Kishori Ballal was an Indian actress who was mainly known for her work in the Kannada cinema. She is best known for playing the character of “Kaveri Amma;” Shah Rukh Khan’s mother in the Bollywood film ‘Swades’ (2004).
Wiki/Biography
Kishori Ballal was born in 1937 (age 82 years at the time of death), in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka.
Family & Caste
She was married to a Bharatanatyam dancer, N Sripathi Ballal, a Hindu from the Bunt community. N Sripathi Ballal hails from Mangalore. The couple got married in 1950.
Career
Kishori Ballal and her husband were trained in acting from Dr Siva Ram Karanth and Vysarya Ballal. Later, she worked in an advertisement produced under ‘Durga Khote Productions.’ In 1960, she debuted in the Kannada film, ‘Ivalentha Hendthi.’ She performed in various theatre plays in 1970, which were later translated in Kannada also.
She acted in the films of different languages, including Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, Tulu, and Konkani. In her career span of 15 years, she acted in more than 70 films. Some of her popular films include Ek Alag Mausam (2003), Quick Gun Murugun (2003), Ambari (2009), Kempe Gowda (2011), Bombay Mittai (2015), and Kahi (2016).
Kishori Ballal in Ambari
She is also known for some of her remarkable performances in a few Bollywood films, like Swades (2004), Lafangey Parindey (2010), and Aiyyaa (2012).
Kishori Ballal in Swades
She got immense popularity with her role of ‘Kaveri Amma’ in the 2004 film Swades.
She acted in various TV serials including, ‘Amruthavarshini’ which was aired in 2012 and became one of the longest-running TV serials in the Kannada language.
Kishori Ballal in Amruthavarshini
Death
She died on 18 February 2020, due to a respiratory infection at Bengaluru’s Sevakshetra hospital.
Awards & Honours
- 1984: Kannada Rajyothsava award
- 1984: Kannada Nataka Academy Prashasthi
- 2005: International Indian Film Academy Awards for Best Performance in a Supporting Role Female in Swades
- 2014: Smt Lakshmi Bai Award for Acting
Facts/Trivia
- She was fondly called as ‘Amma.’
- On her demise, Shah Rukh Khan shared a picture of Kaveri Amma from his film ‘Swades’ on his Instagram account.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Instagram Post for Kishori Ballal
- Ashutosh Gowariker, the director of Swades (2004) also tweeted remembering Kishori Ballal,
“Heartbroken! Terribly sad about the passing away of #KishoriBallal ji. Kishori ji… you will be remembered for your generously kind, warm and affable persona! And your unforgettable performance as #Kaveriamma in #Swades !! You will surely be missed.”