Radha hails from Kallara Village near Kilimanoor in Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala. Her mother Kallara Sarasamma was Mahila Congress leader during 2014. She has two elder sisters, Ambika and Mallika, and two younger brothers, Arjun and Suresh.^[4][5]

Radha got married to Rajasekaran Nair on 10 September 1991. The couple has 3 children; Son Vignesh Nair and daughters Karthika Nair and Thulasi Nair, who have settled in Mumbai. For the past 25, years they have owned a chain of restaurants in Mumbai and two hotels called UDS in Kovalam at Kerala, which have won the best coastal beach resort award. They also own a restaurant in the UK named "Rock and Role Kitchen" (RRK).

Her sister Ambika is also an actress. Her daughter Karthika Nair started her career as an actress with the Telugu film Josh. Her other daughter Thulasi Nair started her career as an actress with the Maniratnam film Kadal (2012 film).

Radha was spotted by director Bharathiraja and was cast as a teenager in Alaigal Oivathillai in 1981 opposite newcomer Karthik.

Tamil cinema

Radha started her career in 1981 starring as the protagonist in director Bharathiraja's Alaigal Oivathillai alongside debutant Karthik. The movie was a runaway hit and is regarded as a cult classic. The on-screen chemistry that she shared with Karthik was highly successful and led to many movies such as Pakkathu Veetu Roja, Valibamey Vaa Vaa and Ilanjodigal. In the same year, Radha played a small role in the movie Tik Tik Tik, which also starred Kamal Haasan. Tik Tik Tik played a significant role in her career. Later, she starred alongside Kamal Hassan in movies such as Oru Kaidhiyin Diary, Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey, Kadhal Parisu and Jappanil Kalyanaraman.

Her sister Ambika is also a very popular actress. They shared screen space in films such as Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Kadhal Parisu, Anna Nagar Mudhal Theru, Idhaya Kovil and Vellai Roja. The two sisters were at the zenith of their fame when they acted in Kadhal Parisu, in which they played the roles of very glamorous, highly desirable women. Ambika and Radha managed their careers very carefully, and after attaining success, they were very selective about taking up roles in Tamil movies and only performed with top actors and directors. It was very rare to see both the sisters in the same movie after their early years in the Tamil film industry.

Telugu cinema

She acted in her first Telugu film with Shoban Babu in Mr. Vijay . Her notable films in Telugu include Yamudiki Mogudu, State Rowdy, Raamudu Bheemudu and Agni Parvatam. She has acted in about 16 films with Chiranjeevi, 6 films with Balakrishna and worked with all major heroes such as NTR, ANR, Krishna, Shoban Babu and many more. Her glamour roles were brought out by K. Raghavendra Rao and A. Kodandarami Reddy.

Kannada cinema

Radha has done 4 Kannada films. She acted with veteran Vishnuvardhan and actress Lakshmi in Soubhagya Lakshmi, a remake of the Hindi film Maang Bharo Sajana. It in turn is a remake of a Telugu movie. She has done films with Ravichandran. In 1991, she did the movie Ranachandi, with co-actors Sharat Babu, Ramesh Bhat, Mukhyamantri Chandru and Sudhir. In the film, she played a cop with Sharat Babu as her husband and Mukhyamantri Chandru as the villain. She had many stunts and fight sequences. It was a big hit in Kannada and is still remembered by Kannada movie-goers.

Malayalam cinema

Radha acted only in 5 Malayalam films, the most notable being K. G. George's state award-winning film Irakal (1986). Her performance as Nirmala is widely regarded as one of the best in her career. She produced the Malayalam film Ayitham (1987), in which she played the lead role. She played significant roles in Sathyan Anthikad's Revathikkoru Pavakkutty (1986), she had acted in Umanilayam (1984), Joshy's movie and P. G. Viswambaran's Innathe Programme (1991).

Telugu films

Tamil films

Malayalam films

Kannada films