Jaya Prada - Film Career

Film Career

She was fourteen years old, when she performed a dance at her school's annual function. A film director was in the audience, and he 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 she also received much greater opportunities, as the rushes of those three minutes of film was shown to the major figures of the Telugu film industry, and the floodgates opened. Major filmmakers offered her starring roles in quality films, and she accepted them. She became a major star in 1976 with big hits. Famous 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" picturized on her and co-star N.T. Rama Rao became a mass hit. In 1979, she acted 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 major actors like 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 became a huge hit and she became an overnight 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.