Umashree

Umashree (born 10 May 1957) is an Indian actress and politician. She appears in Kannada cinema, particularly in character roles and supporting roles. She received the National Film Award for Best Actress for the titular role in the 2008 film Gulabi Talkies.

In 2013, Umashree became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Karnataka in the government of Siddaramaiah where she was the minister for women and child development, empowerment of disabled and senior citizens, Kannada language and culture.

Personal life

Umashree was born into the Devanga family. She has two children, a daughter named Gayathri, who is a dentist, and a son named Vijayakumar, an advocate, she raised them as a single mother.

Public office

Umashree participates in positive social activities such as supporting rural and disadvantaged women. She performs on stage in rural villages to highlight their needs. Her election in 2013 as the member for Terdal constituency (Congress Party) allowed Umashree to continue her work. Umashree is Minister for Women and Child Development, Kannada and Culture.

Stage work

Umashree has experience in village, amateur, mythological and professional drama. Her directors have included Fritz Bennewitz, B.V. Karanth, Girish Karnad, C. G. Krishnaswamy, and R. Nagesh. She is a member of Rangasampada amateur theatre group of Bangalore. She played Sakavva in the play Odalala.

Film work

Umashree began her movie career in 1984 in a supporting role in Anubhava with Kashinath. But before that she was seen in a 1980 Kannada film Bangarada Jinke directed by T. S. Nagabharana.

However, it typecast her in comedy roles with a degree of innuendo. She worked with the actor N. S. Rao and later with Dinesh, Dwarakish, Mysore lokesh, Sihikahi chandru,Umesh, Ramesh bhat, Mukhyamantri Chandru, Doddanna and Karibasavaiah. Her directors included S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu, Bhargava, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Perala, K V Raju, Vijay, Dorai Bhagavan, Dwairakish, D Rajendra babu, Dinesh Babu, V Ravichandran, Puri Jagannath and Yograj Bhat.

Filmography

Films

• All films are in Kannada, unless othrwise noted.

Television

Other television work

• Nondavara Haadu, a documentary about leprosy directed by T. S. Ranga for Doordarshan.
• Hattye, a telefilm directed by H. Girijamma for Doordarshan.

External links

• atIMDb