Jyothi Lakshmi, one of the popular actresses of 70s and 80s, passed away on the wee hours of Tuesday in Chennai after being diagnosed with blood cancer.
Known for her item numbers, the 63-year-old, who was part of over 300 films, mostly in Telugu and Tamil, has also acted in Malayalam and Kannada films. Debuting as a heroine in 1963 with Tamil film Periya Idathu Penn at an age of 12, opposite comedian Nagesh in this film, she had been a child artist in a few films.
The actress went on to act in a Hindi film Payal Ki Jhankar with Kishore Kumar and in 1965, debuted in Malayalam with National Award-winning Murappennu.
With Peddakkayya starring Harinath, her Tollywood innings began. Her performance in a cowboy role in the blockbuster Mosagallaku Mosagadu starring Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala was noted. The popular song Gudi Venaka Naa Sami... is one of her hit numbers. Since Sobhan Babu-starrer Ida Lokam, her item number or cameo appearance was common in most movies till her sister Jayamalini replaced her. After she married cameraman Sai Prasad, she has been in the US with her daughter.
