Veteran actress Vijaya Nirmala passes away

Veteran actress Vijaya Nirmala, who played lead roles in blockbusters such as ‘Alluri Seetharama Raju’ and ‘Meena’, is no more. She was undergoing treatment for illness at Continental Hospital in Hyderabad and breathed her last in the early hours of Thursday. She was 75. She was survived by her husband Superstar Krishna and son V K Naresh.

Born in Madras in 1946 on February 20, Vijaya Nirmala began her career as child artiste at the age of seven in Tamil films. Debuting in Telugu in ‘Panduranga Mahatyam’, she appeared as Lord (Bala) Krishna in the film. Her first lead actress role was in Telugu films was in ‘Rangula Ratnam’ (1966).

In 1967, she paired up with Krishna for ‘Sakshi’ and the trade declared them as hit pair and they went on to act together in 47 films. She took divorce from her first husband Krishnamurthy after giving birth to her son Naresh (who later went to play hero roles in many films) and married Krishna who was already married with kids. 

Vijaya Nirmala had acted in about 150 films in Telugu and did 25 films in Malayalam and Tamil each. She also directed about 40 films and produced 15 films. Her first film as director was ‘Meena’, a huge blockbuster.

Vijaya Nirmala holds Guinness World Record for as woman filmmaker for directing maximum number of films in short span.

She was Awarded prestigious Raghupathi Venkaiah award by Andhra Pradesh government for her great contribution to the Telugu film industry.

Some of her prominent films: Panduranga Mahatyam, Rangula Ratnam, Poolarangadu, Bangaru Gaajulu, Mosagallaku Mosagadu, Thatha Manavadu, Meena, Pandanti Kapuram, Devudu Chesina Manushulu, Buddhimantudu, Alluri Seetarama Raju, etc.