Bhanumathi’s Chandirani was the first film by a women director to be released in three languages on the same day

P Bhanumathi Ramakrishna is a veteran film personality who has donned the hats of an actor, director, music composer, singer and writer. She was one of the finest artists of the Indian film industry. She made her acting debut in 1939 with the film

Vara Vikraya

.

On August 28, 1953 her directorial debut

Chandirani

in which she acted too was released in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. With this film, Bhanumathi became the first woman director to write and direct a movie that was released in three languages on the same day. Bhanumathi played Chandi Rani and Champa Rani in the film along side NT

Rama Rao

as Kishore,

SV Sanga Rao

as Prachandudu and Relangi as Mukunda.

A recipient of several national and state awards, Bhanumathi who hailed from Andhra Pradesh acted in more than 100 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. She is also believed to be the only female film studio owner in the country.