Kannada Actress Jayanthi Passes Away in Her Sleep Aged 76, Film Industry Condoles Demise

Actress Jayanthi, a senior artiste in the Kannada film industry, passed away in her sleep on Monday in Bengaluru, reports have confirmed. The 76-year-old was keeping unwell for the past few days. The actress-turned-politician was fondly called Abhinaya Sharadhe (Goddess Sharadhe in acting). She was a prominent name in the Kannada film industry from 1960 to late ’80s and featured in over 500 films in languages like Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi. She had won six State awards for performance in various films.

The veteran actress’s son Krishna Kumar confirmed the news of her death to Bangalore Times as he stated that she was recovering from illnesses, but eventually breathed her last during her sleep. The actress had spoken to Bangalore Times last year, when she was stuck in Hampi during the lockdown and was using the time to soak in the nature and the surroundings and also found time catching up with her peers through virtual video calls.

Upon hearing the news of Jayanthi’s passing, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa condoled her demise. “Her contribution to the film industry is immense. It is an irreplaceable loss to Kannada film industry,” Yediyurappa wrote on Twitter.

Members of the film industry also condoled her death.

She was introduced to movies by Telugu cinema legend NT Rama Rao. Jayanthi’s Sandalwood debut was marked with the movie Chandavalliya Thota. One of her hit pairs in Kannada matinee is marked with doyen, actor Dr Rajkumar. She has also worked with actors like MG Ramachandran (MGR). Jayanthi shared screen space with the top heroes of Indian cinema such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor (both in Hindi), NTR (Telugu), and MGR, and Shivaji Ganesan (Tamil).

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