Jayamala (born 28 February 1959) is an Indian actress and politician. She served as the Minister for Women and Child Development and Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens in the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

, by virtue of being a member of the

Karnataka Legislative Council The Karnataka Legislative Council (formerly the Mysore Legislative Council) is the upper house of the state legislature of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of six Indian states with a bicameral legislature; the Legislative Assembly is the lower ho ...

. She served as the female president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce between 2008 and 2010. Her popular Kannada films include ''

Premada Kanike ''Premada Kanike'' ( ) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and written by the duo Salim–Javed. It was produced by Jayadevi under the banner of Jayadevi films. The film starred Rajkumar, Aarathi a ...

, Shankar Guru, Antha and Chandi Chamundi'' among several others. She has produced and acted in the award-winning ''

Thaayi Saheba ''Thaayi Saheba'' () is an Indian Kannada language film released in 1997 directed by Girish Kasaravalli. The film was an adaptation of Kannada novel of same name written by Ranganath Shyamrao Lokapura. Plot summary The film is based on the stor ...

''.

Personal life

Jayamala was born to a Tulu speaking Billava family in Mangalore. Her father G. Omaiah was an agriculturist and mother Kamalamma, a homemaker. She has six sisters and a brother. They moved to Chikmagalur in 1963 after being displaced due to the harbour work in

Panambur Panambur is one of the localities in Mangalore famous as a tourist spot. It is also a major industrial area and the site of Karnataka's main port, New Mangalore Port. Major industrial plants, such as Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers and KIO ...

. She was first married to Kannada film actor

Tiger Prabhakar Tiger Prabhakar (30 March 1948 – 25 March 2001) was an Indian actor who predominantly worked in Kannada and Telugu cinema. He has also acted in a few Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. He was also known as Kannada Prabhakar. Career Prabhakar ...

and the couple had a daughter Soundarya, a popular actress in her own right. After her divorce she married

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

H. M. Ramachandra.

Film career

Jayamala has acted in several movies mainly in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

. Jayamala was the most glamorous heroine of Kannada cinema during the early 1980s. She started her career as a Rajkumar heroine and after a string of successful movies with him went on to star opposite all the top heroes of Sandalwood, With

Anant Nag Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...

, she has acted in romantic movies as

Janma Janmada Anubandha ''Janma Janmada Anubandha'' () is a 1980 Indian Kannada-language thriller drama film directed, co-produced and scripted by Shankar Nag. The film has an ensemble cast including Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, Jayanthi, Jayamala and Manjula. Cast S ...

and Premave Baalina Belaku. With Vishnuvardhan, she starred in multi-starrer pot-boilers like

Hanthakana Sanchu ''Hanthakana Sanchu'' ( ) is a 1980 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by B. Krishan and produced by K. S. Jagannath. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, and Jayamala. The film has musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. Cast * Vishnuvardhan ...

, Naga Kala Bhairava and Sididedda Sahodara. Her pairing with

Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...

, started with the cult classic Antha where she played the tragic role of a cabaret dancer who is his sister and then went on to become his heroine in several movies like Ajith, Prema Matsara and Khadeema Kallaru. Her pairing with

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

in many movies also proved successful, including the heroine-oriented

Chandi Chamundi Chandi (, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is a form of goddess Durga. She shares similarities with the Goddess Chamunda, not only in name but also in attributes and iconography. Due to these similarities, some consider them to be ...

that made her a household name as an action heroine. Her last successful pairing was with Prabhakar, (who incidentally had played her brother in

'')'' whom she married in 1985 after which she quit films. Interestingly Jayamala and top heroine

Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...

costarred in nine films with Jayamala's glamour quotient complementing

's simple-girl appeal. Her first production venture ''

'' was directed by Girish Kasaravalli and won a National award. Jayamala received a special jury award for her performance in the film. Jayamala created history of sorts when she became the only actress in the Indian film industry to be conferred a doctorate for writing a thesis. Her thesis was on the rehabilitation of rural woman in Karnataka and required her to tour Karnataka and also scrutinise several documents. The Doctorate was conferred by the

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by University Gra ...

on 18 January 2008 and presented by former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.

Controversy

She was at the center of a controversy when she claimed that she touched the Lord

Ayyappa Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between Sh ...

idol in

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

during the shooting of Tamil movie titled '

Nambinar Keduvathillai ''Nambinar Keduvathillai'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil language devotional film, directed by K. Shankar. The film stars Vijayakanth, Prabhu, Jayashree and Sudha Chandran. It was released on 23 May 1986. Plot Cast Production The song ...

'. Women from the age 10–50 are banned from entering Sabarimala temple. It created a furor in India and led to ideological warfare in Indian media and courts. It was Mr V Rajendran who is currently the Kerala state committee member of

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

who filed the petition against her in Ranni court. Jayamala has said she regretted her action, but clarified that she was pushed into the shrine by a crowd of devotees. Rajendran insisted that it is impossible to touch as the shrine is located far inside the

Garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

. The Supreme Priest of Sabarimala Kantararu Maheshwararu had dismissed the actress's statement as a figment of her imagination.

Filmography

Kannada films

Tamil

# ''Oru Kodiyil Iru Malargal'' (1976) # '' Jamboo'' (1980) # ''

Bhama Rukmani ''Bhama Rukmani'' () is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Bhaskaran and written by K. Bhagyaraj. The film stars Bhagyaraj, Radhika and Praveena. It was released on 12 June 1980. Plot Nandagopal "Nandu", has be ...

'' (1980) # ''Andru Muthal Indru Varai'' (1981) # ''Kadavulin Theerpu'' (1981) # '' Kalthoon'' (1981) # ''Meendum Santhippom'' (1981) # ''Asthivaram'' (1982) # '' Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum'' (1983) as Valli # ''Thalaimagan'' (1983) # ''Pozhuthu Vidinchachu'' (1984) # '' Padikkadha Pannaiyar'' (1985) # ''

'' (1986) # ''

En Pondatti Nallava ''En Pondatti Nallava'' () is a 1995 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language drama film directed by Senthilnathan. The film stars Napoleon (actor), Napoleon and Khushbu Sundar, Khushbu, with Senthil, Vadivelu, Janagaraj, Y. G. Mahendra, Kovai Sara ...

'' (1995) as Mayilu

Malayalam: Credited as Jayanthi

# '' Devalokam'' (Unreleased) # '' Makara Vilakku'' (1980) # '' Oridathoru Phayalvaan'' (1981) as Chakkara # ''

Sindoora Sandhyakku Mounam ''Sindoora Sandhyakku Mounam'' () is a 1982 Indian Malayalam film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by Priyadarshan based the Hollywood title '' Psych-Out''. The film stars Lakhsmi, Madhavi, Ratheesh, Mohanlal, Kuthiravattom Pappu and Prathap ...

'' (1982) # '' Kadamba'' (1983) # ''

Rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

'' (1992)

Telugu

# ''

Bhale Ramudu ''Bhale Ramudu'' is a 1956 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by Vedantam Raghavayya. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. It is a remake of the Hindi film '' Kismet'' (1943). T ...

'' (1984) as Asha # ''

Rakshasudu Rakshasudu may refer to: * ''Rakshasudu'' (1986 film), an Indian Telugu-language crime action film * ''Rakshasudu'' (2019 film), an Indian Telugu-language psychological thriller film * ''Massu Engira Masilamani'', an Indian Tamil-language comedy h ...

'' (1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayamala 20th-century scandals People from Dakshina Kannada district Tulu actresses Kannada people Indian film actresses Living people Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses from Karnataka 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners Producers who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation National Film Award 1959 births Tulu politicians Tulu women politicians