Malashri

Sri Durga (born 10 August 1973), known by the screen name Malashri, is an Indian film actress. She has worked predominantly in Kannada films in addition to Telugu and Tamil films. A leading actress of Kannada cinema in the late 1980s and 1990s, Malashri garnered praise for her portrayal of a homely Indian girl and character roles. She was popularly called Kanasina Rani ("Dream Girl") in the media. Malashri began her career as a child artiste and has appeared in 34 films of Tamil and Telugu. She made her debut in a lead role with the Kannada film Nanjundi Kalyana (1989). Her portrayal of a haughty, shrewish woman in the movie won her many accolades heralding her as one of the top actresses in Kannada Cinema. She went to establish herself as a leading actress in Kannada cinema with the films Gajapathi Garvabhanga (1989), Policena Hendthi (1990), Kitturina Huli (1990), Rani Maharani (1990), Hrudaya Haadithu (1991), for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Ramachaari (1991), Belli Kalungura (1992), Solillada Saradara (1993) and Gadibidi Aliya (1995). In the 2000s, Malashri began to work exclusively in action films like Chamundi (2000), Kannadada Kiran Bedi (2009), Shakti (2012), Veera (2013) and Ganga (2015) for which she won her first Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress.