Prema (Kannada actress)


Neravanda Chetticha Prema is an Indian actress known for her work predominantly in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and a few Tamil language films. She ruled Kannada industry in the 90s and early 2000s and she has appeared in many commercially successful feature films. She was a leading Kannada actress at the turn of the century and has received the Karnataka State Film Award and Filmfare Best Actress awards for her performances in Kannada films. She has featured in Om and Yajamana, which are the two major blockbuster and highest-grossing films of their time in Kannada cinema. After an eight-year hiatus, she returned to films with Upendra Matte Baa in 2017.

Personal life

Prema was born into Neravanda family, of the Kodava community to Chetticha and Kaveri, in military hospital, Bangalore. She received high school education in Mahila Seva Samaja High School and completed her Pre-university course in Murnad junior college, Kodagu. As a student she was involved actively in sports and represented her school and college in high jump and volleyball events at the national level. Her younger brother Neravanda Aiyappa was a cricket player who represented Karnataka in Ranji Trophy. Her younger sister Indu NC lives in Dubai.
Prema was married to Jeevan Appacchu. She filed a divorce petition in the Family Court, Bangalore in March 2016.

Career

Prema began her career in the Rajkumar camp in 1995 starring opposite Shivarajkumar in Savyasachi and Raghavendra Rajkumar with Aata Hudugata respectively. Though both films did not perform well at the box-office, she was given the lead role in another Shivarajkumar starrer Om directed by Upendra. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and also got her the Karnataka State Award for Best Actress.
In 1996 she acted in the Sunil Kumar Desai directed Nammoora Mandara Hoove co-starring Shivarajkumar and Ramesh Aravind. She also made her Malayalam debut with The Prince opposite Mohanlal, directed by Tamil director Suresh Krissna fresh from the success of Baashha. The same year, she made her Telugu debut with Dharma Chakram. In 1999 the super success of her films had catapulted her to the top spot in Kannada movies. Chandramuki Pranasakhi, Upendra and V. Ravichandran's Naanu Nanna Hendthiru in Kannada and the Telugu language film, Devi which collected Rs. 18 crores at the box-office and was dubbed into Hindi as well.
In 2000 she saw 6 releases of which Yajamana opposite Vishnuvardhan was a runaway hit. 2001 proved lucky with the female-centric Kanasugara, the remake of Tamil film Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, which fetched her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and many other awards for her portrayal of a simple girl who becomes a famous singer. Her main release in 2002 was Sunil Kumar Desai's musical Parva co-starring Vishnuvardhan and Roja Selvamani. In 2003, she was praised by critics for her complex role in Singaaravva. In 2004, Prema played Vishnuvardhan's leading lady in Apthamitra, the Kannada remake of Malayalam Manichitrathazhu by P. Vasu.
She has shared screen space with Vishnuvardhan in seven films - Yajamana, Apthamitra, Jamindaru, Kshana Kshana, Ekadantha, Parva, and Ellaranthalla Nanna Ganda.
Post her marriage in 2006, Prema cut down on her film assignments. Her last release was Shishira in 2009 before taking a hiatus. In 2017 she made her comeback with Upendra Matte Baa. She has, thus far, acted in more than 70 movies in Kannada and more than 28 movies in Telugu.

Awards

Filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
1995SavyasachiRaadhaKannada
1995OmMadhuriKannadaKarnataka State Film Award for Best Actress
1995Aata HudugataPremaKannada
1995Police PowerKannada
1996Nammoora Mandara HooveSumaKannadaUdaya Film Award for Best Actress
1996The PrinceSwarnaMalayalam
1996Dharma ChakramSurekhaTelugu
1996Jagadeka VeeruduTelugu
1996Adirindi GuruTelugu
1997Atta Nee Koduku JagrattaTelugu
1997Korukunna PriyuduPriyaTelugu
1997ChelikaaduLikhitaTelugu
1997OmkaramMadhuriTelugu
1997Ellaranthalla Nanna GandaNethraKannada
1998Thutta MuttaPoojaKannada
1998KowravaKannada
1998Shanti Shanti ShantiSuzyKannada
1998Maa Aavida CollectorMeenaTelugu
1998Dheerga Sumangali BhavaTelugu
1998Kangalin VaarthaigalJanakiTamil
1999Chandramukhi PranasakhiSahanaKannadaCinema Express Award for Best Actress
1999ChandrodayaDivyaKannada
1999Naanu Nanna HendthiruManishaKannada
1999UpendraSwathiKannada
1999ZPremaKannada
1999DeviDeviTeluguGemini Film award for Best Actress
1999Raghavayya Gari AbbayiTelugu
2000Naga DevatheNagalakshmiKannada
2000Maya BazaarKannada
2000Nuvve KavaliCameoTelugu
2000Ammo! Okato TareekhuDhanalaakshmiTelugu
2000Ee Tharam NehruSumanjaliTelugu
2000Rayalaseema Ramanna ChowdaryNagasulochanaTelugu
2000Nannavalu NannavaluChanduKannadaAsianet Kaveri Film Award for Best Actress
2000Chiru NavvuthoArunaTelugu
2000Uttara Dhruvadim Dakshina DhruvakuNandiniKannada
2000YajamanaSangeethaKannadaETV Film Award for Best Actress
2000Daivathinte MakanAnjaliMalayalam
2000Gajina ManeKannada
2001Anjali GeethanjaliAnjaliKannada
2001KanasugaraSangeethaKannadaFilmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada
2001Premi No.1Kannada
2001Kothigalu Saar KothigaluLalithaKannada
2001Grama DevatheKaveriKannada
2001NeelambariKannada
2001Prematho RaaSandhyaTelugu
2001Devi PutruduGoddessTelugu
2002ParvaSumaKannada
2002MutthuSaraswathiKannada
2002ChelviChelviKannada
2002TaporiKannada
2002JamindaruKannada
2002BalaramaSevanthiKannada
2002PremaPremaKannada
2002KambalahalliKannada
2002SingaaravvaSingaravvaKannada
2002MarmaSudhaKannada
2003Mooru Manasu Nooru KanasuKannada
2003Ai Naan Bhishma KanoKannada
2003Sri Renuka DeviKannada
2003Ananda NilayaKannada
2003VijayadashamiKannada
2003Lavve PasagaliKannada
2003Janaki Weds SriramPremaTelugu
2004ApthamitraSoumyaKannada
2004AzhagesanNandhiniTamil
2005Inspector JhansiJhansiKannada
2005Pandu Ranga VittalaPremaKannada
2005Devi AbhayamNaag DeviTelugu
2005AyodhyaJyothiTelugu
2006A Aa E EeKannada
2007EkadanthaBhaktiKannada
2007Kshana KshanaPhalguniKannada
2007DheeShankar's wifeTelugu
2008SundarakandaSeethaTelugu
2008KrishnarjunaTelugu
2008Navashakthi VaibhavaChamundeshwariKannada
2008AdivishnuPremaTelugu
2009Anjani PutruduTelugu
2009ShishiraKannada
2017Upendra Matte BaaSathyabhamaKannada
2022Anukoni PrayanamGayatriTelugu
2022Wedding GiftPremaKannada
2023My Name Is ShruthiDr. KiranmayiTelugu
2024RazakarAnthammaTelugu
2025KishkindhapuriVisravaputra’s motherTelugu