Uma Shivakumar
Uma Shivakumar (c. 1941 – 25 June 2013) was an Indian actress known for her work in Kannada cinema and theatre. She was widely popular for her stage and film roles and was nicknamed “Baddi Bangaramma” after the 1984 film in which she played a moneylender. She acted in more than 170 Kannada films and over 30 plays.
She started as a classical musician and moved to amateur theatre in the 1970s, earning praise as an elder sister of theatre. One of her best-known stage roles was in the satirical play Muhammad bin Tughluq, where she played Tughluq’s stepmother.
Uma made her film debut in Vamsha Vriksha (1971), directed by B. V. Karanth and Girish Karnad. Her second film was Kaadu (1973), also directed by Karnad. Her first commercial film was Kesarina Kamala (1973). She later appeared in films such as Shravana Banthu, College Ranga, and Nodi Swamy Navirodu Heege, among many others, totaling more than 170 Kannada films mainly in the 1970s and 1980s. She won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chandanada Gombe (1979).
Beyond acting, she worked with the Department of Information and the Department of Tourism, alongside other Kannada actors and writers. Later in life, she ran a beauty salon called Baddi Bangaramma Beauty Parlour in Chamrajpet, Bangalore. Uma Shivakumar died on 25 June 2013 at the age of 71 in Bangalore, due to diabetic and age-related problems.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:43 (CET).