The bold and spiritual Pandari Bai

Chennai: Pandari Bai, who forayed into the Tamil film industry with Shivaji’s debut film Parashakthi, is someone who was respected by every filmmaker for her passion towards acting, and character.

 

Though being a Kannada girl, she always had a special liking for the Tamil language. It was at AVM studios where she spent hours to learn the language, and improve her pronunciation. 

 

More importantly, she wasn’t an actress adamant about being a heroine instead she preferred to take up roles that gave her scope to showcase her acting prowess. She even went a step ahead and played the role of a mother to stalwarts like M.G.R, Shivaji and Rajesh Khanna. 

 

Pandari Bai was a proven performer with hit films in three regional languages Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Her role as a patriotic woman in Andha Naal which had Shivaji in the lead, will always be memorable. As a youngster, she was revolutionary and resisted the idea of marriage and her devotion towards God saw her build a Pandurangar temple at Kodambakkam. The actress even stayed there for a few days, stating that the temple is close to her heart.

 

After being single for a long time, Pandari Bai finally took the decision to marry Ramarao, a wealthy man, who even joined hands with her to produce two films — one of which didn’t see the light of release. 

 

Her shining career with blighted with an accident when Pandari Bai was crossing the main road, and her elbow was dislocated. It was MGR, who helped her for the treatment, by admitting her in the hospital. Though she continued her production work for a few years later on, health issues eventually got the better of her, and she passed away peacefully.