Manithan	Sugandhi	Tamil
	Gopura Vasalile	Kalyani
	Sri Edu Kondala Swamy	Goddess Padmavati Devi	Telugu
	Pondatti Sonna Kettukanum	Indira	Tamil
	Azhagan	Priya Ranjan		Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize
	People's Encounter		Telugu
	Bramma	Pavitra	Tamil
	Thalapathi	Padma
	Thaipoosam	Sivagami
	Ramudu Kadhu Rakshasudu	Revathi	Telugu
1992	Magudam	Bhavani	Tamil
	Bharathan	Indhu
	Therku Theru Machan	Parimala
	Sundara Kandam	Deivanai
	Pangali	Saidhai Tamizharasi
	Rajashilpi	Durga	Malayalam	Malayalam debut
	Amaran	Sivagaami	Tamil
	Kaviya Thalaivan	Priya/Saradha		Dual Role
	Vaaname Ellai	Herself		Guest Appearance in a special song
	Neenga Nalla Irukkanum	Anjalai
1993	Kattalai	Vijaya
	Porantha Veeda Puguntha Veeda	Amudha
	Bhagath		Telugu
	Maharasan	Selvi	Tamil
	Mutrugai	DSP Bhavani
	Rajadurai			Guest Appearance in special song
	Kirayi Gunda		Telugu
	Gokulam	Gayathri/Mary	Tamil	Dual role
	Uzhavan
1994	Rasika		Kannada	Kannada debut
	Ish Gup Chup	Ravali	Telugu
	Bangaru Mogudu	Amulya
1995	Highway	Meera	Malayalam
	Pedarayudu	Lakshmi	Telugu
	Chakravarthy	Bhanu	Tamil
1996	Azhakiya Ravanan	Anuradha	Malayalam
	Amma Durgamma	Goddess Durga	Telugu
1997	Mama Bagunnava	Gowri
	Aahaa..!	Geeta		Cameo appearance
	Annamayya	Goddess Padmavathi
	Kulam	Subhadra	Malayalam
	Rishyasringan	Poornima
	Thalaimurai	Panchavarnam	Tamil
	Aahaa..!	Rajeswari (Raaji)
1999	Endrendrum Kadhal	Pooja
	Anantha Poongathe	Banu		Guest Appearance
2000	Annai	Kanagamagalatchumi
	14 February Necklace Road		Telugu	Guest appearance
	Ayodhya Ramayya	Padmavathi
	Jayam Manadera	Bhuvaneswari
	Hindustan: The Mother
	Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal	Maya Varma	Malayalam
	Devara Maga	Annapoorna	Kannada
2001	Sri Raja Rajeshwari	Goddess Parasakthi	Tamil
	Thaali Kaatha Kaaliamman	Goddess Kaali
2002	Simhadriya Simha	Lakshmi	Kannada
	Naina	Azhagu Nachiyar	Tamil
	Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo	Indu	Telugu	Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004	Jai	Veerapandi's wife/Jai's mother	Tamil	Dual Role
	Jore	Meenakshi
	Chellamae	Herself		Guest Appearance in a song "Kummi Adi"
	Manjupoloru Penkutti	Arundathi	Malayalam
	Kadamba	Yamini	Kannada
	Sravanamasam	Rajyam	Telugu
2005	Orey Pandu	Akhilandeswari
	Gowtam SSC	Bhanu
	Chhatrapati	Rajya Lakshmi		Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Hridayathi Sookshikkaan	Sreenath's mother	Malayalam
2006	Raathrimazha
2007	Oru Ponnu Oru Paiyan	Ganga	Tamil
	Polladhavan	Thilaka
2008	Mahayagnam		Telugu
	Theekuchi	Sakthi	Tamil
	Pellaindi Kaani	Rajeshwari	Telugu
2009	Mesthru		Kannada
2010	My Name is Amruta		Telugu
2012	3	Ram's mother	Tamil
	Dammu	Vasundhara	Telugu
2013	Chatrapathi		Kannada
2014	Avathaaram	Akkamma	Telugu
2017	Shivalinga	Sarala	Tamil
	Magalir Mattum	Rani Amirthakumari
2018	Mahanati	Durgambha	Telugu
	Kadaikutty Singam	Panchavanmadevi	Tamil
2021	Natyam	Sitara's mother	Telugu
2022	Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal		Tamil
2024	Ayalaan	Tamizh's mother

Dubbing artist

Year	Film	Dubbed for	Language	Notes	Ref
1996	Indian	Urmila Matondkar	Tamil	Also dubbed for the telugu version Sathya (1998)
1997	Suryavamsam	Priya Raman	Tamil
1997	Thayin Manikodi	Nivedita Jain	Tamil

Television

List of television shows and roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Channel
1989	Vishwamitra	Menaka	Hindi	DD National
1991	Penn		Tamil
1997-1998	Sakthi		Tamil	Sun TV
2000	Manase Mandiram		Telugu	Gemini TV
2000-2001	Vaazhkkai	Seetha	Tamil	Sun TV
2000	Gopi AVM	Yasodha	Tamil	Sun TV
2001-2002	Take It Easy Vaazhkai	Story Narrator	Tamil	DD Podhigai/Sun TV
2004	Deivam	seetha	Telugu	Gemini TV/Star Maa
2005-2006	Porandha Veeda Pugundha Veeda	Raji	Tamil	Sun TV
2012-2013	Aaha	Raji	Tamil	Vijay TV
2016–2017	Nathicharami	Yamuna	Telugu	Gemini TV

Awards

Nandi Awards^[16]

• Best Actress - Swarna Kamalam (1988)
• Best Character Actress - Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo (2002)
• Best Supporting Actress - Chatrapati (2005)

Filmfare Awards South

• Best Actress - Telugu in 1988 for her performance in Swarna Kamalam
• Best Actress - Tamil in 1989 for her performance in Aararo Aaariraro

Other Awards

• Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 1989 for the film Aararo Aaariraro
• Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 1991 for the film Azhagan
• Cinema Express Awards in 1996 for the film Peddarayudu
• Screen Videocon Award for the television serial Shakti.
• JFW Divas of South - Awarded on 12 October 2012 by Just for Women magazine for her contribution to south Indian cinema.

References

1. "భానుప్రియ-వంశీ కాంబినేషన్ అంటేనే..." Sakshi (in Telugu). 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
2. "సితార - జనవరి 15 (సినీ చరిత్రలో ఈరోజు) - ఈరోజే". సితార (in Telugu). 15 January 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
3. Chauhan, Ramesh (7 January 2017). "నాట్య మయూరి భానుప్రియ!". Mana Telangana (in Telugu). Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
4. "An Interview with Bhanu Priya". www.indolink.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
5. "For actor Banupriya family comes first now". The Hindu. 28 September 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
6. S.R. Ashok Kumar (1 October 2006). "For Bhanupriya family comes first now". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
7. "32nd National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
8. "Directorate of Film Festival". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
9. "Dance without frontiers: K Viswanath – Director who aims to revive classical arts". 2 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
10. Express News Service (11 March 1989), "Cinema Express readers choose Agni Nakshathiram", The Indian Express, p. 4, archived from the original on 11 October 2020, retrieved 7 October 2016
11. Vidura. C. Sarkar. 1989.
12. - Ranjana Dave (30 June 2011). "The meaning in movement". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
13. Anandan, Film News (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru (Tamil Film History and Its Achievements). Sivagami Publications. p. 738.
14. SRIREKHA PILLAI (13 September 2004). "ABHINAYA, Bhanupriya's new love". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
15. Adivi, Sashidhar (3 February 2018). "Bhanu priya's ex husband passes away". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
16. "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)

External links

• Bhanupriya at IMDb