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Meet actor who secretly married former Karnataka CM, made her debut as a teen and first became a bride at the age of 14
Guess the South actress who predominantly worked in the Kannada film industry and is married to a former CM of Karnataka.
Meet the actress, producer, and film distributor who made her debut with a Kannada film in 2002 while she was in school. The actress has always grabbed headlines for her personal life, especially her marriage with the former Chief Minister of Karnataka. This actor’s first marriage happened when she was just 14 and her husband had then accused the actor’s father of abduction. We are talking about Radhika Kumaraswamy.
Who is Radhika Kumaraswamy?
Radhika Kumaraswamy was born as Radhika Poojary on November 1, 1986, in a typical Tulu-speaking family. The actress has a younger brother and the duo were born and brought up in Mangalore, Karnataka where their father Devraj Shetty stayed.
Radhika was still in high school when she made her acting debut in 2002. After that in her career, the actress worked in 30 films as an actor and then turned into a film producer. Besides her professional life, Radhika Kumaraswamy has always been in the limelight owing to disturbances in her personal life. Her two failed marriages and controversial relationship with her family have always grabbed a significant amount of media attention.
Radhika Kumaraswamy’s filmography
Radhika Kumaraswamy entered the film industry with the Kannada movie Neela Megha Shama in 2002, shortly after completing her 9th grade. However, her first release was Ninagagi, where she starred opposite Vijay Raghavendra. Following this, she featured in Tavarige Baa Tangi alongside Shivrajkumar. Both films were successful at the box office. By 2003, Radhika had become a sensation in the Sandalwood industry. That year, she appeared in five Kannada films, including Hemanth Hegde's directorial debut Ooh La La with Krishna Mohan, Thayi Illada Tabbali, Mane Magalu, and Hudugigaagi.
In the same year, she also worked in Yograj Bhat's debut feature film Mani, where she portrayed the daughter of a prostitute. Radhika received praise for her exceptional performance, though all five films failed at the box office. Despite this, she won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Gowri in Thayi Illada Tabbali.
Subsequently, Radhika entered the Tamil film industry and quickly worked in four Tamil films and one Telugu film (Bhadadri Ramudu). She made her Kollywood debut with S. P. Jananathan's award-winning directorial debut Iyarkai. Another turning point in her career came in 2005, when she featured in four films.
Some of Radhika Kumaraswamy's notable works include Rishi, Masala, Auto Shankar, Anna Thangi, Ulla Kadathal, and Navashakthi Vaibhava, among others. In addition to acting, she has also worked as a producer and film distributor. She acquired the distribution rights for her film Anatharu, in which she shared the screen with Upendra and Darshan. She also purchased the rights to another film of hers, Ishwar (originally launched as Narasimha), but was unsuccessful in releasing it.
Radhika later established a production studio called Shamika Enterprises, named after her daughter. Through this studio, she produced the film Lucky, starring Ramya and Yash.
Radhika Kumaraswamy’s personal life
As per several reports, Radhika Kumaraswamy exchanged wedding vows with Ratan Kumar at the Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple, Kateel, on November 26, 2000. It is important to mention that she was just 14 years old at the time of the marriage. In April 2002, Radhika's former husband complained, alleging that her father, Devraj, had abducted her. According to Ratan, Devraj feared that news of the marriage might jeopardize Radhika's career.
Following this, Radhika's mother demanded that her daughter's marriage to Ratan be declared null and void, accusing Ratan of forcibly marrying her. Additionally, Devraj claimed that Ratan had even attempted to burn Radhika alive.
In August 2002, Ratan Kumar passed away after suffering a heart attack. Radhika once again made headlines due to her personal life when, in November 2010, she revealed that she had married H.D. Kumaraswamy, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka. According to Radhika, the couple had married in 2006 and shared a daughter named Shamika.
The union between Radhika and H.D. Kumaraswamy attracted significant attention, not only because of their public profiles but also due to the large age gap between them, as well as the political implications of the marriage. At the time of their marriage, Kumaraswamy was 47 years old, while Radhika was 27 years younger.
On the work front, actress and producer Radhika Kumaraswamy is set to appear in her upcoming film Bhairadevi, which is scheduled to hit theatres on October 3, 2024. Directed by Shrijai, Bhairadevi will also feature Ramesh Aravind and Anu Prabhakar in key roles. Radhika recently disclosed that her future in acting will depend on the success of the film, praising the team's perseverance in overcoming production challenges.
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