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. She served as the female president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce between 2008 and 2010. Her popular Kannada films include '' Premada Kanike , Shankar Guru, Antha and Chandi Chamundi'' among several others. She has produced and acted in the award-winning '' Thaayi Saheba''.

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. She was first married to Kannada film actor Tiger 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, she has acted in romantic movies as Janma Janmada Anubandha and Premave Baalina Belaku. With Vishnuvardhan, she starred in multi-starrer pot-boilers like Hanthakana Sanchu, Naga Kala Bhairava and Sididedda Sahodara. Her pairing with Ambareesh, 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 that made her a household name as an action heroine. Her last successful pairing was with Prabhakar, (who incidentally had played her brother in Chandi Chamundi'')'' 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 '' Thaayi Saheba'' 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 idol in Sabarimala during the shooting of Tamil movie titled ' Nambinar Keduvathillai'. 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'' (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) # '' Nambinar Keduvathillai'' (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'' (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'' (1984) as Asha # '' Rakshasudu'' (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