Smita Talwalkar

Smita Talwalkar (5 September 1954 – 6 August 2014) was a Marathi film actress, producer and director. She won two National Film Awards as producer of the films Kalat Nakalat (1989) and Tu Tithe Mee (1998).

Career

Born as Smita Govilkar on 5 September 1954, Talwalkar was a television newsreader for 17 years before entering acting. Her initial successful films as an actress include Tu Saubhagyavati Ho and Gadbad Ghotala, both of 1986. Gadbad Ghotala was a comedy romance film with ensemble caste of various notable actors. She stepped into the role of a film producer with her first film Kalat Nakalat under the banner of Asmita Chitra in 1989. The drama dealt with delicate topic of families and children where one of the parents is involved in the extra-marital affair. Directed by Kanchan Nayak, the film was adjudged as the Best Marathi Feature Film at the 37th National Film Awards.

In 1991, Talwalkar played the role of Minal, a childhood friend of a mentally challenged boy in Chaukat Raja. The lead role of the boy was played by Dilip Prabhavalkar, for which he won Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actor. Directed by Sanjay Surkar, the film was also produced by Talwalkar. Surkar-Talwalkar pair would create many notable films in future like Tu Tithe Mee (1998), Saatchya Aat Gharat (2004) and Anandache Jhaad (2006). After her role as a producer, Talwalkar made her directorial debut in 1993 with the comedy-drama film Sawat Mazhi Ladki. The film received the Maharashtra State Film Award.

Smita

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Smita (born Smita Vallurupalli on 4 September 1980) is an Indian pop singer, playback singer and actress known for her works in Telugu cinema, Bollywood, Tamil cinema and Kannada cinema. She was starred in films such as Malliswari (2004), and Dying To Be Me (2015).

Career

Singing

Smita's potential as a singer was identified at a talent show in a Telugu television channel anchored by S.P.Balasubramaniam in 1997. Around this time she started trying for some playback opportunities and she did get to sing a few playback songs. This is when her parents advised her that it was more apt to choose pop singing as a career as she had a style which is more suited for making of a pop artist. "Hairabba" was a result of this decision.

Cinema

Her career as a pop artist started in the year 2000 with the launch of her first album "Hai Rabba". This album was followed by several blockbuster albums in Telugu and Tamil. Some of her albums in Telugu has crossed sales of over one million copies with special mention to albums like "Masaka Masaka". Over the last seven years Smita has sung over seventy five playback songs in Telugu and has worked with leading music composers from the south.