Vijaya Nirmala, veteran director-actor, passes away

Veteran actor and director Vijaya Nirmala (73) who was admitted at a hospital here breathed her last on Wednesday night. Vijaya Nirmala, the Guinness book record holder as a female director of most films, is the wife of another veteran Tollywood hero Krishna and mother of actor Naresh, the present president of Movie Artists Association.

Vijaya Nirmala, who was admitted to a corporate hospital in Gachibowli here suffered cardiac arrest after a prolonged illness. Her body has been shifted to their home and which will be kept at the Film Chambers in Jubilee hills for her fans to pay lost respects. Cremation will take place on Friday, the family sources said.

Vijaya Nirmala was born to Tamil and Telugu parents in Tamil Nadu where her father worked in film studios made her debut as a child artist in a Tamil movie Machcha Rekhai (1950) and also in the NTR starrer Panduranga Mahatyam in Telugu. Her first film in Telugu as a heroine was Rangula Ratnam. She starred opposite Prem Nazir in Malayalam in 1964. She met hero Krishna, her second husband on the sets of Saakshi (1967) directed by Bapu. In her career, she acted in over 200 films in different south Indian languages.

She made her directorial debut with a Malayalam film on a budget of Rs 3 lakh. Her directorial debut in Telugu was with Meena. Vijaya directed 40 films in Telugu and one film each in Malayalam (directorial debut film) and Tamil (Kungumachimizh). Through her venture Balaji Telefilms, she also produced successful TV shows. She also produced about 15 films through her own banner, Vijaya Krishna.

In 2008, she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contributions to Telugu cinema. She and fellow Telugu actor Savitri are credited as the only female directors to have directed the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy in a statement has said that the Telugu film industry lost a very noted women director who entered into world records. He offered condolences to hero Krishna. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in his message also said that she has made films on issues that troubled the women in our society.