Gopishantha (26 May 1937 – 10 October 2015), better known by her stage name Manorama, also called as Aachi, was an Indian actress and comedian who had appeared in more than 1,500 films, 5,000 stage performances, and several television series until 2015.[1][2] She entered the Guinness World Records for acting in more than 1000 number of films in 1985. By 2015, she had acted in more than 1,500 films.[3] She was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award, Padma Shri (2002), National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in film Pudhiya Padhai (1989), and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1995).
Manorama was born in a Tamil thevar (Kallar)family as Gopishantha to Kasi Kilakudaiyar and Ramamirtham in Mannargudi, a town in the erstwhile Thanjavur district of Madras Presidency.[4] Manorama’s biological father was not happy that a girl was born to him and hence asked her mother to leave the house.[5] Her mother brought her up by taking up the job of working as maid.[6] She mentioned her indebtedness to her mother for her success: Many of the mother roles that she has played in films resemble her own mother. Her family moved to Pallathur near Karaikudi owing to poverty.[7] While in Pallathur, her mother had started vomiting out blood, hence Manorama decided to start working as maid and dropped out of school at the age of 11. Once a drama troupe had come to Pallathur but the actress who was to play a small part suddenly dropped out due to her inability to sing and the troupe was looking for an artiste who could act and sing as well. The drama troupe decided to give her this role in the drama titled Andhaman Kadhali. Hence her acting career began at the age of twelve, acting in plays. During this time, she was rechristened Manorama by one of her dramas’ director Thiruvengadam and harmonist Thiayagarajan. She continued to act in plays and performed as a playback singer as well. After watching her performance in plays, she was offered her first film named Inbavazhvu by Janakiraman which remained 40% incomplete and later Kannadasan offered her lead role in second film Unmayinkottai, which got shelved after shooting for about 40%. She lost hope of becoming a film actor when both these films remained incomplete.
Manorama fell in love with her manager in the drama troupe S. M. Ramanathan and married him in 1964; the couple had a son named Bhoopathy. However, they divorced in late 1966 and started to live separately in Chennai. She quoted in an interview in 2015, «My mom wanted me to study medicine. But it was not easy to become a doctor in those days, and I became an actress. So, if I hadn’t taken up acting, I would have tried to become a doctor as my mom wished for it. But now, fortunately, my grandson is a doctor, and I am proud of it.»[3]
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishna Rao Nageshwaran; (1933-2009)[1][3] was an Indian film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema. He acted in over 1,000 films from 1958 to 2008, performing in a variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He has also acted in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Nagesh’s style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the «Jerry Lewis of India». He was also a fantastic dancer. The song «Kanni Nathiyoram» in the movie Neerkumizhi shows some of his comic dance skills.
Nagesh was born in Kannada Speaking Madhwa Brahmin family as Cheyur Krishna Rao Nageshwaran to Krishna Rao and Rukmaniamma. He was born in Dharapuram, now in Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu.[4] While his school records give his date of birth as 8 February 1931, and his passport reads 27 August 1933, according to his elder brother’s wife he was born on Maha Navami (Saraswati Pooja).[1]
He left Dharapuram at an early age and moved to Madras city in search of a career. His roommates, the writer Vaali and director Sridhar, later became established themselves as prominent personalities in the Tamil cinema field. He worked as a clerk in the Indian Railways.
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