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Career
Jayasudha made her film debut when she was twelve years old as Jamuna's daughter in the Telugu film Panduntikaapuram. Her next break came in two Tamil films directed by the celebrated director K. Balachander: Arangettram and Apoorva Raagangal. The latter became a big hit. Her fame quickly spread, where Telugu film producers were offering her good film roles. While her debut role as heroine in the Telugu film Lakshmana Rekha (1975) got her attention, it was really the title role in Jyothi (1975) (remake of the Hindi film Mili starring Jaya Bhaduri) that made her a huge star in Telugu films. She was now called a successor to the great Telugu actress Savithri and performed many strong roles and showed excellent range[1].
Her roles varied from the cute looking teeny bopper who wore minis in Nomu (1974) to the battered wife of a sadist husband in Idi Katha Kadu, to that of a comedienne who discovers that her husband wants to murder her for her wealth in "Money." She performed showy roles in Telugu remakes of Hindi films, such as Yugandhar (1979) (the fighter role that Zeenat Aman originated in Don (1978 film)), Illalu (1981) (Reena Roy's dark-shaded role from Apnapan (1977)), etc. In commercial cinema, she received a huge break when she starred in Adavi Ramudu (1977), which broke box office records.[2] She also showed innovativeness and lack of vanity in original Telugu films like Premabhishekam (1981) where she played a supporting role as a deglamorized prostitute, while Sridevi played the female lead.[3]
She acted in 225 Telugu films, and in one year, she had 24 film releases. She accomplished all this, despite her illiteracy in Telugu, by having people read lines to her and she would remember and deliver her lines.[1]
She became such a famous actress that she starred in a film Jayasudha (1982), named after her. Her fame also allowed producers to cast her sister Subhashini in supporting roles in some of the films that she starred in, such as Sivaranjani (1978) and Meghasandesam (1983). Subhashini's daughter Pooja is now a budding actress.
Personal life
Jayasudha married Dr.Rajendra Prasad (of Vijayawada), who is a related to Former AP CM Mr.Nadendla Bhaskar Rao. The marriage ended in a divorce after couple of years.
Jayasudha again fell in love with producer Nitin Kapoor, cousin to actor Jeetendra. They married in 1985 and have two children, Sons Nihar (born in 1986) and Sreyanth (born in 1990). While she has friends in the industry, such as Radhika and Revati, her closest friend is Jayaprada, with whom she had acted with in huge hits Adavi Ramudu (1977) and Meghasandesam (1982)
Awards
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for Jyothi (1975)
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for Amekatha (1977)
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for idi katha kadu (1979)
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for premabishekam (1981)
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for Meghasandesam (1982)
- Kalasagar Award as Best Actress for Meghasandesam (1982)
- Nandi Award for Best Actress for dharmatmudu (1983)
- Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award (Telugu) for Amma Naana O Tamil Ammayi (2004)[6]
- Pride of Indian Cinema Award (2007)[7]
- Andhra Pradesh Cinegoer's Association-Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)[8]
- ANR Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)[9]
Trivia
Other Telugu films that Jayasudha acted in that are remakes of Hindi films are:
1. Prematarangalu (1980) (Rekha's role from Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)),[10]
2. Malle Poovu (1977) (Mala Sinha's role from Guru Dutt's film Pyaasa (1957)),
3. Sivamettina Satyam (1980) (Neetu Singh's role in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aadalat (1976)),
4. Pakkinti Ammayi (1981) (Saira Banu's role from Padosan (1967)),
5. Vichitra Jeevitham (1978) (Rakhee's role from Daag: A Poem of Love (1973)),
6. KD No. 1 (1978) (Hema Malini's role from Dus Numbri (1976)),
7. Naa Desam (1982) (Zeenat Aman's role from Laawaris (1982)),
8. Edadugula Bandham (1985) (Mumtaz (actress)'s role from Aap Ki Kasam (1974)).
She also acted in Telugu remakes of American films, such as Money (Telugu film) (1988) (Bette Midler's role from Ruthless People (1986)).
Jayasudha was disappointed when she didn't win the National Award for Best Actress for Meghasandesam (1982), even though she claims that she came really close to winning it.[4]
Her favorite film role was the title role in Sivaranjani (1978).[11]
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