Radha (actress)

Udaya Chandrika, better known by her screen name Radha (born 3 June 1965) is a former Indian actress,  who predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films in addition to a few Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She was one of the top heroines in the film industry for about a decade, from 1981 to 1991, dominating the 1980s era.

Her elder sister Ambika, was also an actress. Ambika and Radha acted together in a number of films, during the peak of their careers. They also co-owned a movie studio called "ARS Studios" in 1986. She appeared on television as one of the judges in the STAR Vijay Jodi Number One Season 7 and Season 8 Reality Dance programs.

Personal life
Radha hails from Kallara Village near Kilimanoor in Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala. She was born as Udaya Chandrika on 3 June 1965 and is the third daughter of Kallara Kunjan Nair and Sarassama. Her siblings are Ambika, Mallika, Suresh and Arjun. Her elder sister Ambika is also a popular actor. Radha married hotelier Rajasekaran Nair on 10 September 1991. The couple has two daughters Karthika Nair, and Thulasi Nair and one son Vignesh Nair. After her marriage in 1991, Radha chose to completely step away from the limelight.

In 2021, Radha and her husband Rajasekaran Nair joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rajasekaran Nair is the party's candidate from the Neyyatinkara constituency for the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.

Tamil cinema
Radha started her career in 1981 starring as the protagonist in director Bharathiraja's Tamil film Alaigal Oivathillai alongside debutant Karthik. The movie was a runaway hit and is regarded as a cult classic. The on-screen chemistry that she shared with Karthik was highly successful and led to many movies such as Ilanjodigal, Pakkathu Veetu Roja, Valibamey Vaa Vaa and Nalla Thambi. Radha played a small role in the movie Tik Tik Tik, which also starred Kamal Haasan. Later, she starred alongside Haasan in many movies such as Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey (1983), Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1985), Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985) and Kadhal Parisu (1987).

She received a Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for Muthal Mariyathai in 1985. The film was screened at the Indian Panorama section of the 1985 International Film Festival of India.

Ambika and Radha shared screen space in films such as Enkeyo Ketta Kural (1982), Vellai Roja (1983), Idaya Kovil (1985), Manakanakku (1986), Kadhal Parisu (1987) and Annanagar Mudhal Theru (1988).

She had commercial successes such as Amman Kovil Kizhakale (1986), Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu (1986), Ninaive Oru Sangeetham (1987), Jallikattu (1987), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987), Uzhavan Magan (1987) and Rajadhi Raja (1989). In Kollywood, she has performed alongside actors such as Sivaji Ganeshan, Sivakumar, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, K. Bhagyaraj, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Mohan, Prabhu, Karthik, T. Rajendar and Arjun.

Telugu cinema
Her notable films in Telugu include Shakthi (1983), Iddaru Dongalu (1984), Agni Parvatam (1985), Palnati Simham (1985), Ravana Brahma (1986), Simhasanam (1986), Yamudiki Mogudu (1988), Ramudu Bheemudu (1988) and State Rowdy (1989). She acted in 19 films alongside superstar Krishna, 16 films with Chiranjeevi, 6 films with Balakrishna and worked with all major Telugu heroes such as NTR, ANR, Krishnam Raju, Sobhan Babu and many more. Currently working Telugu television shows as judge.

Kannada cinema
She has acted in 6 Kannada films. She acted alongside veteran Vishnuvardhan and actress Lakshmi in Sowbhagya Lakshmi (1986), a remake of the Hindi film Maang Bharo Sajana, which in turn was a remake of the Telugu movie Kartika Deepam. She has done films with Ravichandran. In 1991, she did the action movie Ranachandi (1991) in which she played a cop with Sarath Babu as her husband and Mukhyamantri Chandru as the villain.

Malayalam cinema
Her most notable role was in K. G. George's state award-winning film Irakal in 1985; her portrayal of the character Nirmala is widely regarded as the best in her career. Her other significant role was in Sathyan Anthikad's Revathikkoru Pavakkutty (1986), where her costars were Bharat Gopy, Mohanlal and Menaka. She also produced the film Ayitham (1987), in which she played one of the lead characters, alongside Ambika, Sukumaran and Mohanlal. Innathe Program (1991) was her last movie in Malayalam.