Jayamala (born 28 February 1955) 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 The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

, by virtue of being a member of the

Karnataka Legislative Council The Karnataka Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Karnataka state in South Western India. Karnataka is one of the six states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the Le ...

. She served as the female president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce between 2008 and 2010. Her popular Kannada films include ''

Premada Kanike ''Premada Kanike'' () is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Jayadevi. The film starred Rajkumar, Aarathi and Jayamala. The songs composed by Upendra Kumar were received extremely well and ...

, Shankar Guru, Antha and Chandi Chamundi'' among several others. She has produced and acted in the award-winning ''

Thaayi Saheba ''Thaayi Saheba'' () is an Indian Kannada language film released in 1997 directed by Girish Kasaravalli. The film was an adaptation of Kannada novel of same name written by Ranganath Shyamrao Lokapura. Plot summary The film is based on the stor ...

''.

Personal life

Jayamala was born to a Tulu speaking 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 Panambur is one of the localities in Mangalore famous as a tourist spot and also a major industrial area. Panambur is also the site of Karnataka's only major port New Mangalore Port. Other major industries, namely Mangalore Chemicals & Fertil ...

. She was first married to Kannada Film actor

Tiger Prabhakar Tiger Prabhakar (30 March 1948 – 25 March 2001), also known as Kannada Prabhakar, was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Kannada and Telugu cinema, with a few Malayalam, Tamil and Bollywood films. Career Prabhakar started hi ...

. and the couple has a daughter Soundarya, a popular actress in her own right. After her divorce she married

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

H. M. Ramachandra.

Film career

Jayamala has acted in several movies mainly in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. 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, With

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

, she has acted in romantic movies as

Janma Janmada Anubandha ''Janma Janmada Anubandha'' is a 1980 Indian Kannada-language thriller drama film directed, co-produced and scripted by Shankar Nag. The film has an ensemble cast including Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, Jayanthi, Jayamala and Manjula. Cast * A ...

and Premave Baalina Belaku. With Vishnuvardhan, she starred in multi-starrer pot-boilers like Hanthakana Sanchu,

Naga Kala Bhairava ''Naga Kala Bhairava'' is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Thiptur Raghu and produced by M. Pandurangan and M. Ramalingam. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Jayanthi, Jayamala and Ashalatha. The film has musical score by M. Ranga ...

and Sididedda Sahodara. Her pairing with

Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted in ...

, 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 Prema may refer to: Films: * ''Prema'' (1952 film), a Telugu film * ''Prema'' (1989 film), a Telugu film starring Venkatesh and Revathi * ''Prema'' (2002 film), a 2002 Kannada film *''Tholi Prema (1998 film)'', a 1998 Telugu film starring Pawan Ka ...

and

Khadeema Kallaru ''Khadeema Kallaru'' is a 1982 Indian Kannada film directed by Vijay and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Ambareesh, Prabhakar, Jayamala and V. Ravichandran in lead roles. The film is Ravichandran's first film as an actor and second as ...

. Her pairing with

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

in many movies also proved successful, including the heroine-oriented

Chandi Chamundi Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', ''Katyayani'' ...

that made her a household name as an action heroine. Her last successful pairing was with

Prabhakar Prabhakar is an Indian given name and surname. Prabhakars are Indian Brahmins mostly limited to North Indian states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. They belong to sage Vatsa. People with the name include: * Prabhakar, an Ind ...

, (who incidentally had played her brother in

'')'' 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 ''

'' was directed by Girish Kasaravalli and won a National award. Jayamala received a special jury award for her performance in the film. 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 Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univer ...

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 Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion ...

idol in Sabarimala during the shooting of Tamil movie titled '

Nambinar Keduvathillai ''Nambinar Keduvathillai'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil language Hindu devotional film, directed by K. Shankar and produced by Kamakshi Shankar. The film stars Vijayakanth, Prabhu, Jayashree and Sudha Chandran. The film had musical score by M. S. ...

'. 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 who is currently the Kerala state committee member of

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

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 A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''M ...

. The Supreme Priest of Sabarimala Kantararu Maheshwararu had dismissed the actress's statement as a figment of her imagination.

Filmography

Kannada films

Tamil

# ''Oru Kodiyil Iru Malargal'' (1976) # ''

Jamboo ''Jamboo'' is 1980 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film, co-written, directed and produced by M. Karnan from a story by Maa. Ra. The film stars Jaishankar, leading an ensemble cast that includes Major Sundarrajan, S. A. Ashokan, Thengai ...

'' (1980) # ''

Bhama Rukmani ''Bhama Rukmani'' is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by R. Bhaskaran. The film stars K. Bhagyaraj, Raadhika and Praveena. It was released on 12 June 1980. Plot Nandagopal (K. Bhagyaraj) has been in love with Rukmani (Praveena ...

'' (1980) # ''Andru Muthal Indru Varai'' (1981) # ''Kadavulin Theerpu'' (1981) # '' Kalthoon'' (1981) # ''Asthivaram'' (1982) # ''

Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum ''Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum'' () is a 1983 Indian Tamil-language film directed by debutant Sreedhar Rajan. Produced by R. Venkatraman, the film won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the 30th National Film Awards in ...

'' (1983) as Valli # ''Thalaimagan'' (1983) # ''Kuvaa Kuvaa Vaaththukkal'' (1984) # ''Pozhuthu Vidinchachu'' (1984) # ''

Padikkadha Pannaiyar ''Padikkadha Pannaiyar'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan and produced by G. Sulochana. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Y. G. Mahendra and V. K. Ramasamy. It is a remake of the direc ...

'' (1985) # ''

'' (1986) # '' En Pondatti Nallava'' (1995) as Mayilu

Malayalam: Credited as Jayanthi

# '' Devalokam'' (Unreleased) # ''

Makara Vilakku Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Mala ...

'' (1980) # ''

Oridathoru Phayalvaan ''Oridathoru Phayalvaan'' () is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written, edited and directed by P. Padmarajan. The film is a folk parable about the success and failure in the life of a gatta gusthi wrestler in Kerala. It stars Rashi ...

'' (1981) as Chakkara # '' Sindoora Sandhyakku Mounam'' (1982) # '' Kadamba'' (1983) # '' Rishi'' (1992)

Telugu

# '' Rakshasudu'' (1986) # ''

Bhale Ramudu Bhale Ramudu is a 1956 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by V. L. Narasu and directed by Vedantam Raghavayya. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. It is a remake of the Hindi f ...

'' (1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayamala 20th-century scandals People from Dakshina Kannada district Tulu people Kannada people Indian film actresses Living people Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema 1955 births Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses from Karnataka 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners Producers who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation National Film Award