# Easwari Rao

Easwari Rao is an Indian actress who works in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada cinema. She played lead roles from 1990 to 1999. She started to play supporting and character roles from 2000 onwards.

## Personal life

Eswari Rao is married to director, actor L. Raja. The couple have two children.

## Career

Eswari Rao's debut movie was Intinta Deepavali (1990) in Telugu. She debuted in Tamil in Kavithai Paadum Alaigal credited as Janani. Though the songs were popular, the movie was a failure at box office. She was first noticed in a character role in Thalapathy Vijay's debut film Naalaiya Theerpu in 1992. She appeared in the 1995 film Rambantu, which was directed by Bapu.
She got her first major break in Raman Abdullah (1997), directed by Balu Mahendra, where she was credited as Easwari Rao. She notably opted out of a project titled Koottaali as she felt the role was too glamorous. She went on to appear in Manoj Kumar's film Guru Paarvai (1998). Easwari also had a role in Bharathiraja's Siragugal Murivadhilai, although the film was shelved after pre-production. She has played sister roles in films such as Appu (2000), Naaga (2003) and Sullan (2004).
Her popular serial Kokila Enge Pogiraal was made for Sun TV. She acted in number of TV shows like Kasthuri, Aval Appadithan, Ninne Pelladutha and Agni Saatchi and a couple of more serials that shot her into households fame. She won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Female) for the film Virumbugiren released in 2002. However, her next film wasn't until the Telugu film Legend (2014). She then was in Andhra Pori (2015), Brahmotsavam (2016) and Ism (2016). Her films A Aa (2016) and the Nenu Local (2017) became big hits.
She received praise for her performance in Kaala (2018) in which she starred alongside Rajinikanth. Easwari Rao was seen on big screens in the film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020). She acted in Telegu with Naga Chaitanya in Love Story (2021), Thank You (2022) and Dhootha (2023).
In 2024, Eswari Rao portrays the usual rural, doting mom in the Tamil drama film Aalakaalam.

## Filmography
### Films

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
List Easwari Rao film credits :
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
| 1990 | Intinta Deepavali | | Telugu | |
| 1990 | Kavithai Paadum Alaigal | Devaki | Tamil | Credited as Janani |
| 1991 | Jagannatakam | Neela | Telugu | |
| 1991 | Kalikalam | | Telugu | |
| 1992 | Ootty Pattanam | Seena / Ranjini Thamburatti | Malayalam | |
| 1992 | Naalaiya Theerpu | Raani | Tamil | |
| 1993 | Vedan | Priya | Tamil | |
| 1994 | Megha Maale | Roopa | Kannada | Credited as Vijayashree |
| 1995 | Rambantu | Kaveri | Telugu | Credited as Kaveri |
| 1997 | Raman Abdullah | Gowri | Tamil | |
| 1998 | Simmarasi | Rasathi | Tamil | |
| 1998 | Guru Paarvai | Pooja / Alamelu | Tamil | |
| 1999 | Poomaname Vaa | | Tamil | |
| 1999 | Sundari Neeyum Sundaran Naanum | Krishnaveni | Tamil | |
| 2000 | Appu | Saradha | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Kutty | Chenthamarai | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Thavasi | Gowri | Tamil | |
| 2002 | Kannathil Muthamittal | Shyama | Tamil | |
| 2002 | Lagna Patrika | | Telugu | |
| 2002 | Virumbugiren | Latha | Tamil | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Female) |
| 2003 | Naaga | Vijji's sister | Telugu | |
| 2004 | Sullan | Karpagam | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Aaptudu | | Telugu | Guest appearance |
| 2005 | Bhadra | Surendra's wife | Telugu | |
| 2006 | Saravana | Soundarapandiyan's wife | Tamil | |
| 2014 | Legend | Jaidev's aunt | Telugu | |
| 2015 | Andhra Pori | | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Premam | Sithara's mother | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Brahmotsavam | Bhulakshmi | Telugu | |
| 2016 | A Aa | Kameswari | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Ism | Satyavathi / Ammaji | Telugu | |
| 2017 | Nenu Local | Babu's mother | Telugu | |
| 2017 | Mister | Chey's step mother | Telugu | |
| 2017 | Jawaan | Jai's mother | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Kaala | Selvi | Tamil | Behindwoods Gold Medal Best Supporting ActressAnanda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Supporting ActressSIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 2018 | Ee Maaya Peremito | | Telugu | |
| 2018 | Aravindha Sametha | Reddamma | Telugu | |
| 2019 | F2 – Fun and Frustration | Laxmi | Telugu | |
| 2019 | Unda | Lalitha | Malayalam | Cameo |
| 2019 | Azhiyatha Kolangal 2 | News Reader | Tamil | Also producer |
| 2020 | Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo | Nurse Sulochana | Telugu | |
| 2020 | Johaar | Ganga | Telugu | |
| 2020 | Lock Up | Illavarasi | Tamil | |
| 2020 | Varmaa | Bhavani | Tamil | |
| 2021 | Love Story | Revanth's mother | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Theal | Durai's adopted mother and Raja's mother | Tamil | |
| 2022 | K.G.F: Chapter 2 | Fathima | Kannada | |
| 2022 | Virata Parvam | Sujatha | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Thank You | Sailaja | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Veera Simha Reddy | Siddhappa's Wife | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Kondraal Paavam | Valliyammal | Tamil | |
| 2023 | Peddha Kapu 1 | | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Dhootha | Raghavayya's granddaughter and Kranthi's mother | Telugu | Web series; Released on Amazon Prime Video |
| 2023 | Bandra | Rosamma | Malayalam | |
| 2023 | Pindam | Annamma | Telugu | |
| 2023 | Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire | Deva's mother | Telugu | |
| 2024 | Guntur Kaaram | Bujji, Satyam's sister | Telugu | |
| 2024 | Aalakaalam | Yashoda | Tamil | |

## Television

* Kokila Enge Pogiraal (Sun TV)
* Oka Stree Katha (AVM Productions) (2000)
* Peyarai Solla Vaa (Sun TV/Vikatan Televistas)
* Udhayam (Sun TV) Radaan Mediaworks
* Kasthuri (Sun TV)
* Aval Appadithan (Jaya TV)
* Ninne Pelladutha (Gemini TV)
* Vennalamma (Gemini TV)
* Agni Saatchi (Vijay TV)
* Vazhnthu Kaatukiren (AVM Productions) (Sun TV)
* Maya (Jaya TV)
* Aaha (Vijay TV)
* Kantham Kathalu (Dooradarshan - Telugu)

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Film | Result |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | Best Female Character Artiste | Virumbugiren | Won |
| Behindwoods Gold Medal | Best Supporting Actress | Kaala | Won |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kaala | Won |
| 8th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kaala | Won |