Deivanayaki, better known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

K. R. Vijaya, is an Indian actress who has featured in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, Telugu and

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 ...

films. She started her career in 1963 and has been acting for more than six decades in

South Indian cinema Cinema of South India, refers to the cinema of the four major film industries in South India; primarily engaged in making feature films in the four major Dravidian languages of the region, namely Telugu cinema, Telugu, Tamil Cinema, Tamil, Ma ...

. The actress has worked with almost all the stalwarts of South Indian cinema and has played many key roles.

Early life

Vijaya was born as Deivanayaki, eldest children to Malayali parents Ramachandra Nair and Kalyani at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Her father was in the army and her mother was a housewife. She has a younger brother, Narayanan and four younger sisters, K. R. Vatsala, K. R. Savithri, Sashikala and Radha. She had her primary education at Government Higher Secondary School, Adyar, Chennai. Her father wanted her to become an actress since he was himself acting in M. R. Radha's drama troupe at the time after retiring from army. She made her film debut with Karpagam in 1963. She was the first ever actress to own a private jet.

Personal life

She married a businessman, Madathil Velayuthan in 1966. Her husband was the CEO of Sudarshan trading company and a movie producer. The couple have a daughter Hemalatha (born 1967). M. Velayuthan died on 26 March 2016, aged 82.

Career

Vijaya's first break itself was as a heroine in her debut film '' Karpagam'' (1963). Her notable films include '' Idhaya Kamalam'' (1965), '' Odayil Ninnu'' (1965), '' Saraswathi Sabatham'' (1966), '' Selvam'' (1966), '' Nenjirukkum Varai'' (1967), '' Iru Malargal'' (1967), ''Namma Veettu Deivam'' (1970), '' Dheerga Sumangali'' (1974), '' Thangappathakkam'' (1974), '' Thirisoolam'' (1979) and '' Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove'' (1984). In the year 1967 she had a distinct record of starring in 18 films in lead role besides having child born in the same year. She was called as "Punnagai Arasi" (Queen of the smiles - in Tamil) by her fans at a function held in Trichy. Vijaya was always the first choice of directors to portray the roles of Hindu goddesses due to her looks which was similar to conventional depictions. Apart from her essaying the role of Goddess Shakti in '' Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal'' (1986), she essayed the Mariamman avatar in the film ''Mahasakthi Mariamman'' (1986) and '' Kandhan Karunai'' (1967). K R Vijaya reminisces about her first director "who gave her life" K. S. Gopalakrishnan who also directed her in her 100th film '' Nathayil Muthu'' (1973). Apart from acting in many films, she has also acted in ''Raja Rajeswari'' and ''Kudumbam'', two teleserials. Vijaya returned to a mythological role in '' Sri Rama Rajyam'' (2011). K.R Vijaya also played

Kausalya Kausalya (, ) is a queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the first senior queen consort of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital Ayodhya. She is the mother of Rama, the male protagonist of the epic. She is a secondar ...

for the first time in Bapu's mythological extravaganza. She has acted in over 500 films.

Awards

; Satyabama College * 2009 - Doctorate ;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

* 1989 -

Nandi Special Jury Award The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films since 1981. See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Special Jury Award Speci ...

for ''

Sutradharulu ''Sutradharulu'' () is a 1989 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanuchander, Ramya Krishna and music is composed by K. V. Maha ...

'' ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Governmen ...

* 1967 - Best Actress for '' Iru Malargal'' * 1970 - Best Actress for ''Namma Veetu Dheivam'' ;

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

* 1974 - Filmfare Special Award - South for '' Dheerga Sumangali'' * 2004 -

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

; Kerala State Film Awards * 1984 - Second Best Actress - '' Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove'' ;

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

* 2013: Chalachitra Rathnam Award ;Janmabhoomi Television Awards *2018: Best Character Actress - ''Sathyam Sivam Sundaram'' ;Other Awards *2013: Nagi Reddy Memorial Awards *2017: Congress Managalir Awards *2019: Nakshathira Sathanaiyalar 2019

Filmography

Television serials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vijaya, K. R. Living people Indian film actresses Actresses from Thrissur Actresses in Tamil cinema Kerala State Film Award winners Actresses in Malayalam cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Telugu actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Indian television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Year of birth missing (living people) Kerala Film Critics Awards winners