Manorama (Tamil actress)

Gopishantha , better known by her stage name Manorama, also called as Aachi, was an Indian actress and comedian who had appeared in more than 1,500 films, 5,000 stage performances, and several television series until 2015. She entered the Guinness World Records for acting in more than 1000 number of films in 1985. By 2015, she had acted in more than 1,500 films. She was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award, Padma Shri , National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in film Pudhiya Padhai , and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award South .

Manorama was born in a Tamil Kallar family as Gopishantha to Kasi Kilakudaiyar and Ramamirtham in Mannargudi, a town in the erstwhile Thanjavur district of Madras Presidency. Manoramas biological father was not happy that a girl was born to him and hence asked her mother to leave the house. Her mother brought her up by taking up the job of working as maid. She mentioned her indebtedness to her mother for her success Many of the mother roles that she has played in films resemble her own mother. Her family moved to Pallathur near Karaikudi owing to poverty. While in Pallathur, her mother had started vomiting out blood, hence Manorama decided to start working as maid and dropped out of school at the age of 11. Once a drama troupe had come to Pallathur but the actress who was to play a small part suddenly dropped out due to her inability to sing and the troupe was looking for an artiste who could act and sing as well. The drama troupe decided to give her this role in the drama titled Andha

Source: Wikipedia