BANGALORE: Meet this gregarious and talkative actress of Sandalwood who has been facing the camera for 25 years. She is Tara who won the national award for her sterling performance in the film Haseena, a tear-jerker directed by national award winner Girish Kasaravalli.
Tara’s original name was Anuradha. It was changed to Tara by producer Kalaimani while she acted as the heroine in the Tamil film Ingeyum Oru Gangai in which late Murali was the hero. “My first Kannada film was Thulasidhala, directed by Vemagal Jagannath. I played Sharath Babu’s sister in that film,” recalls Tara.
Though she had the opportunity to play the heroine role in the Tamil film, she could not make it big. “As an artiste, I have no problems acting in other language films but my preference is Kannada,” says Tara. The actress has acted in around 500 films in the last 25 years and continues to face the camera. “I was in high school when I got the chance to act in Tulasidala. Later, I acted in Dhanavantha which was shelved due to financial problems. Later, I got an opportunity to act in Shivarajkumar's first film Anand in which Sudharani acted as the heroine. It was nice to see two people from Sri Vajreswari Combines come to R V High School to take me to the shooting location,” recalls Tara.
She played a key role in Girish Karnad’s film Kaanura Heggadathi. Her performance was appreciated by critics. “I was fortunate to share the screen with him,” confesses Tara.
She has received five awards from the state government for her performance in films such as Krama, Munjaane Manju, Kaanura Heggadathi and Cyanide.
She is expecting a national award for her performance in the forthcoming film Bhaageerathi directed by Baraguru Ramachandrappa. “I put in a lot of effort to give my best. I am sure that my performance in Bhaageerathi will get me the national award,” opines Tara.
What are Tara’s future plans? “I have been dreaming of becoming a director. I have prepared two scripts. One of them is based on a female playback singer. If everything goes as per plan, I will realise my dream within a few months,” said Tara.
Can Tara recall a memorable moment of her 25 years in Sandalwood? “I can never forget the moment of facing camera for the first time for film Tulasidhala,” she signs off.