Meet pan-India actor and producer who passed away at 27 in tragic plane crash, worked with Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan and more
Read to learn about a popular South actress who has given several blockbuster hit films, but passed away in a tragic plane crash.
![Meet the actor who worked with Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan and passed away at 27 (PC: Ishtar YouTube ) Meet the actor who worked with Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan and passed away at 27](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-07/127839005_fotojet-2024-07-22t163650-453-1.jpg)
Trigger: The article contains information about an individual’s death which might be triggering for some readers.
Meet the pan-Indian star who saw popularity, stardom, and money at a very young age. She was an exceptional actress, charming personality, and a great human being. This superstar was so popular that her presence in the poster was enough to pull the audience into the cinema.
Sadly, she left her fans heartbroken with her untimely tragic demise at 27. We are talking about Sowmya Sathyanarayana aka ‘Soundarya’.
Who is Sowmya Sathyanarayana aka ‘Soundarya’?
Sowmya Sathyanarayana fondly called Soundarya (stage name) was born on July 18, 1976, to parents K. S. Sathyanarayana Iyer and Manjula in Karnataka. Her father, Mr Iyer was a Kannada film writer and producer. In April 2003, Soundarya married her distant cousin Raghu Sridhar, a software engineer.
Soundarya's date of birth has been reported inconsistently by the media with some sources indicating her the birthdate as 18 July 1976. Talking about her education, the late actress completed her initial education in Bangalore and discontinued her studies after Intermediate first year.
The popular actress has delivered several blockbuster hits in different South languages and Hindi. She has received many prestigious awards including Karnataka State Film Awards and National Award.
In 2002, Soundarya received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film as a producer for the Kannada film Dweepa. It is pertinent to mention that she also starred in the film as the protagonist.
Besides, Soundarya was a kind human being who founded three schools for orphaned children in her village Ganjigunte, Mulbagal (Kolar).
Soumya Sathyanarayan’s filmography
The popular actress began her career with a Kannada film, Baa Nanna Preethisu in 1992. The film was directed by S. Siddalingaiah. Soon after that, Soundarya landed herself another film
Gandharva in July 1992. The same year, she starred with Krishna in the Telugu film Raithu Bharatham, directed by Tripuraneni Sriprasad alias Varaprasad.
Although, she began with lead roles in Kannada, her mother tongue, but emerged as one of the most popular actresses in the Telugu industry. Her first Telugu film was Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, helmed by S. V. Krishna Reddy.
However, it was Hello Brother in 1994 that garnered Soundarya massive success and recognition. She was seen alongside Nagarjuna and Ramya Krishna in the E. V. V. Satyanarayana’s directorial.
Talking about Soundarya’s notable works, we can’t forget her award-winning role in Ammoru, by Kodi Ramakrishna. She featured alongside Ramya Krishna and Suresh and played the role of Bhavani, a devotee of Goddess Ammoru.
The late actress was so much in demand that she had eleven releases in 1995. In Tamil, Soundarya got major acclaim for her debut film Ponnumani, opposite Karthik and Sivakumar for playing the role of a mentally disabled person.
In the late 90s, she delivered box-office hits like Arunachalam (1997) with Rajinikanth. The movie was the highest-grossing film of the year. The next year, Soundarya was seen in Choodalani Vundi (1998), opposite Chiranjeevi, which took her to the peak of her career.
In addition, she made her Bollywood debut with Amitabh Bachchan's Sooryavansham. Even though the movie failed at the box office, it was an immediate hit on TV.
Soundarya's stint in politics and tragic death
After becoming a pan-Indian superstar, Soundarya joined the BJP in 2004. While fans were excited to see her in a new role, unfortunately, fate had something else planned. In the same year, Soundarya passed away on April 17 in a tragic plane crash. The actress was just 27 at the time of her demise.
She was on her way to Karimnagar from Bengaluru for an election campaign along with her brother Amarnath. Unfortunately, the tragic accident took the lives of Soundarya and her brother Amarnath when the Cessna 180 crashed on the premises of the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra at the University of Agricultural Sciences.
As per a report in TOI, the aircraft turned into a ball of flame after it crashed within minutes of the take-off, said an eyewitness who rushed to the crash spot soon after the Cessna-180 aircraft fell on the ground.
Although Soundarya is not physically present with us anymore, she shall live in our hearts forever.
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