Sumalatha is an Indian film actress and politician from Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. Her most recognised role was as Clara from the 1987 film Thoovanathumbikal directed by P. Padmarajan. The film was ranked #8 by IBN Live in its list of greatest Indian films of all time. She gained popularity in Malayalam cinema and later married Kannada actor-politician Ambareesh and has a son Abhishek Ambaresh.