Photo: Dani Charles, Silverscreen Media Inc. (https://silverscreen.in) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Lakshmi represents a kind of versatility I find almost extinct: a leading actress who worked across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema in nearly equal measure, then added Hindi films on top. Sustaining a career in four language industries means mastering four sets of dialogue, audiences, and working cultures, and she has done it for over five decades since her 1968 debut. The National Film Award for Best Actress confirms the craft, but what impresses me more is the ambition — she stepped behind the camera as a director too. To me she is a one-woman argument for Indian cinema's plurality.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi
- Name (Japanese)
- ラクシュミー
- Reading
- らくしゅみー
- Born
- December 13, 1952 (age 73)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dragon
- Origin
- Chennai, Chennai district, India
- Occupation
- film actor / actor / film director
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- Nandi Award
- Filmfare Awards South
- National Film Award for Best Actress
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi born?
Born December 13, 1952 (age 73).
Where is Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi from?
Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi is from Chennai, Chennai district, India.
What does Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi do?
Yaragudipati Venkata Mahalakshmi works as film actor, actor, film director.
Film actor — see all → · Actor — see all → · More people from India →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-10
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.