Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli (born 1918), known professionally as K. R. Chellam, was an Indian actress who appeared in Tamil language films.

Chellam, as she was informally known, dropped out of school early, and married a Bombay-based insurance salesman, later settling there with him.

As cinema was considered taboo in India at that time and she did not want her acquaintances to know she was in that profession, she chose her nickname Chellam as her stage name, though her family ultimately learned the truth.

The film became a box office bomb and its production company closed, forcing Chellam to continue as an actress to stay afloat.

Her next film Vanaraja Karzan (1938) received significant media attention because she wore a revealing outfit.