As actress[edit]

She was a theatre artiste before venturing into movies. Her debut film role was as Lohitasya in Raja
Harishchandra in 1936. Her first movie as a heroine was Kashtajeevi by L. V. Prasad in 1940, but that
movie was abandoned after three reels shooting. Later, C.Pullayya discovered her and gave her the
opportunity to star as Mohini in Gollabhama. Based on her acting ability and looks, she became a star
overnight in 1947. She eventually acted in more than 100 Tamil films[1] and 100 Telugu films[citation needed] and a
few Kannada films as the heroine.[citation needed]
She acted in Lava Kusa, a milestone film and the first color film in the Telugu film industry in 1963. She is
well known for playing Sita in Lava Kusa and her performances in films like Suvarna
Sundari and Anarkali were also appreciated. She has acted in nearly 500 films. Brundavanam (1992), Anna
Vadina (1993) and Police Alludu (1994) were the last few films of her career. In Balaiah's Police
Alludu and Anna Vadina she appeared alongside Brahmanandam. She acted in various roles, such as a
damsel, an angel, a dancer, a demon, a goddess, a traditional woman and later in mother roles. [2]

As producer[edit]
In 1955 she produced the film Anarkali, in which she herself played the titular role, with Akkineni
Nageswara Rao as Prince Salim. Then she produced V. Madhusudan Rao's Bhakta
Tukaram and Chandipriya. Bollywood and Tollywood actress Jayapradha played the lead role in the latter
alongside Shobhan Babu and Chiranjeevi. As a producer she has produced 27 films. She was an ardent
devotee of Sathyasai Baba and produced a tele-serial on Sathyasai.[citation needed]

Personal life[edit]
She married P. Adinarayana Rao, a music director, in 1948.[1] They settled in Chennai. They have two sons.
Together, they produced many Telugu films under the banner, Anjali Pictures. Their granddaughter, Saila
Rao, is also an actress.[citation needed]