Potpourri of tidbits about Tamil cinema - Rajasulojana

Rajeevalochana … this was the name given by her parents. When the headmistress of the school asked her for her name on the first day, the girl-child pronounced it as ‘Rajasulojana’! And, the name was taken on record with suitable spelling! At that time, no one would have thought that the child who ‘named’ herself was going to become a popular artiste in future. The veteran artiste Rajasulochana was born to the couple Bhaktavatsala Naidu – Devaki on 15th August, 1934 at Viyayawada.

Rajasulochana swept the cine-goers off their feet with her charming looks and glamorous acting. She has more than 300 films to her credit with the number including films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada. I had met her only twice during her earlier days in the industry. And, recently, I met her to invite her for some functions. I was struck with her simplicity and hospitality that had always been part of her nature even during her busy days in the celluloid world.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: How did you get the idea of entering films?

A: My father belonged to Chittoor while my mother was a native of Vijayawada. Though Telugu was my mother tongue, I studied at a school in Triplicane as my parents had settled down in Chennai by that time. As I was interested in ‘bharathanatyam’ from my early days itself, I took formal training in it. The Kannada director Sinha, who happened to watch my dancing in the get-up of Lord Krishna, encouraged me to enter films and with my mother’s support I entered the industry through the Kannada film ‘Gunasaagari’.

Q: What followed then …?

A: I did minor roles in Kannada films for some time. Those films, when dubbed in Tamil and released, caught the attention of the producers and directors in the Tamil industry. Noticing my performance, they approached me for their projects. My films in Tamil include ‘Naalvar’, ‘Maangalyam’, ‘Manohara’, ‘Thoothukudi’, ‘Malaikallan’, ‘Pennarasi’, ‘Ellaam inba mayam’, ‘Vanangamudi’, ‘AAsai’, ‘Marmaveeran’, ‘Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum’, ‘Raja rani’, ‘Sarangathara’, ‘Padithaal mattum pothumaa’, ‘Gulepakaavali’, ‘Thai magalukku kattiya thaali’, ‘Arasilangkumari’, ‘Nallavan vaazhvaan’, ‘Parisu’, ‘Idhayakani’, ‘Ilanjodigal’, ‘Enga veettu Velan’, ‘Sabhaash’, ‘Manaivi sollae mantiram’, etc. The list is long.