Veteran Kannada Actress Jayanthi Passes Away; BS Yediyurappa, Celebs Mourn the Death of 'Abhinaya Sharade'

Veteran Kannada actress Jayanthi passed away due to age-related ailments on Monday, 26 July. She was aged 76 and survived by his son Krishna Kumar.

Who was Jayanthi?
Born in Bellary to English professor Balasubramanyam and Santhanalakshmi in 1945, she was the eldest among the three siblings. Her mother had nurtured her to become a classical dancer, but destiny had a better plan in store for her after YR Swamy spotted her at the Golden Studio in Chennai.

He cast her as a teenager and the third female lead (Pandari Bai and Chandakala were other heroines) in his film Jenu Goodu. Thereafter, there was no looking back. In her second film, she shared screen space with the legends like Dr Raj Kumar, Udaya Kumar, Balakrishna and Jayashree.

She had acted in over 500 movies predominantly in Sandalwood. She had shared screen space with the likes of legends of South Indian cinema like Dr Rajkumar, NTR and Gemini Ganeshan among others.

The multilingual actress had acted in the main female lead in over 300 movies. She won four Karnataka State Film Awards for Best Actress, the President's Medal for Best Actress, and two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress in her life among many other honours.

Edakallu Guddada Mele, Bettada Huli, Immadi Pulikeshi, Jedara Bale, Kasturi Nivasa, Bahaddur Gandu, Manassinanthe Mangalya and Dharma Dari Thappithu were some of her notable movies in Kannada.

Condolence Pour In
Celebrities, fans and politicians have mourned the death of Jayanthi. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has expressed his condolence message on Twitter.

He posted, "I am extremely pained with the death news of Popular Kannada actress 'Abhinaya Sharade' Jayanthi. Her contribution to the Kannada film industry and the void is impossible to fill. May her soul rest in peace, give strength to his family and fans to overcome the loss. [sic]" the rough translation of his condolence tweet in Kannada read.