Veteran actress, director and producer Vijaya Nirmala passed away in the early hours of Thursday at the age of 75. She was the second wife of yesteryear superstar Krishna and mother of actor Naresh.
Prolific actress, director and producer Vijaya Nirmala passed away in the wee hours of Thursday, leaving behind an indelible mark on the Telugu film industry.
Born on February 20, 1944 in Chennai, Vijaya Nirmala started her career as a child artiste, while her father Samarthi Ram Mohan Rao worked in Vauhini Studios as Chief Operator. In 1953, while learning classical dance from Thiru Venkata Mudaliar, she got an offer from C. Pullaiah to act in a Tamil film titled Machcha Rekhai and subsequently went on to act in quite a few films as a child artiste.
It was during this time that she also got the opportunity to act in a Tamil film with legendary actress Savitri. Vijaya Nirmala made her Telugu debut with the film Panduranga Mahatyam in 1957, in which she played Lord Krishna.
The lead actor of the film, NTR was so impressed with Vijaya Nirmala’s performance that from then onwards, he would address her as ‘Krishna’ whenever both met at an event or a function. She then went on to act in Bhookailas as a child artiste in which she played Sita, and finally turned into a lead actress with the film Rangula Ratnam in 1966.
She married Krishna Murthy with whom she had a son, Naresh, who is also an actor. However, she divorced her first husband and later married actor Krishna. Although her original name was Nirmala, she got her first chance with Vijaya productions, and changed her name to Vijaya Nirmala.
