Jaya Prada


Jaya Prada is an Indian film actress and politician.
She was one of the iconic and influential actresses in both south and hindi film industry in late 70's, 80's and early 90's. Jaya Prada is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films. She left the film industry at the peak of her career, as she joined the Telugu Desam Party in 1994 and entered politics. She was a Member of Parliament from Rampur from 2004 to 2014.
Some of her memorable films include Anthuleni Katha, Seeta Kalyanam, Adavi Ramudu, Yamagola, Sanaadi Appanna, Siri Siri Muvva, Sargam, Kaamchor, Kaviratna Kalidasa, Sagara Sangamam, Tohfa, Sharaabi, Maqsad, Sanjog, Aakhree Raasta, Simhasanam, Sindoor , Samsaram, Elaan-E-Jung, Aaj Ka Arjun, Thanedaar, Maa, Devadoothan, Pranayam, and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance in Sagara Sangamam. She has also been awarded Filmfare Special Award for her performance in Siri Siri Muvva & ''Anthuleni Katha.
She has been considered by many as the most beautiful face to grace Indian cinema, courtesy the reticent cinematic maestro Satyajit Ray who called her "the most beautiful face on the Indian screen".

Early life

Jaya Prada was born as Lalita Rani in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Krishna Rao, was a Telugu film financier. Her mother, Neelaveni, was a home-maker. The young Lalitha attended a Telugu medium school in Rajahmundry and was also enrolled in dance and music classes at an early age.

Film career

When Jaya Prada was a teenager, she performed a dance at her school's annual function. A film director in the audience offered her a three-minute dance number in the Telugu film Bhoomi Kosam. She was hesitant, but her family encouraged her to accept it. She was paid only 10 rupees for her work in the film, but the rushes of those three minutes of film were shown to the major figures of the Telugu film industry. Major filmmakers offered her starring roles in quality films, and she accepted them. She became a huge star in 1976 with major hit films. Director K. Balachander's black-and-white film Anthuleni Katha showcased her dramatic skills; K. Viswanath's color film Siri Siri Muvva showed her playing a mute girl with excellent dancing skills; and her title role as Sita in the big-budget mythological film Seetha Kalyanam confirmed her versatility. In 1977, she starred in Adavi Ramudu, which broke box office records and which permanently cemented her star status. The song "Aaresukoboyi Paresukunnanu" performed by Prada and co-star N.T. Rama Rao became a mass hit. Important filmmakers were casting her and repeating her in their films. Filmmaker Vijay introduced her to Kannada cinema in his 1977 super-hit movie Sanaadi Appanna alongside Kannada matinee idol Raj Kumar. The movie is also known to be the only movie to feature shehnai rendition by Ustad Bismillah Khan. Jaya Prada repeated her successful pairing with Rajkumar in films such as Huliya Haalina Mevu, Kaviratna Kalidasa and Shabdavedhi.
In 1979, K. Balachander repeated her in the Tamil film Ninaithale Inikkum opposite Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth in which she played a terminally-ill patient. She continued to act in more films in Telugu opposite actors such NTR, ANR, Krishna, Krishnam Raju and Sobhan Babu throughout the 70s and 80s. She acted in highest number of films with Krishna like Ooriki monagadu, Simhasanam, Mundadugu, Bhale krishnudu, Sri Rajeshwari vilas coffee club, Prajarajyam. K. Viswanath remade Siri Siri Muvva in Hindi as Sargam, introducing Jayaprada to Bollywood in 1979. The film was successful and she became a star there as well. She earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress but couldn't capitalize on her success since she couldn't speak Hindi.

1980s

In 1981, she starred in the critically acclaimed Tamil film 47 Natkal and simultaneously made Telugu film "47 Rojulu" by filmmaker K. Balachander in which Chiranjeevi played her villainous, bigamist husband. Saagara Sangamam directed by K. Vishwanath, starring Kamal Hassan proved to be a milestone in her career, winning her many accolades including Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu in 1983. The same year, after she took Hindi lessons, director K. Vishwanath relaunched her in Hindi films, with Kaamchor where she spoke Hindi fluently for the first time. She was now able to consistently work in Hindi films, and earned two more Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for playing Amitabh Bachchan's endearing girlfriend in Prakash Mehra's Sharaabi and for her challenging double role in K. Vishwanath's Sanjog.
Jaya Prada made a successful team not just with Amitabh Bachchan and Jeetendra, but also with her immediate screen rival Sridevi, with whom she has acted in about a dozen films. Their hit Telugu film Devatha, where they played sisters who made huge sacrifices for each other, was remade into the hit Hindi film Tohfa. These films endeared Jaya Prada to the traditional conservative section of film goers and she amassed a huge female fan following as well. It was an image that would serve her well when she started a new career as a politician. In 1985, she acted in the Malayalam film Iniyum Katha Thudarum directed by Joshiy starring Mammootty, Baby Shalini and Ambika.
Indian director Satyajit Ray described her as one of the prettiest women in the world. Although she has acted in Bengali films, she has never worked for Ray..

1990s and later

Jaya Prada continued to act as a heroine mainly opposite Amitabh and Jeetendra during the early 1990s. She also acted in some significant Kannada films as the heroine. From 1994 onwards, she cut back on film assignments and got more involved with a political career.
In 2000, she acted in the Malayalam film Devadoothan, starring Mohanlal, directed by Sibi Malayil. The film garnered immensely popular reviews from the critics but failed at the box office. But it met with great appreciation from the audience when released in Home Media and when aired on television. his movie had evergreen hit songs. She also starred for the last time, opposite Kannada super star Dr. Raj Kumar in Shabdavedi. In 2002, she stepped into the Marathi film industry by being a guest in the movie Aadhaar. Thus far, she has acted in eight languages and has completed 300 films during a 30-year film career. In 2004, she acted in Ee Snehatheerathu, a Malayalam film as Kunchacko Boban's mother.
She also owns the Jaya Prada Theater in Chennai.
In 2011, she returned to Malayalam cinema with a strong role in Pranayam, alongside Mohanlal and Anupam Kher. She played "Grace" in this film, which won her critical acclaim and several awards. Her 2012 Kannada film Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna that saw her donning the historical role of courageous Kittur Chennamma, completed 100 days at the box office.

Personal life

In 1986, she married producer Srikanth Nahata, who was already married to Chandra and had 3 children. This marriage stirred a lot of controversy, especially since Nahata did not divorce his wife and had children with his first wife after marrying Jaya Prada. Jaya Prada and Srikanth have no children together. Jaya Prada went on to adopt her sister's son and raise him as her own.

Political career

Jaya Prada joined the Telugu Desam Party in 1994 at the invitation of its founder N. T. Rama Rao, on the eve of the assembly elections, and rose quickly through the ranks. At that time there was speculation that she would run for election, but she preferred not to make her electoral debut, although she was offered a seat by Rao.
She campaigned in several constituencies in 1994. When Rao became the Chief minister in 1994, he appointed one of his sons-in-law Nara Chandrababu Naidu as the Revenue Minister. Soon after the formation of the government, Rao's health started deteriorating, and in response to the growing influence of his wife, Lakshmi Parvati, on the political decisions of NTR, Chandrababu Naidu convinced a majority of the TDP MLAs to elect him as the chief minister. Since most of the legislators had gone over to his side, the Anti Defection Law did not apply and the Telugu Desam Party label passed on to the Chandrababu Naidu faction. During this period, Prada too joined the Chandrababu Naidu faction of the party. She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha representing Andhra Pradesh in 1996. She also held the post of Telugu Mahila President.
Following differences with party Supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, she left the TDP to join Samajwadi Party. She contested from Rampur parliamentary Constituency in UP during the 2004 General election and got elected with a margin of more than 85000 votes. During her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, she was issued a notice by the Election Commission for violating the code of conduct by distributing bindis to women in Rampur's Swar locality. On 11 May 2009, Jaya Prada alleged that senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was distributing nude pictures of her. She was re-elected with a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
After she came out in open support of the former General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh, Prada was expelled from the party on 2 February 2010 for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities and damaging the party's secular image. Amar Singh, along with Jaya Prada floated his own political party, Rashtriya Lok Manch, in 2011, and fielded candidates in 360 of the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2012 assembly polls. However, his party did not win a single seat in these elections. Later she, along with Amar Singh joined the RLD on 10 March 2014 and after that she got the ticket to contest from the Bijnor seat in the 2014 general elections. She, however, lost the election.
She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav on 26 March 2019.

Television

Jaya Prada made her debut to the small screen with Local TV's show Jayapradam, where she was the host of the show and interviewed many of the celebrated actors and technicians including Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, K. Viswanath, ANR, Ram Gopal Varma and many others. The show made her closer to the Telugu audience again.
In 2018, she acted in her first daily soap Perfect Pati telecasted in AndTV. She played an endearing mother in law Rajeshwari Rathore.

Awards

;Nandi Awards
;Filmfare Awards South
;Filmfare Awards
;Filmfare Awards South
;Other awards
YearFilm TitleLanguageRoleNotes
1974Bhoomi KosamTeluguDebut
1976Manmatha LeelaiTamilKannagiTamil debut
1976Anthuleni KathaTeluguSaritaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
Won Special Jury Award
1976Seeta KalyanamTeluguSeeta and Goddess Lakshmi
1976Mangalyaniki MaromudiTelugu
1976Shri Rajarajeshwari Vilas Coffee ClubTelugu
1977BhadrakaliTeluguGayathri
1977Adavi RamuduTeluguPadmaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
Won Special Jury Award
1977KurukshetramTeluguUttara
1977Eenati Bandham EnatidoTelugu
1977Chanakya ChandraguptaTelugu
1977YamagolaTeluguSavithri
1977Sanaadi AppannaKannadaBasantiKannada Debut
1977Eetharam ManishiTelugu
1977Jeevitha NaukaTelugu
1978Siri Siri MuvvaTeluguHemaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
1978Athani Kante GhanuduTelugu
1978Agent GopiTelugu
1978Dongala VetaTelugu
1978Rama KrishnuluTeluguJaya
1978Devadasu Malli PuttaduTeluguShanthi
1978Melu KolupuTeluguSusheela
1978Rajaputra RahasyamTeluguPriyadarshini
1978RadhakrishnaTeluguRadha
1979SargamHindiHema PradhanNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1979Huliya Haalina MevuKannadaPoovi
1979Ninaithale InikkumTamilSonaBilingual movie
1979Andamaina AnubhavamTeluguSonaBilingual movie
1979Lok ParlokHindiSavithri
1979Rangoon RowdyTeluguIndu/Rajani
1979Kotta AlluduTelugu
1979Sri Tirupati Venkateswara KalyanamTeluguGoddess Padmavati
1979Mande GundeloTelugu
1980Challenge RamuduTeluguAruna
1980SupermanTeluguJaya
1980Buchchi BabuTeluguBuchi
1980Bandodu GundammaTelugu
1980TakkarHindiGanga
1980Allari BavaTelugu
1980Sita RamuluTeluguSita
1980Circus RamuduTelugu
1980ChandipriyaTeluguChandipriya
1980Chesina BaasaluTelugu
1980Dharm ChakramTelugu
1980Sannaayi AppannaTelugu
1981Srivari MuchatluTeluguRadha
1981Taxi DriverTeluguRani
1981Rahasya GoodachariTelugu
198147 NatkalTamilVaishaliBilingual movie
198147 RojuluTeluguVaishaliBilingual movie
1981Ooruki MonagaduTeluguRekha
1981JatagaduTelugu
1981Ragile JwalaTeluguVani
1981Agni PooluTeluguRukmini
1981Prema MandiramTeluguMadhura Ranjani
1981Girija KalyanamTeluguGirija
1981DeepaaraadhanaTelugu
1982Madhura SwapnamTelugu
1982KaamchorHindiGeeta Sanghvi
1982Talli Kodukula AnubandhamTelugu
1982Pagabattina SimhamTelugu
1982MeghasandesamTeluguPadma
1982Dil-e-NadaanHindiAsha
1982SwayamvaramTelugu
1982Nivuru Gappina NippuTelugu
1982DevataTeluguJanaki
1982KrishnarjunuluTelugu
1983Sagara SangamamTeluguMadhaviFilmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu
1983Salangai OliTamilMadhavi
1983QayamatHindiGeeta
1983MawaaliHindiNisha Verma
1983MundaduguTeluguPadma
1983Kaviratna KalidasaKannadaVidyadhare and Shakuntala
1983Adavi SimhaluTeluguLalita
1983Puli BebbuliTeluguSita
1983Siripuram MonagaduTelugu
1983AmarajeeviTeluguLalita
1983Main Awara HoonHindiBela
1983Praja RajyamTelugu
1984TohfaHindiJanki
1984Tandava KrishnuduTeluguVani
1984Dharm Aur QanoonHindiShanta
1984YuddhamTelugu
1984Mera FaislaHindiNisha Dhawan
1984SharaabiHindiMeenaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1984MaqsadHindiRani
1984Naya KadamHindiBijlee
1984HaisiyatHindiSita
1984AwaazHindiAnu
1984Sampoorna PremayanamTeluguPrema
1984Sangeeta SamratTeluguRadha
1985Pataal BhairaviHindiRajkumari Indumati Singh
1985Maha SangramamTelugu
1985Maha ManishiTelugu
1985Surya ChandraTelugu
1985SanjogHindiYashoda & AshaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1985HoshiyarHindiRadha
1985ZabardastHindiMala Saigal
1985Iniyum Katha ThudarumMalayalamNimmiMalayalam Debut
1985HaqeeqatHindiBharti
1985Sur SangamHindi
1985Mera SaathiHindiRaagini
1986Krishna GaradiTelugu
1986Tandra PaparayuduTeluguJyothirmai
1986SinghasanHindiAlaknanda
1986SimhasanamTeluguAlaknanda Devi
1986VetaTelugu
1986Aakhree RaastaHindiMary D'Costa
1986Swarag Se SunderHindiLaxmi Choudhary
1986MuddatHindiBharti
1986Pyaar Ke Do PalHindiGeeta
1986Aisa Pyaar KahanHindiSarita
1986Ugra NarasimhamTelugu
1987AuladHindiYashoda
1987MajaalHindiSandhya
1987Tene ManasuluTelugu
1987Viswanatha NayakuduTeluguKalavati
1987Insaaf Kaun KaregaHindiSitara Devi
1987SindoorHindiLaxmi
1988Mardon Wali BaatHindi
1988SamsaramTeluguPadmavathi
1988Ganga Tere Desh MeinHindiDr.Asha
1988Gangaa Jamunaa SaraswatiHindiSaraswati
1988Ghar Ghar Ki KahaniHindiSita
1988Kaliyuga KarnuduTelugu
1989JaadugarHindiMeena
1989Main Tera DushmanHindiJaya
1989Souten Ki Beti HindiRukmini
1989Elaan-E-JungHindiReema
1989Atha Mechina AlluduTelugu
1989Kanoon Ki AwaazHindi
1989Paraya GharHindi
1989Hum Bhi Insaan HainHindi
1989GharanaHindiNaina
1989SumangaliTelugu
1990MajboorHindiSharda
1990Zakhmi ZameenHindiRadha
1990Aaj Ka ArjunHindiGauri
1990ThanedaarHindiSudha
1990EkalavyaKannada
1990Nyay Anyay HindiRama Khanna
1991IndrajeetHindiShanti Devi
1991VeertaHindi
1991FarishtayHindi
1992MaaHindiMamta
1992Aathma BandhanaKannadaShanti
1993Insaniyat Ke DevtaHindi
1993Manikantana MahimeKannadaKamalaLooks alike twin
1993Ezhai JaathiTamil
1993DhartiputraHindi
1993Khal-NaaikaaHindiJaya Varsha
1994InsaaniyatHindi
1994Jeevitha KhaidiTelugu
1994Chauraha HindiPooja
1995HimapathaKannadaNaina
1995Paappi DevataaHindiRosie
1997Jeevan YudhHindiRani
1997Prema GeetheKannadaRadha
1997Lav Kush HindiSeeta
1998Aami Sei MeyeBengaliBengali debut
1999HabbaKannadaVishnu's Wife
2000DevadoothanMalayalamAngelina Ignatious / AleenaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam
2000AadharMarathi
2000ShabdavedhiKannadaVatsala
2003Sri RenukadeviKannadaJogamma
2004KhakeeHindiJaya Srivastav
2004Ee SnehatheerathuMalayalamLakshmi
2006TathastuHindiDr. Nita
2007Ee BandhanaKannadaNandini
2007MaharathiTeluguChamundeshwari
2007DasavathaaramTamilRanjitha Singh
2007DehaHindi
2009Sesh SangatBengali
2009Raaj The ShowmanKannadaSpecial appearance
2010The DesireHindi
English
Chinese		Gautmi's motherMultilingual movie
2011PranayamMalayalamGraceNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam
2012Krantiveera Sangolli RayannaKannadaKittur ChennammaNominated: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Kannada
2013RajjoHindiJanki Devi
2018KinarMalayalamIndira
2018KeniTamilIndira
2018SarabhaTeluguParvathamma
2018Suvarna SundariTeluguPost-Production