Jayapradha Biography

 

Jaya Pradha (Telugu: born 3 April 1962) is an Indian film actress and politician.

Jaya Pradha was born Lalita Rani on 3rd April 1962in a middle-class family in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Jaya Pradha father Krishna Rao was a Telugu film financier.Jaya Pradha mother Neelavani enrolled her in dance and music classes at an early age.

When she was fourteen years old, she performed a dance at her school's annual function. A film director was in the audience, and he offered her a three-minute dance number in the Telugu film Bhoomikosam.Jaya Pradha was hesitant, but her family encouraged her to accept it. She was paid only 10 rupees for her work in the film, but she also received much greater opportunities, as the rushes of those three minutes of film was shown to the major figures of the Telugu film industry, and the floodgates opened.Jaya Pradha was discovered by renowed Tamil Director K. Balachander. Balachander first cast her in a small role in the 1976 Tamil film Manmadha Leelai opposite Kamal Haasan. After that, major filmmakers offered her starring roles in quality films, and she accepted them. Jaya Pradha became a major star in 1976 with a trio of hits: K. Balachander's Anthuleni Katha showcased her dramatic skills; K. Viswanath's Siri Siri Muvva 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.The song "Aaresukoboyi Paresukunnanu" picturized on her and co-star N.T. Rama Rao became a mass hit.Jaya Pradha branched out to star in Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada films, and had hit films in all of them.

K. Viswanath remade Siri Siri Muvva (1976) in Hindi as Sargam introducing Jayapradha to Bollywood in 1979. The film became a huge hit and she became an overnight star there as well.Jaya Pradha earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress but couldn't capitalize on her success since she couldn't speak Hindi.It took three more years before director K. Vishwanath relaunched her again in Hindi films, with the hit film Kaamchor(1982) where she spoke Hindi fluently for the first time.Jaya Pradha was now able to consistently work in Hindi films and earn 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.

Along with her Bollywood film career, she continued to star in acclaimed films in the South, such as K. Vishwanath's Telugu hit film Sagara Sangamam with Kamal Haasan (1983).Jaya Pradha earned fans, not just with the masses, but also with the great Indian director Satyajit Ray, who has said she was one of the prettiest women in the world.Although, she has acted in Bengali films, she has never worked for Ray. (Jaya Pradha claimed that Ray had her in mind for a film, but his illness and subsequent death prevented their collaboration)

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 (film) (1982) where they played sisters who made big sacrifices for each other, was remade into the hit Hindi film Tohfaa (1984). These films endeared Jayapradha to the traditional conservative section of filmgoers. It was an image that would serve her well when she started a new career as a politician.

In film Paatal Bhairavi, at the peak of her facial and physical beauty, Jayapradha plays the role of a princess in a magical kingdom. This performance became renowned as the supreme example of grand and classical beauty of South Indian women in Bollywood.

In 2002, she stepped into the Marathi film industry by being a guest in the movie Aadhaar.Thus far, she acted in eight languages and has completed 300 films during a 30-year film career.Jaya Pradha started playing mature roles in 2004.

Jaya Pradha also owns the Jaya Prada Theater in Chennai.

In 1986, she married producer Srikanth Nahata, who was already married to Chandra and had 3 children. Needless to say, this marriage stirred a lot of controversy, especially since Nahata did not divorce his current wife and had children with his first wife after marrying Jayaprada.Jayaprada and Srikanth have no children together, but she expressed desire to have children. Both Jaya Prada and her husband's first wife have cordially agreed to share a husband.

Jayaprada was initiated into the Telugu Desam Party by her former co-star N.T.Rama Rao in 1994.Jaya Pradha later broke away from him and joined the Chandrababu Naidu faction of the party.Jaya Pradha  was nominated to the Rajya Sabha representing Andhra Pradesh in 1996.

Following differences with party Supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, she left TDP to join Samajwadi Party and contested from Rampur parliamentary Constituency in UP during the last General election in 2004 and got elected. During her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, she was issued a notice by the Election Commission for violating the code of conduct by distributing bindis to women in Rampur's Swar locality.On 11 May 2009, Jaya Prada alleged that senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was distributing nude pictures of her.Jaya Pradha  was re-elected with a margin of more than 30,000 votes.

Jayaprada was expelled from the party on February 2,2010 on the charge of indulging in activities inimical to its political interests and damaging its image.Jayaprada was accused by Samajwadi party members for infiltration into the party of capitalist and communal forces, which threatened to derail it from its Samajwadi moorings and damage its secular character.

Nandi Special Award for Anthuleni Katha (1976)

Kala Saraswati Award

Kinnera Savitri Award

Rajiv Gandhi Award

Nargis Dutt Gold Medal

Shakuntala Kala Rathnam Award

Uttam Kumar Award

ANR Achievement Award (2008)

Venus of Indian Cinema Award from TSR TV9 Film Awards (2011)