Career
Kalpana was recruited to the Kannada film industry in 1963 by director B.R. Pantulu for his Rajkumar starrer Saaku Magalu. However, it was the 1967 released Belli Moda that brought her to the forefront. This role portrayal of hers was instantly accepted and she soon catapulted to the top position among the actresses of 1960's. She dominated the Kannada film industry during the late 1960s and 1970s and was critically acclaimed for some of her career best roles in author backed movies like Sharapanjara, Gejje Pooje, Belli Moda, Eradu Kanasu, Kappu Bilupu, Bayalu Daari, Gandhada Gudi and Bangarada Hoovu. She worked with almost all the leading actors and directors of her time. Her most frequent co-stars were Rajkumar, Gangadhar and Udaya Kumar. P. Susheela and S. Janaki were the regular voices behind her songs in the films. She gave a tiff competition to her contemporaries such as Jayanthi, Bharathi, Aarathi, Manjula among others.
Initially she was the most favored heroine of ace director Puttana Kanagal. Their association produced some of the finest movies in the history of Kannada cinema. Majority of their films had strong hard hitting messages which were treasured in the cinema history. Kanagal groomed Kalpana to a great extent and they were also romantically linked by the media, much to their denials. However they fell apart due to the misunderstandings and Kanagal went on to groom other heroines like Aarthi and Padma Vasanti while Kalpana featured in some average and above average films later on.
She had also acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies, such as Madras To Pondicherry. This film was later made in Hindi, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aruna Irani in leading roles. Both the films were very successful at the box office. She also acted in Koti Channayya, a Tulu movie, directed by Dr. Shivaram Karanth.
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