Sangita aka ‘Poove Unakkaga’ Sangita is one of the most popular heroines of Tamil cinema despite the fact that she has been out of the limelight for close to a decade. The stunning actress who recently made a comeback in Malayalam films has opened up about why she quit films and also a peek into her personal life.
Sangita started her career as a child artiste in the movie ‘Snehikkan Oru Pennu’ in Malayalam in 1978. She entered the Tamil film 11 years later in K. Bhagyaraj’s ‘En Rathathin Rathame’, which is the Tamil remake of Hindi movie ‘Mr. India’. She made her debut as a heroine as a 16 year old in ‘Ellame En Rasathan’ in 1995 in which she was paired with a much much older Rajkiran.
Sangita is especially close to Tamil audiences after acting with Thalapathy Vijay in the all time blockbuster hit ‘Poove Unakkaga’ directed by Vikraman. She is especially unforgettable in the song “Solamale Yaar Parthathu” and apart from her bubbly performance. In the latter part of the 90s Sangita was the go to heroine when it comes to homely roles and she acted in a number of movies including ‘Kaalam Maari Pochu’, ‘Alexander”, ‘Vallall’, ‘Ganga Gowri’, and ‘Pongalo Pongal’.
It can safely be said that she filled the void created by the legendary Nadia Moidu who quit films at her peak after getting married. Similarly Sangita too at the peak of her career fell in love with the then famous cinematographer Saravanan and got married in 2000. She then decided to concentrate on family life and accepted only a select few offers.
“I won’t do anything I don’t like. Notably, there are many films where I said ‘no’ because of the condition that I was required to be glamorous. I will always be determined to act in the films I like rather than for the money or increasing quantity ” – was the bold statement she made when she took her strong decision.
At the time that film was made, ‘It looks like a green dot; How to handle this powerful character?’ Such talk has come. But, for all this, she surprised the fans with her mature acting and charming look, which suited the role of ‘Rani’ very well. The film was a super hit. After that, Sangeetha, who acted in Parthiban’s ‘Pullakuttikaran’, and ‘Seethanam’ sang a duet with Prabhu called ‘Vandalappa Vandalappa’.
Although she has acted as a heroine in a few Tamil films, it was her role as Nirmala Meri in the Vikraman directed film ‘Poove Unakakka’ that brought Sangeeta to the fore. She became a style icon for the young women of that time with various looks, designer saree, cute hair style.
Notably, Sangeeta’s acting and reactions are very enjoyable, whether she calls out her husband and teases actor Vijay, or does pranks in ‘Tulluvatho Ihla’. In that film, the song ‘Chollamale Yaar Parthu’, which he sang a duet with Vijay, became a love song close to the hearts of the youth of that time.
One thing that many fans do not know about this film is that the climax of the film ‘Poove Unakakka’ has been shot in two ways. In other words, Vijay and Sangeeta have been shot as a couple in the climax, and as seen in the film, Vijay is saying goodbye to his girlfriend with memories. Even though Vijay and Sangeetha did not pair up, the film was a super duper hit with Tamil fans.
At the same time as the opportunity for ‘Poove Unakakka’ came, Sangeeta also got the opportunity to act as the heroine in the film ‘Kathal Kotdi’. Missing the chance to team up with Ajith due to the call sheet problem, she acted in the same ‘Kamali’ character in the Kannada remake of that film ‘Yare Neenu Seluvenga’.
Not many people know that Sangita’s husband Saravanan worked as a cameraman in the movie ‘Poove Unakakka’. Theirs is a love marriage. Actor Vijay was about to marry his wife Sangeetha around the time of the release of ‘Poove Unakakka’. So when the news of actress Sangeeta’s marriage came, rumors started spreading that Vijay was going to marry his ‘Poove Unakkaga’ costar Sangita. But actor Vijay already knows that cinematographer Saravanan and actress Sangeetha are going to get married, so actor Vijay did not take the rumors too seriously. Many may ask whether Sangita’s love marriage will not have any interesting aspects. Sangita herself has answered this once.
“Saravanan and I never said ‘I love you’ to each each other to express our love. An emotional connect started developing between the two of us after we started working in ‘Poove Unakkaga’. Both of us started to feel the love that each other had for the other. Apart from that we also got married. More than words, love is when two minds come together!” Sangita talked about her love story with emotion.
Sangita was only 22 years old when she got married. Apart from that, at that time she was a busy actress in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. But Sangeeta didn’t think anything of this and quit acting in movies after marriage. After the birth of her daughter, the pretty actress devoted her entire time to bring her up. On the other hand her husband Saravanan directed the film ‘Silambattam’ starring actor Simbu. At that time, she was also supportive of her husband’s film work.
For many years, whenever Sangita’s films, especially ‘Poove Unakkaga’, and ‘Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala’ are aired on TV, fans usually took to social media questioning, ‘Where is she and what is she doing now’? To answer all that, in 2014, Sangita made a comeback in Malayalam cinema with ‘Nagaravarithi Madhuvil Gyan’ along with actor Srinivasan. After another break of nine years Sangita has now acted in important roles in two recent Malayalam movies ‘Chaaver ‘ and the upcoming ‘Parakramam’ and ‘Anand Sreebala’.
Sangita lives happily with her family in Chennai and has a twenty-year-old daughter. Despite having a grown daughter on her shoulder, she still has the same youthful look and energy as seen in ‘Poove Unakkaga’. But Sangita brushes that off with a laugh revealing that her daughters friends call her “Aunty”.
To the question when she will make a comeback in Tamil cinema the 44 year old actress “I am ready as soon as a good story, comes my and cant wait to make a comeback in Tamil too.” Fans are waiting for this favorite heroine to weave her magic in Tamil once again.
