Hyderabad, 27 January (HS): Telugu film actress Jamuna passed away on Friday in Hyderabad. She was 86 years old and was suffering from age-related ailments for the past several months.
According to the family, actress Jamuna breathed her last at 7:40 am on Friday at her residence in Hyderabad.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has condoled the demise of the actress. South Indian superstar Junior NTR wrote on Twitter that she was the queen of Telugu film industry for almost 30 years. She has left a mark on every hearts and minds through her films, which include several films like the Telugu film Gundamma Katha Misamma, he added.
Jamuna was born on August 30, 1936 in Hampi, Karnataka to Nippani Srinivasan Rao and Kausalya Devi. Nippani Srinivasa Rao and Kaushalya Devi later moved to Andhra Pradesh. Jamuna completed her primary education from Duggirala in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and was a stage artist during her school days. Jamuna's real name was Jana Bai and she started her career in 1953 at the age of 16 with 'Puttilu' directed by Garikapati Raja Rao. Made her mark in the Telugu film Misamma.
In his condolence, actor Chiranjeevi said that the news of the demise of actress Jamuna is extremely sad. She was a multilingual actress, he said that although her mother tongue is Kannada, she left a deep impression on the hearts of Telugu people with several successful films.
Apart from films, actress Jamuna tried her luck in politics as well. In the year 1980, influenced by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, she joined the Congress. Then she was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 from Rajahmundry. However, in 1991, Mangalagiri became the Congress candidate for the assembly seat and left politics after the defeat. Influenced by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she also campaigned for the BJP for some time.
Jamuna married Prof Juluri Ramana Rao of Osmania University in 1965. Prof Rao died on November 10, 2014 at the age of 86 due to cardiac arrest. They have a son, Vamsi Juluri, and a daughter, Shravanthi.
She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Milan (1967) starring Sunil Dutt and Nutan. It was a remake of the Telugu film Moga Manasulu (1964), which also starred Jamuna alongside Nageswara Rao and Savitri. Apart from this, he was awarded the Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award, MGR Award-2008 and NTR National Award.
Jamuna played various roles in a career spanning four decades and acted alongside veteran actors of her time. The actress worked in Telugu, Tamil and 11 Hindi films. Today his mortal remains were kept for public viewing at the Telangana Film Chamber and Commerce Hall.
Hindusthan Samachar/ Nagraj/ Mugdha
