Dasari Kotiratnam
{{Short description|Indian actress, singer, and film producer}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dasari Kotiratnam
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| birth_place = Prathipadu, Guntur district, Madras Presidency, British India (now Andhra Pradesh, India)
| death_date = 21 December 1972
| death_place = Chilakaluripeta, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|producer}}
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Dasari Kotiratnam was an Indian actress, singer, and film producer.{{Cite web |last=Vinayaka Rao |date=4 May 2011 |title=తొలి మహిళా నిర్మాత కోటిరత్నం |trans-title=First Female Producer Kotiratnam |url=https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_5i5uBW_3lo/TdPna1F9jDI/AAAAAAAAGtc/zkrBjevdZkY/s1600/producer+kotiratnam.jpeg |website=Navya, Andhra Jyothi |page=66 |language=te}} She was the first female producer of Telugu cinema.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Py9LAQAAIAAJ&q=Dasari+Kotiratnam |title=Limca Book of Records |date=2006 |publisher=Bisleri Beverages Limited |isbn=978-81-902837-2-4 |pages=113 |language=en |quote=First woman producer Dasari Kotiratnam produced Anasuya in 1935.}}{{Cite book |last=Ōlgā |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VF7aAAAAMAAJ&q=Dasari+Kotiratnam |title=Womanscape |date=2001 |publisher=Asmita Resource Centre for Women |isbn=978-81-7525-206-6 |pages=1944 |language= |quote=Dasari Kotiratnam was the first actress to set up a theatre group while Venkubai and Kamala of the Surabhi Company were well-known stage artists. Dasari Kotiratnam later became the first woman to produce films.}}Mareswara Rao, Akkina (1997). [http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/25594/7/07_chapter%202.pdf Cultural and Ideological Mediation of Telugu Cinema in Colonial Andhra's Past (1931–1947)]. University of Hyderabad. Chapter 2. p. 102. "Dasari Kotiratnam of Sakkubai fame emerged as the first woman producer of Telugu film industry by producing Anasuya in 1935." She was also the first actress to set up a theatre group in Andhra. Her career as a theatre actor spanned over four decades.{{Cite web |last=Vinayaka Rao |date=4 May 2011 |title=తొలి మహిళా నిర్మాత కోటిరత్నం |trans-title=First Female Producer Kotiratnam |url=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NrUKmmYfzP8/TdPnh_3Ib_I/AAAAAAAAGtg/UL7kcsHqTBc/s1600/producer+kotiratnam+1.jpeg |website=Navya, Andhra Jyothi |page=67 |language=te}}
She produced her first film, Sati Anasuya (1935) in collaboration with Aurora Film Corporation. She later acted in films like Lanka Dahanam (1936), Mohini Bhasmasura (1938), Vara Vikrayam (1939), Panduranga Vitala (1939), Paduka Pattabhishekam (1945), Varudhini (1946), Gollabhama (1947).
Early life
Dasari Kotiratnam was born in a Kapu familyM. L. Kantha Rao (July 1999), [https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/25437/ A Study of the Socio-Political Mobility of the Kapu Caste in Modern Andhra]. University of Hyderabad. Chapter 6. pp. 280–281. hdl:10603/25437 in Prathipadu, Guntur district of present-day Andhra Pradesh. She was born in 1898 or 1910.{{Citation |title=Kiran Prabha Talk Show on Dasari Kotiratnam - దాసరి కోటిరత్నం |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0oiud6mc0&t=160s |access-date= |language=en}}; Event occurs from 2:40 to 2:50. Her father was a stage actor and she trained under him. She began acting in plays at the age of nine. She also trained in Indian classical music under Rajanala Venkatappayya Sastri.
Career
Kotiratnam played various male characters, along with female characters in theatre.{{Cite book |last=Krishnamurthi |first=N. Putali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJyGAAAAIAAJ&q=Dasari+Kotiratnam |title=The Changing Condition of Women in Andhra: From the Middle of the 19th Century to the Middle of the 20th Century |date=1980 |publisher= |pages=274 |language=en}} After her mother died, she left Prathipadu and settled in Nakkabokkalapadu, her grandfather's village. There she founded a drama company. She was the first actress to set up a theatre company in Andhra. After five years she shifted to Guntur and continued running the drama company there. They practiced many plays and performed them in various towns and villages. She employed many artists on a payroll. She entered the film industry based on her reputation in theatre.
In 1935 Kotiratnam went to Calcutta along with her theatre troupe artists like B. V. Ramanandam and Tungala Chalapathi Rao. All of them acted in the film Sathi Sakkubai (1935) produced by Bharatalakshmi Films and directed by Charuchandra Roy. Kotiratnam played the title role of Sakkubai, while Tungala Chalapathi Rao played Lord Krishna. She was also the first woman to play a title role in Telugu films.
In collaboration with Aurora Film Corporation, Kotiratnam produced Sati Anasuya under the direction of Ahin Chowdary. She also played the title role in the film. It was released on 4 October 1935.{{Cite web |title=Sati Anasuya (1935) |url=https://www.cinemaazi.com/film/sati-anasuya |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=Cinemaazi}} Thus she became the first female producer of Telugu film industry. She later acted in films like Lanka Dahanam (1936), Mohini Bhasmasura (1938), Vara Vikrayam (1939), Panduranga Vitala (1939), Paduka Pattabhishekam (1945), Varudhini (1946), Gollabhama (1947).
Death
In 1958, she fell ill and her voice was damaged. Her acting chances reduced as a result. In 1960, she was felicitated by Andhra Nataka Parishat in Tanuku. Kotiratnam died on 21 December 1972 in Chilakaluripeta.{{Citation |title=Kiran Prabha Talk Show on Dasari Kotiratnam - దాసరి కోటిరత్నం |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0oiud6mc0&t=1020s |access-date= |language=en}}; Event occurs from 17:00 to 17:10.
Filmography
File:Book cover of Sati Anasuya, 1935 film (page 1 crop).jpg
- Sathi Sakkubai (1935){{Cite web |title=Dasari Kotiratnam |url=https://indiancine.ma/grid/year/name=Dasari_Kotiratnam |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Indiancine.ma}}
- Sati Anasuya (1935)
- Lanka Dahanam (1936)
- Mohini Bhasmasura (1938)
- Vara Vikrayam (1939)
- Panduranga Vitala (1939)
- Paduka Pattabhishekam (1945)
- Varudhini (1946)
- Gollabhama (1947)
- Radhika (1947)
- Chandravanka (1951)
- Agni Pariksha (1951)
- Bangaru Bhoomi (1954)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0467707}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotiratnam, Dasari}}
Category:Indian film actresses
Category:Indian women film producers
Category:Film producers from Andhra Pradesh
Category:20th-century Indian actresses
Category:Telugu film producers
Category:Businesspeople from Andhra Pradesh
Category:20th-century Indian businesswomen
Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople
Category:20th-century Indian singers