Bhanupriya

Bhanupriya (born Manga Ananda Bhanu; 15 January 1967) is an Indian actress, dancer, and voice artiste. In a 4 decade old career, she has appeared in 155 feature films- predominantly in Telugu and Tamil, and a few in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She has starred in a variety of roles, which garnered her three state Nandi Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and two Cinema Express Awards.

Early life
Bhanupriya was born on 15 January 1967 in Rangampeta village near Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu-speaking family, to Pandu Babu and Ragamali. She was named Mangabhanu after birth. Her family later moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She has an elder brother Gopikrishana and a younger sister Shantipriya, who has also been a film actress since the 1990s.

Career
She was one of the top mainstream actresses for more than a decade from 1983 to 1995. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film Mella Pesungal (1983). She then appeared in the Telugu hit Sitaara, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. She then played an ornithologist in the 1985 mystery film Anveshana. In 1986, she made her Hindi film debut with Dosti Dushmani. In 1988, she appeared in Swarnakamalam, which was screened at the Indian panorama section of the 1988 International Film Festival of India and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Bhanupriya received the Indian Express Award for Best Actress, the Nandi Award for Best Actress, and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance in the film. In 1989 and 1991, her performances in the Tamil hits Aararo Aariraro, and Azhagan brought her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prizes, respectively. She received the JFW Divas of South India Award for her contribution to South Indian cinema, the Gemini TV Puraskaram for lifetime achievement in television and various other honours.

Personal life
Bhanupriya married Adarsh Kaushal, a digital graphics engineer, at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Malibu, California, on 14 June 1998. The couple has a daughter, Abhinaya, born in 2002. Bhanupriya returned to India, and resumed her acting career. She lives in Chennai with her daughter. Kaushal died in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Awards

 * Nandi Awards
 * Best Actress - Swarna Kamalam (1988)
 * Best Character Actress - Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo (2002)
 * Best Supporting Actress - Chatrapati (2005)


 * Filmfare Awards South
 * Best Actress - Telugu in 1988 for her performance in Swarna Kamalam
 * Best Actress - Tamil in 1989 for her performance in Aararo Aaariraro


 * Other Awards
 * Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 1989 for the film Aararo Aaariraro
 * Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 1991 for the film Azhagan
 * Cinema Express Awards in 1996 for the film Peddarayudu
 * Screen Videocon Award for the television serial Shakti.
 * JFW Divas of South - Awarded on 12 October 2012 by Just for Women magazine for her contribution to south Indian cinema.