Jayamala

Jayamala 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, by virtue of being a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council.^[1] She served as the female president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce between 2008 and 2010.^[2][3] 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.

Jayamala
Jayamala in 2020
Ex-Minister for Women and Child Development and Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Government of Karnataka Leader of the Upper House, Karnataka Legislative Council
In office June 2018 – June 2019
Preceded by	Umashree
Minister for Kannada and Culture, and Information and Public Relations, Government of Karnataka
In office 6 June 2018 – June 2019
Preceded by	Umashree
Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council
In office 24 June 2014 – 23 June 2020
President, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce
In office 29 June 2008 – May 2010
Succeeded by	Basant Kumar Patil
Personal details
Born	(1959-02-28) 28 February 1959 (age 65) Mangalore
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouses	Tiger Prabhakar ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 1994)​ H.M. Ramachandra ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	Soundarya (1990) Prabhakar (b.1990)
Profession	Actress politician

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.^[4]

She was first married to Kannada Film actor Tiger Prabhakar. and the couple has a daughter Soundarya, a popular actress in her own right. After her divorce ^[5][6] she married cinematographer H. M. Ramachandra.^[4][7]

Film career

Jayamala has acted in several movies mainly in Kannada. 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,^{[citation needed]} 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 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 costarred in nine films with Jayamala's glamour quotient complementing Aarathi'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.^[8] 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 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^[9][10] who is currently the Kerala state committee member of Bharatiya Janata Party 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. The Supreme Priest of Sabarimala Kantararu Maheshwararu had dismissed the actress's statement as a figment of her imagination.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

Filmography

Kannada films

Year	Film	Role	Note(s)
1974	Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu		Debut in supporting role[16]
1975	Daari Tappida Maga	Princess of Bundelpur
1975	Thrimurthy	Prema
1976	Yaaru Hitavaru
1976	Badavara Bandhu	Susheela
1976	Premada Kanike	Kumudha
1977	Babruvahana	Subhadra
1977	Giri Kanye	Cheluvi
1978	Shankar Guru	Nalini
1979	Khandavideko Mamsavideko
1979	Savalige Saval
1979	Madhu Chandra	Chandrika / Kammu
1980	Hanthakana Sanchu	Aparna
1980	Janma Janmada Anubandha	Malathi
1980	Nammammana Sose
1980	Akhanda Brahmacharigalu
1980	Kappu Kola	Renuka
1981	Antha	Shobha	Special appearance
1981	Bhagyada Belaku
1981	Bhaari Bharjari Bete	Leela
1981	Muniyana Madari
1981	Naga Kala Bhairava	Sudha
1981	Sangeetha
1981	Number 5 Ekka
1982	Ajith
1982	Khadeema Kallaru	Usha
1982	Prema Matsara	Latha
1982	Raga Thala
1982	Muttinantha Attige
1982	Shankar Sundar
1982	Pedda Gedda
1983	Chandi Chamundi	Parvati
1983	Geluvu Nannade	Shanti
1983	Hosa Theerpu	Radha
1983	Nyaya Gedditu	Rajini
1983	Prema Yuddha
1983	Sididedda Sahodara	Geetha
1983	Thirugu Baana		Special appearance
1984	Bedaru Bombe
1984	Benki Birugali	Jyothi
1984	Gandu Bherunda	Myna
1984	Hosa Ithihaasa
1984	Huliyada Kala
1984	Jiddu
1984	Vigneshwarana Vahana[17]	Vimala
1984	Nagabekamma Nagabeku
1984	Onti Dhwani
1984	Premave Balina Belaku	Shantha
1984	Raktha Thilaka	Radha
1984	Thaayi Naadu
1985	Pralaya Rudra
1995	Gadibidi Aliya
1996	Geluvina Saradara
1996	Nirbandha
1997	Thaayi Saheba	Narmada	National Film Special Jury Award; Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress; Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada[18]
2004	Rowdy Aliya	Malini Devi
2008	Navashakthi Vaibhava	Mookambika

Tamil

1. Oru Kodiyil Iru Malargal (1976)
2. Jamboo (1980)
3. Bhama Rukmani (1980)
4. Andru Muthal Indru Varai (1981)
5. Kadavulin Theerpu (1981)
6. Kalthoon (1981)
7. Asthivaram (1982)
8. Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum (1983) as Valli
9. Thalaimagan (1983)
10. Kuvaa Kuvaa Vaaththukkal (1984)
11. Pozhuthu Vidinchachu (1984)
12. Padikkadha Pannaiyar (1985)
13. Nambinar Keduvathillai (1986)
14. En Pondatti Nallava (1995) as Mayilu

Malayalam: Credited as Jayanthi

1. Devalokam (Unreleased)
2. Makara Vilakku (1980)
3. Oridathoru Phayalvaan (1981) as Chakkara
4. Sindoora Sandhyakku Mounam (1982)
5. Kadamba (1983)
6. Rishi (1992)

Telugu

1. Bhale Ramudu^[19] (1984) as Asha
2. Rakshasudu (1986)

References

1. "Four members to be nominated to Karnataka Council after poll results". The Hindu. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
2. "Jayamala elected KFCC president". The Hindu. 29 June 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
3. "Basanth Patil is new chief of KFCC". Deccan Herald. 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "This fighter finally met his match | Bengaluru News - Times of India". The Times of India. 28 March 2001. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
6. "WebHost4Life | Web Hosting, Unix Hosting, E-Mail, Web Design". www.webhost4life.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
7. "Jayamala Jr set for debut? - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
8. "Thaayi Saheba Awards: List of Awards won by Kannada movie Thaayi Saheba". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
9. "Sabarimala cinema shoot involving actresses forced rigid curbs on women". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
10. "Bharatiya Janata Party". Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
11. "India actress 'defiles' shrine". 3 July 2006. Archived from the original on 15 June 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
12. "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. 15 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
13. "Deccan Herald". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
14. "Actress' confession sparks Sabarimala row". Rediff. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
15. Jayamala in a song on YouTube
16. ^{[permanent dead link]}
17. "Vigneshwarana Vahana". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
18. "Filmfare (South) awards presented". The Tribune. 26 April 1999. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
19. "Bhale Ramudu 1984 movie cast".