JAYA PRADA

JAYA PRADA - Film Actress/Politician

Jaya Prada (born 3rd April 1962) was born as Lalita Rani on 3 April 1962 in a middle-class family in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her father Krishna Rao was a Telugu film financier. Her mother Neelaveni enrolled her in dance and music classes at an early age.

When Jaya Prada was fourteen years old, she performed a dance at her school's annual function. A film director in the audience offered her a three minute dance number in the Telugu film Bhoomikosam. She was hesitant, but her family encouraged her to accept it. She was paid only 10 rupees for her work in the film, but the rushes of those three minutes of film were shown to the major figures of the Telugu film industry. Major filmmakers offered her starring roles in quality films, and she accepted them. She became a huge star in 1976 with major hit films. Director K. Balachander's black-and-white film Anthuleni Katha (1976) showcased her dramatic skills; K. Viswanath's color film Siri Siri Muvva (1976) showed her playing a mute with excellent dancing skills; and her title role as Sita in the big-budget mythological film Seetha Kalyanam confirmed her versatility. In 1977, she starred in Adavi Ramudu, which broke box office records and which permanently cemented her star status. The song "Aaresukoboyi Paresukunnanu" performed by Prada and co-star N.T. Rama Rao became a mass hit. Important filmmakers were casting her and repeating her in their films. Filmmaker Vijay introduced her to Kannada Cinema in his 1977 super hit movie ""Sanadi Appanna"" along side Kannada matinee idol Raj Kumar. The movie is also known to be the only movie to feature shehnai rendition by Ustad Bismillah Khan. Jaya Prada repeated her successful pairing with Raj Kumar in films like Huliya Halina Mevu (1979), Kaviratna Kalidasa (1983) and Shabdavedhi (2000). In 1979, K. Balachander repeated her in Ninaithale Inikkum opposite Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth in which she played a terminally-ill patient. She continued to act in more films in Telugu opposite actors such NTR, ANR, Krishna, Krishnam Raju and Sobhan Babu throughout the 70s and 80s. K. Viswanath remade Siri Siri Muvva (1976) in Hindi as Sargam introducing Jayaprada to Bollywood in 1979. The film was successful and she became a star there as well. She earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress but couldn't capitalize on her success since she couldn't speak Hindi.

In 1981, she starred in the critically acclaimed 47 Natkal for filmmaker K. Balachander in which Chiranjeevi played her villainous, bigamist husband. After she took Hindi lessons, director K. Vishwanath relaunched her in Hindi films, with the hit film Kaamchor where she spoke Hindi fluently for the first time. She was now able to consistently work in Hindi films, and earned two more Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for playing Amitabh Bachchan's endearing girlfriend in Prakash Mehra's Sharaabi (1984) and for her challenging double role in K. Vishwanath's Sanjog. Saagara Sangamam released in 1983 proved to be a milestone in her career. Starring Kamal Hassan, the film won her lot of accolades including Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu.

Jaya made a successful team not just with Amitabh Bachchan and Jeetendra, but also with her immediate screen rival Sridevi, with whom she has acted in about a dozen films. Their hit Telugu film Devata (1982) was remade into the hit Hindi film Tohfa (1984). These films endeared Jaya Prada to the traditional conservative section of film goers and she amassed a huge female fan following as well. It was an image that would serve her well when she started a new career as a politician.

Indian director Satyajit Ray described her as was one of the prettiest women in the world. Although, she has acted in Bengali films, she has never worked for Ray. (She claimed that Ray had her in mind for a film, but his illness and subsequent death prevented their collaboration).

In 2002, she stepped into the Marathi film industry by being a guest in the movie Aadhaar. Thus far, she acted in eight languages and has completed 300 films during a 30-year film career. She started playing mature roles in 2004.

In 2011, she returned to Malayalam screens with a strong role in Pranayam, alongside Mohanlal and Anupam Kher. She essayed the role of 'Grace' in this film which won her critical acclaim and several awards. Her 2012 Kannada film Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (Sangolli Rayanna) saw her donning the historical role of Kittur Chennamma.

As she became involved in her political career since 1994, at the age of 32, her involvement with films reduced. Jayaprada joined the TDP in 1994 at the invitation of TDP founder N T Rama Rao, on the eve of the assembly elections, and rose quickly through the ranks. At that time there was speculation that she would run for election, but she preferred not to make her electoral debut, although she was offered a seat by Rao.

She campaigned in several constituencies in 1994. When Rao became the Chief minister in 1994, he appointed one of his sons-in-law Nara Chandrababu Naidu as the Revenue Minister. Soon after the formation of the government, Rao's health started deteriorating, and in response to the growing influence of his wife, Lakshmi Parvati, on the political decisions of NTR, Chandrababu Naidu convinced a majority of the TDP MLAs to elect him as the chief minister. Since most of the legislators had gone over to his side, the Anti Defection Law did not apply and the Telugu Desam Party label passed on to the Chandrababu Naidu faction. During this period, Prada too joined the Chandrababu Naidu faction of the party. She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha representing Andhra Pradesh in 1996. She also held the post of Telugu Mahila President.

Following differences with party Supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, she left the TDP to join Samajwadi Party and contested from Rampur parliamentary Constituency in UP during the last General election in 2004 and got elected with a margin of more than 85000 votes. During her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, she was issued a notice by the Election Commission for violating the code of conduct by distributing bindis to women in Rampur's Swar locality. On 11 May 2009, Jaya Prada alleged that senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was distributing nude pictures of her. She was re-elected with a margin of more than 30,000 votes. 

After she came out in open support of the former General Secretary of Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh, Prada was expelled from the party on 2nd February 2010 citing reasons such as indulging in activities inimical to its political interests and damaging its image. Prada was accused by Samajwadi party members for infiltration into the party of capitalist and communal forces, which threatened to derail it from its Samajwadi moorings and damage its secular character.

She owns the Jaya Prada Theater in Chennai. 

In 1986, she married producer Srikant Nahata, who was already married to Chandra and had 3 children. This marriage stirred a lot of controversy, especially since Nahata did not divorce his current wife and had children with his first wife after marrying Jaya Prada. Jaya Prada and Srikanth have no children together, but she expressed desire to have children.