Soundarya

Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. She also acted in a few Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films. She has received three Nandi Awards, three Karnataka State Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards South. In 2002, she received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film as a producer for the Kannada film Dweepa. Soundarya established herself as the most popular Telugu actress of the 1990s and is best known for her performances in films such as Ammoru (1995), Pavitra Bandham (1996), Anthahpuram (1998), Raja (1999), Doni Saagali (1998), Dweepa (2002) and Apthamitra (2004). She won three Nandi Awards for Pavitra Bandham and Special Jury Prize for Ammoru and Anthahpuram. On 17 April 2004, she died in a plane crash in Bengaluru at the age of 31.