Veteran actor Jayanthi, who worked in the film industry for almost 50 years, died on Monday, as confirmed by members of her family. She was 76.
In her five-decade-long career, she had acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi-language films and had featured in over 500 films.
She made her debut with 'Jenu Goodu' in 1962, which was a commercial success., and then acted in 'Chandavalliya Thota' opposite Dr Rajkumar, which was a grand success. She had paired opposite Rajkumar in over 40 movies, most of which were big hits on the box-office.
She made an indelible mark in the Telugu film industry and had acted with iconic Telugu actor, N T Rama Rao who later became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and gave many hit movies including 'Jagadeka Veeruni Katha', 'Kula Gauravam', 'Kondaveeti Simham' and 'Justice Choudhari'.
During her stint in Tamil movies, she had acted with legendary actors Gemini Ganeshan, M G Ramachandran, Muthuraman and Jaishankar and gave many hits such as 'Padagoti', 'Mugaraasi', 'Kanna Nalama', 'Punnagai', 'Velli Vizha' and 'Iru Kodugal'.
In Hindi, she had acted in films including 'Lal Lal Bangla' in 1966, Teen Bahuraniyan in 1968, Tumse Achha Kaun Hai' in 1969 and 'Gunda' in 1970.
She won Kannada Filmfare awards seven times and twice the Filmfare Awards (South).
Condoling her death, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa tweeted, "I am deeply saddened by the news about the demise of renowned veteran artist, Jayanthi. Her contribution to the film industry is immense, and her demise has caused an irreparable loss to the Kannada film industry. I pray to God to bless her soul give his family members and her admirers the= power to bear the loss."
(With Inputs From PTI)
