Quiz Ambika about sibling rivalry between Radha and her and she immediately says that there was never any room for jealousy or competition. “Earlier the media used to write about her as Ambika’s younger sister but when she touched the heights of stardom she forged an identity of her own. During a rather lean phase in my career, the media asked me if I would mind being addressed as Radha’s elder sister. All I told them was it did not matter how they rephrased it because it was fine as long as the name and money came to the same family,” she muses with a twinkle in her eye.

Ambika and Radha sizzled together in several movies like Idhayakovil, Manakannaku, Engeyo Kettu Kural, Kadhal Parisun and Dhampatyam. “It did not bother us whether one person had more scope in a film or not.” Both Ambika and Radha who were glamour queens in their respective films were very particular about their costumes and makeup. “Well, we did not have many choices, but the costumer would always ask for our preference of colour. I used to select Radha’s clothes then. From accessories to nail colour and footwear, I was very finicky about attaining perfection.”

While Radha became extremely popular in the Telugu film industry because of her glamorous roles, Ambika was not successful in her Tollywood inning. “People expected me to follow in the league of Sridevi and Jayaprada to act in Hindi films. Somehow things did not materialise but I have no regrets about that. I was successful in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada films and I was happy with what I had.”