Jayamala (actress)

Jayamala (born 1959)^[1] is an Indian actress and Indian politician. She is currently serving as the Minister for Women and Child Development and Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens in the Government of Karnataka, by virtue of being a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council.^[2] She served as the female president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce between 2008 and 2010.^[3][4]

Her films include Giri Kanye, Shankar Guru, Aaj Ka Ye Ghar, Sampoorna Teerth Yatraa, Balak, Spy in Rome, Love and Murder and Harishchandra Taramati. She has also produced the film Aaj Ka Ye Ghar.

Personal life

Her father G Omaiah is 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.^[5] She was married twice. Her first marriage was with Kannada Film actor Tiger Prabhakar and later got divorced.^[6][7] Her second marriage was with cinematographer H M Ramachandra and the couple has a daughter Soundarya Jaimala, an aspiring actress.^[5][8]

Film career

Jayamala has acted in several movies in Tulu, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. She has acted with several big Kannada stars like Rajkumar, Ananth Nag, Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Shankar Nag and Prabhakar. She had several hits like Shankar Guru, Giri Kanye, etc. Her first production venture Thaayi Saaheba was directed by Girish Kasaravalli and it 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, She wrote a thesis on the rehabilitation of rural woman in Karnataka. The thesis required her to tour many places in Karnataka and also scrutinise many documents. The doctorate was conferred by the Bangalore University 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 idol in Sabarimala. Women from the age 10–50 are banned from entering Sabarimala. It created a furor in India and led to ideological warfare in Indian media and courts. Jayamala has said she regretted her action, but clarified that she was pushed into the shrine by a crowd of devotees. The Supreme Priest of Sabarimala Kantararu Maheshwararu had dismissed the actress's statement as a figment of her imagination.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Filmography

References