Jaya Prada (Telugu: జయప్రద) (born 3 April 1962)[1] is an Indian film actress and politician. She has starred in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films.
Jaya Prada was born as Lalita Rani on 3 April 1962 in a middle-class family in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her father Krishna Rao
[disambiguation needed] was a Telugu film financier. Her mother Neelaveni enrolled her in dance and music classes at an early age.
When Jaya Prada was fourteen years old, she performed a dance at her
school's annual function. A film director in the audience offered her a
three minute dance number in the Telugu film
Bhoomikosam. She was hesitant, but her family encouraged her to accept it. She was paid only 10 rupees
for her work in the film, but the rushes of those three minutes of film
were shown to the major figures of the Telugu film industry. Major
filmmakers offered her starring roles in quality films, and she accepted
them. She became a huge star in 1976 with major hit films. Director K. Balachander's black-and-white film
Anthuleni Katha (1976) showcased her dramatic skills; K. Viswanath's color film
Siri Siri Muvva (1976) showed her playing a mute with excellent dancing skills; and her title role as Sita in the big-budget mythological film
Seetha Kalyanam confirmed her versatility. In 1977, she starred in
Adavi Ramudu, which broke box office records and which permanently cemented her star status.
[2] The song "Aaresukoboyi Paresukunnanu" performed by Prada and co-star N.T. Rama Rao became a mass hit.
[3] Important filmmakers were casting her and repeating her in their films. In 1979, K. Balachander repeated her in
Ninaithale Inikkum opposite Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth in which she played a terminally-ill patient. She continued to act in more films in Telugu opposite actors such NTR, ANR, Krishna, Krishnam Raju and Sobhan Babu throughout the 70s and 80s. K. Viswanath remade
Siri Siri Muvva (1976) in Hindi as
Sargam introducing Jayaprada to Bollywood in 1979. The film was successful and she became a star there as well. She earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress but couldn't capitalize on her success since she couldn't speak Hindi.
[4]
1980s
In 1981, she starred in the critically acclaimed
47 Natkal for filmmaker K. Balachander in which Chiranjeevi played her villainous, bigamist husband. After she took Hindi lessons, director K. Vishwanath relaunched her in Hindi films, with the hit film
Kaamchor where she spoke Hindi fluently for the first time.
[5] She was now able to consistently work in Hindi films, and earned two more Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for playing Amitabh Bachchan's endearing girlfriend in Prakash Mehra's Sharaabi (1984) and for her challenging double role in K. Vishwanath's
Sanjog.
Saagara Sangamam released in 1983 proved to be a milestone in her career. Starring Kamal Hassan, the film won her lot of accolades including Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu.
Jaya made a successful team not just with Amitabh Bachchan and Jeetendra, but also with her immediate screen rival Sridevi, with whom she has acted in about a dozen films. Their hit Telugu film
Devata (1982) was remade into the hit Hindi film
Tohfa
(1984). These films endeared Jaya Prada to the traditional conservative
section of film goers and she amassed a huge female fan following as
well. It was an image that would serve her well when she started a new
career as a politician.
Indian director Satyajit Ray described her as was one of the prettiest women in the world.[6] Although, she has acted in Bengali
films, she has never worked for Ray. (She claimed that Ray had her in
mind for a film, but his illness and subsequent death prevented their
collaboration)
1990s and later
As she became involved in her political career since 1994, at the age of 32, her involvement with films reduced.
In 2002, she stepped into the Marathi film industry by being a guest in the movie
Aadhaar.
[8]
Thus far, she acted in eight languages and has completed 300 films
during a 30-year film career. She started playing mature roles in 2004.
She also owns the Jaya Prada Theater in Chennai.[9]
In 2011, she returned to Malayalam screens with a strong role in Pranayam, alongside Mohanlal and Anupam Kher. She essayed the role of 'Grace' in this film which won her critical acclaim and several awards. Her 2012 Kannada film Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (Sangolli_Rayanna_(film)) saw her donning the historical role of Kittur Chennamma.
Awards
- Nandi Awards
- Filmfare Awards South
- Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress – Saagara Sangamam (1983)
- Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (2007)[15]
Other Awards
- Kala Saraswati Award
- Kinnera Savitri Award
- Rajiv Gandhi Award
- Nargis Dutt Gold Medal
- Shakuntala Kala Rathnam Award
- Uttam Kumar Award[16]
- ANR Achievement Award (2008)[17]
- Venus of Indian Cinema Award from TSR TV9 Film Awards (2011)[18]
- Nana Film Award for Best Actress - Pranayam
- Ujala Asianet Film Awards 2012 - Special Jury Award for 'Pranayam'
- Amrita Film Awards 2012 - Best Actress Award for 'Pranayam'
- Mathrubhumi Kalyan Silks film awards 2012 - Best Character Actress Award for 'Pranayam'
- Kerala Film Producers Association - Surya TV Film Awards 2012 - Outstanding Performance Award for 'Pranayam'
- Asiavision Movie Awards 2011 - Outstanding Performance Award for 'Pranayam'
Notable Filmography
