Deivanayaki better known by her stage name K. R. Vijaya is an Indian actress who has featured in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

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and

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 ...

films. She started her career in 1963 and has been acting for more than five decades in South Indian cinema. The actress has worked with almost all the stalwarts of South Indian cinema and has played many key roles.

Early life

Vijaya was born as Deivanayaki, eldest children to Ramachandra Nair and Kalyani at

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

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. Her father was in the army and her mother was a housewife. She has a younger brother, Narayanan and four younger sisters, K. R. Vatsala, K. R. Savithri, Sashikala and Radha. She had her primary education at Government Higher Secondary School, Adyar, Chennai. Her father wanted her to become an actress since he was himself acting in

M. R. Radha Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...

's drama troupe at the time after retiring from army. She made her film debut with Karpagam in 1963. She was the first ever actress to own a private jet.

Personal life

She married a businessman, Sudarshan Velayuthan Nair in 1966. Her husband was the CEO of Sudarshan trading company and a movie producer. The couple have a daughter Hemalatha (born 1967). Velayuthan Nair died on 26 March 2016, aged 82.

Career

Vijaya's first break itself was as a heroine in her debut film ''

Karpagam ''Karpagam'' is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. The film features an ensemble cast including Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, R. Muthuraman, V. K. Ramasamy, V. Nag ...

'' (1963). Her notable films include '' Idhaya Kamalam'' (1965), ''

Odayil Ninnu ''Odayil Ninnu'' () is a Malayalam novel written by Indian author P. Kesavadev in 1942. The protagonist of the novel is a rickshaw-puller named Pappu. The novel is one of the best-known works of Kesavadev. Dev was in the forefront among the writ ...

''(1965), ''

Saraswathi Sabatham ''Saraswathi Sabatham'' () is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan. Based on Pudhumaipithan's novel ''Vakkum Vakkum'', it stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Padmini, Devika ...

'' (1966), '' Selvam'' (1966), '' Nenjirukkum Varai'' (1967), ''

Iru Malargal ''Iru Malargal'' () is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by A. C. Tirulogchander. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and K. R. Vijaya, with Nagesh, S. A. Ashokan, V. Nagayya, Manorama and Roja Ramani in supporti ...

'' (1967), ''Namma Veettu Deivam'' (1970), ''

Dheerga Sumangali ''Dheerga Sumangali'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film co-written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film was produced by N. S. Rajendran under Visalakshi Combines and stars K. R. Vijaya and Muthuraman, while Major Sunda ...

'' (1974), ''

Thangappathakkam ''Thangappathakkam'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, directed by P. Madhavan and written by Mahendran. Based on Mahendran's play of the same name, the film stars Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Srikanth and Prameela. It fo ...

'' (1974), '' Thirisoolam'' (1979) and ''

Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove ''Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove'' is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Bharathan, with story written by Thikkodiyan and produced by P. V. Gangadharan. The film stars Madhu, Mammootty, K R Vijaya, Rahman, Suresh and Shobhana. T ...

'' (1984). She was called as "Punnagai Arasi" (Queen of the smiles - in Tamil) by her fans at a function held in Trichy. Vijaya was always the first choice of directors to portray the roles of Hindu goddesses due to her looks which was similar to conventional depictions. Apart from her essaying the role of Goddess Shakti in '' Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal'' (1986), she essayed the Mariamman avatar in the film ''Mahasakthi Mariamman'' (1986) and '' Kandhan Karunai'' (1967). K R Vijaya reminsces about her first director "who gave her life" K. S. Gopalakrishnan who also directed her in her 100th film '' Nathayil Muthu'' (1973). Apart from acting in many films, she has also acted in ''Raja Rajeswari'' and ''Kudumbam'', two teleserials, that were telecast on television in both India and Sri Lanka. Vijaya returned to a mythological role in '' Sri Rama Rajyam'' (2011). K.R Vijaya also played

Kausalya Kausalya () is the senior queen-consort of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the mother of Rama, the titular hero of the epic, and the senior wife of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital of Ayodhya. In some later accou ...

for the first time in Bapu's mythological extravaganza. She has acted in over 500 films.

Awards

; Satyabama College * 2009 - Doctorate ; Nandi Awards * 1989 -

Nandi Special Jury Award The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the ...

for '' Sutradharulu'' ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

* 1967 -

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

for ''

'' * 1970 - Best Actress for ''Namma Veetu Dheivam'' ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1974 -

Filmfare Special Award - South ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, a ...

for ''

'' * 2004 -

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

;

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...

* 1984 - Second Best Actress - ''

'' ;

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

* 2013: Chalachitra Rathnam Award ;Janmabhoomi Television Awards *2018: Best Character Actress - ''Sathyam Sivam Sundaram'' ;Other Awards *2013: Nagi Reddy Memorial Awards *2017: Congress Managalir Awards *2019: Nakshathira Sathanaiyalar 2019

Filmography

Television serials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vijaya, K. R. Living people Indian film actresses Actresses from Thrissur Actresses in Tamil cinema Kerala State Film Award winners Actresses in Malayalam cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Telugu actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Indian television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Year of birth missing (living people)