Jamuna (1936-2023) was an Indian veteran actress, director and politician. She is known for working mainly in the Telugu film industry. She was a member of the Indian National Congress and later the Bharatiya Janata Party. She died of age-related illnesses in 2023 at the age of 86.
Wiki/Biography
Jamuna Ramana Rao was born on Sunday 30 August 1936 in Hampi (Jana Bai), Madras District, British India (now Karnataka, India) (Died at age 86). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. When Jamuna was 7 years old, her family moved to Duggirala in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. She went to school in Dujalala, where veteran Indian actor, lyricist and politician Kongara Jaggaiah was her school teacher. She completed her high school education through private tuition. She used to perform on the school stage. Indian actress Savitri introduced Jamuna to the film industry and invited her to act in films while she was living in Jamuna’s house in Dujalala, Andhra Pradesh, performing plays.
Jamuna in his youth
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (approximately): 75kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
She belongs to a Kannada family in Dujalala, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Parents and siblings
Her father, Nippani Srinivasa Rao, used to be in the turmeric and tobacco business. Her mother’s name is Kosalia Devi. Her father belonged to Madhva Brahmins and her mother was a Vaishya. The couple had an inter-caste love marriage. She has a sister.
husband and children
In 1965, she married Juluri Ramana Rao, a professor of zoology at SV University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. He died of cardiac arrest on November 10, 2014 at the age of 86.
Jamuna and Juluri Ramana Rao
The couple has 2 children; daughter Sravanthi Juluri is a painter and son Vamsee Juluri is a media studies professor at the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, United States.
jamuna and her daughter
Profession
Movie
At the age of 15, she started acting in movies. Filmmaker Garikipati Raja Rao reportedly watched her performance in the stage play “Maa Bhoomi” at school and cast her in the 1952 Telugu film “Puttillu”. She revealed in an interview that Garikipati Raja Rao came to watch Jamuna’s performance in Maa Bhoomi as he had heard a lot about her performance , and cast her in the movie “Puttillu” because of her resemblance to veteran Indian actress Nargis. she says,
I was in my early teens when Raja Rao came to Dujralala from Rajahmundry and came to me because he had heard that I was a good actor. When he saw me performing, he asked a photographer to take photos of me without makeup. I was signed as ‘Puttilu’ because they thought I looked like Nargis. I earn Rs 500 per month through this project. The film didn’t work out because Raja Rao was much older than me, but I was interested. ”
telugu
She made her debut in 1952 with the movie “Puttillu”.
Movie “Puttillu” poster
In 1954, she acted in the film “Maa Gopi” directed by BS Ranga. She played the role of Santha in the 1955 film Bangaru Papa. In 1956, she played the role of Kamala in the political drama film Tenali Ramakrishna. In 1958, she played the role of Mandodari in the Indian mythological film Bhookailas. She played the role of Subhadra in the 1964 film Bobili Yudham, based on the Battle of Bobbili.
tamil
She made her film debut in 1954 with the film Panam Paduthum Padu.
Movie “Panam Paduthum Padu” poster
She played Sita in the 1955 romantic comedy film Missiamma. In 1957, she played the role of Amutha in the adventure film “Thangamalai Ragasiyam”. She played the role of Leela in the 1958 comedy film Kadan Vaangi Kalyaanam. In 1961, she played Princess Rathna in the martial arts film Marutha Nattu Veeran. In 1973, she played the lead role in the film Anbu Sagodharargal, playing the roles of Rani Malini Devi and Kamala. In 1983, she played the role of Anu in the movie “Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey”.
kannada
She made her film debut in 1955 with the film “Aadarsha Sathi”. She worked in the 1957 film “Rathnagiri Rahasya”. In 1971, she played the role of Uma in the drama film Sakshatkara. In 1979, she starred in the movie “Mayeya Musuku”. She worked in the 1980 film Guru, Sarvabhowma Sri Raghavendra Karune. In 1991, she played a supporting role in the action film “Police Matudada”.
Movie “Police Matudada” poster
Hindi
In 1957, she made her debut in the comedy film “Miss Mary”.
Movie “Miss Mary” poster
In 1963, she acted in two films, Ek Raaz and Hamrahi. She played the role of Lakshmi in the 1963 film Beti Bete. She played the role of Kalpana in the 1965 film Rishte Nate. In 1967, she played the role of Gouri in the film Milan, a remake of the popular Telugu film Mooga Manasulu. In 1974, she participated in the movie “Dulhan”, playing the role of Padma. In 1990, she appeared in the movie “Ms. Tarzan.”
politics
In the 1980s, she joined the Congress Party. In 1989, she became the Lok Sabha member from Rajahmundry constituency. In 1991, she contested the Lok Sabha elections again; however, she failed in the election. Later, she retired from politics for several years. She briefly campaigned for BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure in the late 1990s.
dispute
Kick NTR faces backlash
In 1965, Jamuna was cast as Satyabhama opposite renowned actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), who played Krishna in the Telugu film Sri Krishna Tulabharam. In a scene in the film, Jamuna kicked NTR, which was unacceptable to NTR’s fans and they criticized Jamuna for doing so. In an interview, she said of the scene that it was just acting and that her character asked her to do it and it felt bad to kick him. she says,
I have a great affinity for both Lord Krishna and NTR. I prayed to Krishna to make me a star and NTR is one of the few actors who respects women a lot. During the song ‘O Cheli Kopama’ from ‘Sri Krishna Tulabharam’ I had to kick him and I felt so bad that I kept apologizing after the scene. “Aaha em paravaledu (It doesn’t matter), it’s acting after all,” he replied in a baritone voice, which made me feel better.
Awards and Honors
- 1968: Won the Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress for the 1967 Hindi film “Milan”
- 1972: Won the Special Jury Award at the South Filmfare Awards for the 1972 Telugu film Pandanti Kapuram
- 1999: Won the MGR Award at the Tamil Nadu Film Awards
- 2008: Received the NTR National Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Jamuna received the NTR National Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2008
- 2010: Received the Padma Bhushan B. Saroja Devi National Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2019: Won the Santosham Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th Santosham Film Awards
die
She passed away at her residence in Hyderabad on January 27, 2023 at the age of 86 due to age-related ailments.
Facts/Trivia
- Jamuna’s native language is Telugu; however, she has also done films in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi.
- Her mother trained her in singing and playing the organ.
- Jamuna and actress Savitri organized a toy fair, traditionally called ‘Bommala Koluvu’.
Jamuna celebrates Bommala Koluvu
- According to sources, when Jamuna’s parents were looking for a husband for her, they placed matrimonial advertisements in various newspapers to find suitable matches for their daughter, especially IAS, IPS, professors and highly educated professionals. .
- In interviews, she said she quit acting when she started taking roles as older women. She wants people to remember her as an “andala tara” (beautiful star). she says,
Today, my contemporaries play the roles of mothers and grandmothers. I never wanted to do that. I stopped acting when the types of roles I was offered started to change. I want people to remember me for my charm as Andaratala (the beautiful star). Over the years I have looked stunning on screen, apart from my acting, aa image, ala undipote bavuntundi. ”
- She owns a cinema in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
- Jamuna was reportedly banned from working with actors Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) and Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) for more than 3 years due to ego conflicts. Later, she started working with actor Hanas. In an interview, she discussed the boycott she faced for working with NTR and ANR, saying:
ANR is always playful and never takes anything too seriously. But he once unofficially boycotted me for three years because I demanded the same respect and compensation from him and NTR. This is a difference of opinion. I went on to act with young heroes like Ramanamurthy and Sridhar. But my collaboration with ANR has been very successful. Nagi Reddy, Chakrapani and KV Reddy made me rejoin Gundamma Katha. ”
Jamuna with ANR (left) and NTR (right) in movie stills
- According to sources, she once walked out of a movie shoot when she discovered that rival actor Harnutt was drunk on the set.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education