Noted yesteryear actor Rajasulochana, who had acted in over 250 films with leading actors in five languages in the 1950s and 60s, breathed her last on early Tuesday. She was 78.
The actor is among the rare few to have acted alongside the leading actors of various film industries, including M G Ramachandran, ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan, N T Rama Rao, Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar and Rajkumar. She was also well versed in various forms of Indian classical dance, notably Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.
The actor is survived by her son, Shyam, and twin daughters, Sri and Devi.
Speaking to Express, Devi said that her mother was suffering from a kidney problem for the last four days or so and had to be hospitalised. “She passed away at 2.45 am,” she added. Her body was on display at her residence in Madipakkam for the public, which also included film personalities.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in a condolence message, expressed grief at the demise of the actor. “I am deeply saddened to know about Rajasulochana’s demise, which is a loss to the film fraternity as a whole. She was an affable person and had carved a niche for herself in the industry.”
Rajasulochana alias Pilliarchetty Bhakthavatsalam Naidu Rajeevalochana was born on August 15, 1935, at Bezwada (Vijayawada) in the then Madras Presidency. She received training in various dance forms from a host of experts like Kalamandalam Madhavan and Vempati Chinna Satyam. She made her cinematic debut in 1953 in the Kannada film Gunasagari, which was remade in Tamil as Satya Sodanai.
The founder of a dance school, Pushpanjali Nrithya Kala Kendram, her debut in the Tamil industry was through the film, Penarasi. She then went on to debut in Bollywood, notable among her movies being the Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer, Chori Chori and Sitaron Se Aage, that also starred Ashok Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. She was married to the Telugu movie director C S Rao.