REFLECTION

I
 FA-I REFLECTION

CLASS: X CLASS

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

NAME OF THE LESSON:

NAME OF THE PROJECT: SAVITRI

Nissankara Savitri was born on 6 December 1935 in a Telugu-speaking family in Chirravuru, Guntur
district of present-day Andhra Pradesh.Her father was Nissankara Guruvaiya and mother was Nissankara
Subhadramma.Her father died when she was six months old, after which her mother took Savitri and an
older sibling, Maruti, to live with an aunt and uncle. Her uncle, Kommareddy Venkataramaiah Chowdary,
enrolled her in classes when she began to show a talent for dance.

She was named for the expression of her eyes during dramas. She participated in many dramas, in one
of those she was rewarded with a garland by the famous actor prithvi raj kapoor. She along with her
grandfather had gone to the Vijaya Vahini studio at Chennai for enrolling Savitri a character in a Cinema,
where they refused to do so. Not giving up they tried once again, in another cinema, where she
managed to get a role of hers, but couldn't stand it as she hesitated in reciting dialogues for she was in
awe with talking to the hero.
It was then, she met Ramaswamy Ganesan, aka Gemini Ganesan who took pics of Savitri and instructed
the duo that they come after two months. Defeated, Savitri went back to her village and continued
playing dramas, On one specific day a man came to their home and asked Savitri to play a role for his
cinema. Savitri's career thus began. Savitri married Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan in 1952, having first met
him in 1948. The marriage led to a permanent rift with her uncle because Ganesan was already married,
had four daughters and was involved in an affair with Pushpavalli. Her marriage became public when she

signed a photograph as Savitri Ganesh.Ganesan later acknowledged that he had two daughters with
Pushpavalli while married to Savitri, with whom he had a daughter and a son.

Savitri Ganesan (born Nissankara Savitri, 6 December 1935 – 26 December 1981) was an Indian actress,
playback singer, dancer, director and producer known for her works primarily in Telugu and Tamil
cinema. She had also worked in Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam films. Reputed as the first female
superstar of South Indian film industry, In a career spanning 3 decades, she starred in more than 250
films. She was the one of the highest-paid and most popular Indian actresses of the 1950's and 60's. She
is often referred as "Mahanati" and "Nadigaiyar Thilagam".

Savitri's first significant role was in the 1952 Telugu film Pelli Chesi Choodu. She has starred in successful
ventures such as Pathala Bhairavi (1951), Devadasu (1953) which received special mentions at India
International Film Festival,Donga Ramudu (1955), Mayabazar (1957), and Nartanasala (1963), featured
at Afro Asian film festival in Jakarta.She has also starred in works such as Missamma (1955), Ardhangi
(1955), Thodi Kodallu (1957), Mangalya Balam (1959), Aradhana (1962), Gundamma Katha (1962),
Doctor Chakravarty (1964), Sumangali (1965), and Devata (1965).Savitri was also noted for her kindness,
charity and generosity towards the poor. She donated a third of her every film's gain. Savitri received "A
Moon Among Stars" honor at the 30th International Film Festival of India, "Woman in Cinema" section in
1999. The 2018 biographical film Mahanati based on the life of Savitri has garnered the "Equality in
Cinema Award" at the 2018 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.