Veteran actress, Radhika Sarathkumar was seen in the role of Rishi Kapoor's wife in the film, Naseeb Apna Apna. With her portrayal of a simple girl from a village in the film directed by T Rama Rao, which was released in 1986, she could very easily etch a special place in millions of hearts. However, she has already left the industry behind after a few years and is now, doing something else apart from acting.
Here's everything you need to know about Radhika Sarathkumar, who then gained recognition in the South Indian film industry, before switching to active politics. She is the daughter of Tamil actor-cum-politician, Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (better known as M.R. Radha) and his wife, Geetha. Since her mother, Geetha, was a Sri Lankan Tamil, Radhika pursued her education in India, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.
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Coming to her personal life, Radhika initially married a Malayalam actor-turned-producer, Pratap Pothen in 1985. However, things didn't go well between them, and soon, they parted ways. Afterwards, the actress married a British national named Richard Hardy. Yet again, something went topsy-turvy in their relationship, which led to their separation. Finally, she tied the knot with former bodybuilder, Sarathkumar Ranganathan on February 4, 2001.
Radhika's third husband, Sarathkumar Ranganathan is also an actor-cum-filmmaker turned politician. The couple worked together in two Tamil films, including Namma Annachi (1994) and Suryavamsam (1997). Afterwards, they were blessed with a son named Rahul and a daughter named Rayane. As per reports, Rayane tied the knot in 2016 with ace cricketer, Abhimanyu Mathur, who plays for the IPL team - Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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Radhika Sarathkumar made her acting debut with the 1978 Tamil film, Kizhakke Pogum Rail. She has worked in many Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films and has also bagged many awards and accolades for them. She has received many Filmfare awards, the Best Telugu Actress award for Nyayam Kavali (1981), the Best Tamil Actress award for Dharma Devathai (1986), Neethikku Thandanai (1987) and Keladi Kanmani (1990), and many others.
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Radhika then also tried her hands in the Hindi film industry. She worked in Naseeb Apna Apna alongside Rishi Kapoor and Farah Naaz. Following this, she was seen in Hindi films, including Aaj Ka Arjun, Himmatwala and Lal Badshah. Despite working with eminent names in Bollywood, including Jackie Shroff, Shatrughan Sinha, Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, and others, she couldn't make a place in the industry. Thus, she returned to South Indian cinema, and kept working for quite some years.
Apart from acting, Radhika has also produced a Tamil film, Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai, released in 1985, for which she received the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Directorial Debut Film. Moreover, she appeared as a judge on Vijay TV's Jodi Number One season 4. Then, she also began producing television serials under her own banner, Radaan Mediaworks, in 1994. However, due to some initial glitches, the company re-emerged as Radaan Mediaworks (I) Ltd. in 1999. Under this, Radhika produced a number of serials, including Idi Katha Kadu, Vani Rani, Thamarai, Chitti, Chithi 2, Selvi, Arasi, Chellamay, and Annamalai.
After a successful career in the film and television industries, Radhika joined the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) along with her husband, Sarathkumar Ranganathan, ahead of the 2006 Assembly election. But she was dismissed from the party on October 18, 2006. Radhika then remained the Vice President of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi from 2007 until she resigned. This year, she contested from the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency for the 2024 Elections as a BJP candidate.
In 2014, Radiance Media Private Ltd. filed a petition claiming that a film financing company, Magic Frames, where Radhika and her husband, Sarathkumar are partners, borrowed Rs. 1.50 crore. The petition also mentioned that Sarathkumar later took an additional loan of Rs. 50 lakhs in an agreement that the amount would be returned by March 2015. However, in 2017, Radiance Media claimed that Magic Frames issued seven cheques as repayment, but all the cheques bounced during the presentation. For the same, seven cases were filed against Magic Frames. In 2019, the Madras High Court declined to quash the criminal proceedings in the pending cases after Radhika and Sarathkumar moved the former to do the same.
The Income Tax department then raided Radhika's production house, Radaan Mediaworks India Limited, in Chennai on April 11, 2017, days after the department interrogated Sarathkumar and searched his house. Finally, on April 7, 2021, Radhika and Sarathkumar were convicted in the case by the Special Court. They were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of Rs. 3.3 crore. However, on the same day, Sarathkumar was relieved from the sentence as he stated that the issue would be resolved, and the court issued an arrest warrant for Radhika since she did not appear in court. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 crores concerning the cases. The following day, on April 8, 2021, Radhika tested positive for COVID-19 and was shifted to a hospital in Chennai. No further update on the same matter has come up in the media.
Well, we are thrilled to know about Radhika Sarathkumar's unknown anecdotes from her life. What about you? Let us know!
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