Sunday 24 June, 2007


It is unbelievably tragical incident that happened this morning in Bangalore. Soundarya - the only heroine who acted with all superstars of South Indian cinema died in a most unfortunate plane crash near Jakkur aerodrome. She was flying to Karim Nagar (Andrapradesh) for BJP candidate Vidya Sagar Rao's election campaign. Soundrya's brother Amarnath and BJP youth leader Ramesh were there in the ill-fated Cessna that caught fire soon after its takeoff at 11.15 a.m. and crash-landed into GKVK campus. Plane busted off after a few minutes of the crash, the sources said. All three plus the pilot Joy Philip were charred completely on the spot to an extent of unrecognizable condition (click on the above image to see bigger picture). Couple of people nearby rushed to the burning aircraft to rescue the trapped victims but the plane busted off injuring even them and they are being treated in the hospital.This mini plane Cessna belonging to Agni Aviation was of 1955 model and received safety certificate till June 2004 during last December. And Joy was not a seasoned pilot. He had 380 hours of flying experience where it requires at least 240 hrs of flying experience to get a commercial license. Private planes play a major role during elections and its very important to make sure about its working condition as VVIPs fly in these. We can recall Madhav Rao Sindhiya's accident that happened three years back.Soundarya, daughter of senior film writer, industrialist K.S. Satyanarayan was born and brought up in Bangalore. She entered the glamour world through film Gandarva. She was the only heroine who acted with all super stars of South India namely Ravichandran, Vishnuvardhan, Rajanikanth, Chiranjeevi, Kamal Hasan, Mummutti, Mohan Lal and whats more, even with Amitabh Bachchan (Suryavamsh). Though hailed from Bangalore, she throb the hearts of many through Telugu films. She got many awards and accolades for her performance. Karnataka State Award in 1998-99 (Doni Saagali) Nandi Award given by Andra Pradesh Government (Pavitra Bandhanam and Ananthapuram). Not just as an actress but was also a producer Soundrya's film Dweepa directed by Girish Kasaravalli bagged the Swarna Kamal award. Naanu Nanna Hendteeru, Sipayi, Aryabhata, Nagadevate and Dweepa are some of her Kannada films. Her new film Shwetanaga is due for release and shooting her latest film Apta Mitra of Dwarakish production was completed a few days back informed Giri Dwarakish while talking to us today. After the death of her father, her brother Amarnath looked after all her assignments Unfortunately both sister and brother died in this accident. Soundarya was married to a software professional G S Raghu an year back and many didn't know that she was an MBBS graduate! One more of her project 'Kamali' based on a popular novel was suppose to start soon.

CAMPAIGN FOR BJP



BANGALORE, APRIL 17. Film actress Soundarya and three others were killed when the private four-seat Cessna 180 aircraft in which they were travelling crashed soon after takeoff from the Jakkur airfield on the outskirts of Bangalore today.
Ramesh Kadam, secretary, Hindu Jagrana Vedike, Soundarya's brother, Amarnath, and the pilot, John Philip, are the other victims. The bodies, which were burnt beyond recognition, were taken to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.
The 32-year-old actress was on her way to Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party. She campaigned in the Varthur Assembly Constituency, near here, on Friday.
The aircraft took off at 11.05 a.m. and turned in a westerly direction before crashing on the campus of the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra of the University of Agricultural Sciences. It had reached only a height of 100 feet before it crashed and burst into flames. B.N. Ganapathi, one of the two persons working on the experimental fields of the university, who rushed to the aircraft to save the occupants, said the plane wobbled before the crash. He suffered burns and was taken to hospital.
The debris of the aircraft which crashed near Bangalore on Saturday killing actress Soundarya and three others. - Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Manufactured in 1955, the aircraft belonged to Agni Aviation, a private company based at Jakkur. It was given the airworthiness certificate in December. Officials of Agni Aviation said the aircraft was owned by an information technology company in Pondicherry before being sold to it 18 months ago. The aviation company had flown it for 110 hours. The company offers small aircraft and helicopters for chartered flights and adventure sports. It was involved in the cloud-seeding operations, Project Varuna, taken up by the Karnataka Government last year.
The chief executive officer of the company, Arvind Sharma, said the Cessna was chartered by a person in Hyderabad for the election campaign.
A large crowd gathered at the scene of the crash. Police and firemen struggled to keep them at a safe distance. Soundarya's husband, another of her brothers, and her sister-in-law were among the first to reach the site.
The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, the Union Minister, Arun Jaitley, the Karnataka Minister for Urban Development, D.K. Shivakumar, and the BJP State unit president, H.N. Ananthkumar, rushed to the spot. The Director-General of Police, T. Madiyal, and the City Police Commissioner, S. Mariswamy, were present.
Mr. Madiyal said: "The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation will conduct the mandatory inquiry and the bodies will be handed over to the relatives after the inquest." Two local DGCA officials visited the crash site and the Agni Aviation office.
Mr. Krishna said that "it is a very unfortunate event ... we have lost a talented actress who was popular both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh." Mr. Jaitley said: "It is tragic that all four were young and the actress was actively involved in the election campaign ... while Soundarya was busy addressing election meetings, Amarnath was looking after media relations; Kadam was a popular BJP leader."
Mr. Krishna later ordered an investigation into the crash, according to the Karnataka Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, B.K. Chandrashekar.
Soundarya was later cremated here.

TOP 30 FILMS


Soundarya’s Top 30 films Munthiripookkalude Athidhi 2004 (announced) Kilichundan Mampazham 2003 Yathrakarude Sradhakku 2002 Kondaveeti Simhasanam 2002 9 Nelalu 2001 Dweepa 2001 Sri Manjunatha 2001 Eduruleni Manishi 2001 Nagadevathe 2000 Aazad 2000 Devi Putrudu 2000 Annayya 2000 Arundhati 1999 Padaiyappa 1999 Sooryavansham 1999 Anthahpuram 1998 Choodalani Vundi 1998 Arunachalam 1997 Maya Bazaar 1995 Muthu Kaalai 1995 Rikshavodu 1995 Ammoru 1995 Allari Premikudu 1994 Hello Brother 1994 Number One 1994 Shubhalagnam 1994 Madam 1993 Mayalodu 1993 Ponnumani 1993 Rajendrudru Gajendrudru 1993

PROFILE


Soundarya occupies a prominent place in the telugu film industry. With her glamour and hard working. She also has the potential to increase the market with her performance and the characters she portrays in her films. Her career graph has a steady rise since her debut with an upcoming hero like Harish, she has also acted with top heroes like Chiranjeevi, Amitabh and Rajnikanth. She is also the actress to get the most number of awards in the telugu industry.‘Soundarya’s mother tongue is Kannada. Her father Satyanarayana who was in Kannada film industry introduced her to telugu films. She changed her name from Saumya to Soundarya. Her debut film ‘Rythu Bharatam’ is produced by Maharathi but ‘Manamaralu Pelli’ was released first and is considered her debut movie. She exposed in the film, danced in rain, did kissing scene but later she stood firm on her decision of not exposing. She kept her word and through her performance she carved a niche for herself, and the market for her films too expanded. She earned a name for herself when Amani retired from films.Except for the row about giving single date to two producers which went to the producers council she has a quite good name for herself. She has done both glamorous roles as well as performance oriented roles doing more of the latter category inspite of being a Kannadiga she has given brilliant performances in telugu films. She mixed well with the telugu people and made place in their hearts. Her movies ‘Pavitra Bandham’, ‘Ammoru’, ‘Pelli Chesukundam’, ‘Sriramulayya’, and a stunning performance in ‘Raja’ earned her lots of fame and appreciation.As her film ‘Arundathi’ flopped which was a woman oriented film it seemed that it is mandatory to have a hero in a film. Krantikumar of ‘Arundathi’ fame presently doing ‘ 9 Neralu’ with her which might be a hit, besides giving Soundarya a reason to smile

STILLS OF SOUNDARYA









AKA Soumya
Born: 17-Jul-1971Birthplace: Bangalore, IndiaDied: 17-Apr-2004Location of death: Jakkur Airport, Jakkur, IndiaCause of death: Accident - Helicopter
Gender: FemaleRace or Ethnicity: Asian/IndianSexual orientation: StraightOccupation: Actor
Nationality: IndiaExecutive summary: Indian superstar actress, Dweepa
Her native language was Kannada.
Brother: Amaranath (d. same helicopter crash)Husband: G. S. Raghu (software professional, also a distant relative, m. 27-Apr-2003)Father: SatyanarayanaMother: Manjula




























SOUNDARYA QUEEN


The joy of acting in art films is different and challenging," says actress Soundarya who has had a comfortable innings of one decade in commercial films, both in Telugu and Kannada. She is currently revelling in the accolades she received for her role as Nagi in her maiden production Dweepa which has won many laurels. With State, National and International acclaim being conferred on Dweepa, Soundarya has changed her outlook to films. Here's the actress who won the Karnataka State Award for Dweepa, in a quick chat with Hansazone.com...
When did you get the idea of making Dweepa (Island)?
I was travelling with my brother Amarnath and a senior producer H.N.Maruthi sometime ago. During our discussion, the thought of producing a film cropped up in my mind. My brother and Maruthiji immediately accepted the idea. After the first round of talk, we decided on Girish Kasaravalli. We approached him with another subject but he narrated the story of Dweepa which is based on a novel written by Na.D'Souza. We agreed to do it.
You could have produced a film much earlier?
When we want our tastes to be reflected in the film, only then should we produce it. I waited for 10 long years to produce a competent film, as I wanted to make it a tribute to my father.
But why did it take nearly two years to complete?
The right climatic condition was the basic need. We waited for the rainy season as we missed one and that's how it took a long time to shoot. We struggled hard to make this film. A maximum portion of the shooting was in rain. The concept of the film is like that.
Did you expect the Award at the National level?
How many ever times the Award comes, the satisfaction is the same. I never did this for an Award. The wonderful task we fulfilled got us the Best Film Award at the National level. Personally, I did not expect it, although I did a pretty good job. But I got the Best Actress Award at the Karnataka State level. Dweepa has also bagged the Best Film Award and an Award for Cinematography at the State level.
Don't you think with this Nagi role in Dweepa you have a tough task of selecting roles from now on?
Yes it is true. After four days of performance, I thought to myself, that I had missed something. Art films give a wonderful artistic satisfaction.
Have you acted in any such art film earlier?
I have acted in director Kranthikumar's Nine Months. It was partly an art film.
Why did you take lot of time to show it to the media of Karnataka?
That's because the film was going to one or the other Awards at the International level. Added to this, director Girish Kasaravalli and I were also quite busy. We are together for Gruhabanga television serial also.
There was an idea in the beginning that Dweepa would be made in Kannada and English?
I agree. Even now the idea is there. We wanted to take our film to larger audiences in other countries, when a film gets the chance of participating in festivals of other countries. This is because only at the festival is the film seen by the competition. When we make it available in the English language and send it to the theatres, foreign audiences may like to see it. With this idea in mind, we thought of making Dweepa in English. The idea is still fresh and my banner will be the first to experiment on this. What is the reason for the delay in making an English version of Dweepa?
We would like to add songs to it. This is not there in the Kannada version. It is because, from my experience, in places like Japan, they love songs more.
Has Dweepa already participated in other festivals abroad?
Even before its release, the film had taken part in five international festivals.
Are you looking for one more Rajat Kamal from director Girish Kasaravalli?
We have decided to do one more film from our banner. Whether it is Girishji or someone else, has not yet been decided.Soundarya not to quit movies after marriage
Soundarya one the most glam and talented actress is going to tie the nuptial knot soon. And that doesn't mean she is bidding adieu to films. The date of marriage is not yet fixed. Says Soundarya - "I will let you know the date of marriage in 10 days. Marriage doesn't mean I am going to quit movies. My husband is very broad minded. Infact, soon after my marriage, I am scheduled to act in a Tamil film. I still have a lot to do as an actress". Soundarya recently turned into a producer by making an offbeat film called รข€“ "Dweepam" which won her the National Award for the best producer. "I want to do more meaningful roles now onwards. Since the audience have accepted me as a commercial heroine, I want to act in offbeat films like Dweepam. Okay, I will strike good balance between these two."
What more? She and her brother Amar are producing a film called 'Black Sugar', which features many new comers and a new director. It seems Soundarya is not acting in the film, and she need not as she already acted in 200 films in all the four Southern languages. Currently she is starring in a movie opposite Mohan Lal in Malayalam and in two Kannada film. This proves - stars fade away, not actors

soundarya cv






BIO DATA
Original name
Sowmya

Date of Birth
July 18

Mother Tongue
Kannada

Education
Intermediate

Home Town
Bangalore

Family
Father - Satyanarayana,
film producer
Mother - Manjula
Brother - Amar

Phone no
91-80-631624

Address
Prashanth Kuteer Guesthouse, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

Favourite Pass time
Reading Enid Blyton books

Favourite Role
Comedy

Strict policy
Not to expose

Education
Discontinued MBBS in the first year.

First film in Tamil
Ponnumani

First Film
Gandharva

First Film in Telugu
Raitu Bharatam

First Film Released(Telugu)
Manavaraali pelli

Achievements & Awards
Received prestigious Nandi award as the best actress in the year1994, 1997 and 1998 and many more awards from various cultural organisations.