Remembering T. Krishna Kumari

T. Krishna Kumari (6 March 1933 – 24 January 2018) was a leading Telugu actress of the 1960s and 1980s. She was the sister of great actress Sowkar Janaki.

Krishna Kumari was a leading actress and a contemporary of Savitri. Her co-stars include legends N.T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Krishnam Raju, Dr. Rajkumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Kanta Rao, and Jaggayya. Krishna Kumari ruled the Telugu industry but also acted in Tamil and Kannada movies briefly.

Early life

Krishna Kumari was born in a Telugu Madhwa Brahmin family at Naihati, West Bengal to Venkoji Rao and Sachi Devi. Her family hails from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Her sister, Sowkar Janaki is also a leading actress in Telugu and Tamil cinema.

Career

T. Krishna Kumari started her career with a small role in Pathala Bhairavi. She later played the role of a heroine for the first time in Navvithe Navaratnalu the same year. She featured as leading actress in several Tamil movies, notably Thirumbi Paar (1953), Manithan (1953), Azhagi (1953), Pudhu Yugam (1954), Viduthalai (1954) and Thuli Visham (1954). Krishna Kumari then began to focus on Telugu cinema, which propelled her to superstardom. Her movies Bharya Bhartalu (1961), Vagdanam (1961), Kulagothralu (1962), Gudi Gantalu (1964) remain some of Telugu cinema's classics. In the early 60s, Krishna Kumari entered the Kannada film industry briefly, choosing to return to her preferred Telugu cinema within years. But in the short span of 5–6 years, she gave memorable performances, most of them co-starring Dr Rajkumar. In fact, her first ever award was for the Rajkumar starrer, Bhaktha Kanakadasa (1960). In Hindi, she acted in Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala (1958). She was rechristened Rati but again, Hindi cinema held no attraction for Krishna Kumari. Although she had several offers in Hindi cinema, she returned to Madras. Her most successful movies have been with Akkineni Nageswara Rao, NT Rama Rao and also several mythological roles with Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao.

Krishna Kumari acted in 150 Telugu films, and about 30 Tamil and Kannada films. Her repertoire won her fans across Indian states and the President's Award.

Personal life

In 1969, Krishna Kumari married Ajay Mohan Khaitan, a businessman and journalist who had previously served as Editor of the Indian Express and was the founder of two magazines, Screen and Businessman. Ajay Mohan Khaitan had previously been married to another lady also named Krishna, who was the daughter of Ramnath Goenka, founder and owner of Indian Express. By his previous marriage, Ajay Mohan Khaitan was the father of two sons, including Vivek, who was adopted by Ramnath Goenka and given the name Viveck Goenka; he is presently running Indian Express.

After marriage, Krishna Kumari chose to step away from the arclights and moved to her husband's farmhouse near Bangalore, where she devoted herself to her family and developed her interests in cooking and gardening. Krishna Kumari and Khaitan had a daughter, Dipika; according to some reports, Dipika was adopted by the couple. Dipika married Vikram Maiya, who belongs to the same Kannada Brahmin community as Krishna Kumari and is the son of the Maiya family which owns the famous MTR restaurant in Bangalore and the MTR brand of ready-to-eat foods.

Ajay Mohan Khaitan died in 2012 aged 85. Krishna Kumari continued to live at her farmhouse in Bengaluru with her daughter Dipika Maiya, son-in-law Vikram Maiya and grandson, Pavan Maiya. She died on January 24, 2018 in Bengaluru from bone marrow cancer.