Moturi Vijaya Shanthi
Vijaya Shanthi at an event
Member of Legislative Council Telangana[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 March 2025
Constituency	Elected by MLAs
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 2009–2014
Preceded by	A. Narendra
Succeeded by	Kotha Prabhakar Reddy
Constituency	Medak
Personal details
Born	Satti Vijaya Shanthi (1966-06-24)24 June 1966 (age 59) Madras,Madras State, India
Political party	Indian National Congress (2014—2020; 2023-present)
Other political affiliations	Talli Telangana Party (2005-2009) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2009–2014) Bharatiya Janata Party (1998-2005; 2020-2023)
Spouse	Moturi Venkata Srinivasa Prasad ​ ​ (m. 1988)​
Occupation	Actress, Film producer, Politician, Social Worker

Moturi Vijaya Shanthi^[2] (born 24 June 1966) is an Indian actress, film producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 200 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly inTelugu films, in addition toTamil,Hindi,Kannada, andMalayalam films. She is widely referred as the "Lady Superstar", "LadyAmitabh"^[3][4][5][6] and "The Action Queen of Telugu Cinema".^[7][8] Vijayashanti holds the record for the most "Industry Hits" in Telugu cinema for a heroine, with five films emerging as the top-grossers of their time—a feat unmatched by any actress in the industry's 100-year history.^[9] She won theNational Film Award for Best Actress for her work as a female cop inKartavyam for depicting both aggression and femininity with balance and restraint (1990).^[10] She is a recipient of several accolades, including fourAndhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards forBest Actress, sevenFilmfare Awards South together with aLifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and theKalaimamani Award fromTamil Nadu Government.

Having made her acting debut in theTamil filmKallukkul Eeram (1980), she went on to star in successful films likeNetrikkan (1981),Neti Bharatam (1983),Agni Parvatam (1985),Challenge (1984),Pratighatana (1985), Muddula Krishnayya (1986),Repati Pourulu (1986),Pasivadi Pranam (1987),Muvva Gopaludu (1987),Yamudiki Mogudu (1988),Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu (1989),Janaki Ramudu (1988),Muddula Mavayya (1989),Kondaveeti Donga (1990), Karthavyam (1990),Indrudu Chandrudu (1989),Lorry Driver (1990),Sathruvu (1990),Gang Leader (1991),Mannan (1992),Rowdy Inspector (1992),Mondi Mogudu Penki Pellam (1992),Chinarayudu (1993) andPolice Lockup (1993),Osey Ramulamma (1997). Vijaya Shanthi had established herself as one of the leading actresses ofTelugu cinema.^[11][12] In 1987, she appeared inSwayam Krushi alongsideChiranjeevi, which was screened at theMoscow International Film Festival, andPadamati Sandhya Ragam with Hollywood actorThomas Jane, which was screened at the Louisville International Film Festival.^[13]

She entered state politics in 1998.^[14][15] She served as theMember of Parliament in the15th Lok Sabha, representing theMedak constituency fromTelangana Rashtra Samithi. As of November 2023^[update], she is a member of theIndian National Congress.

Vijaya Shanthi was born on 24 June 1966^[16][17] in Madras to Satti Srinivasa Prasad, a native of Anaparthi, inEast Godavari, and his wife, Satti Varalakshmi, a native ofWarangal and elder sister of actress and producerVijayalalitha.^[18][19] Vijaya Shanthi has said that she prefers to think of herself as being fromTelangana rather than Madras, although as of 2004 she had never visited her ancestral village of Ramannagudem nearEturnagaram.^[20]

She completed her 10th class atHoly Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai, before starting her film career.^[21]

Vijaya Shanthi began her acting career at the age of 14 in 1980,Tamil filmKallukkul Eeram, directed by Bharathiraja. In the same year, she debuted in Telugu cinema with the movieKilaadi Krishnudu, oppositeKrishna, directed byVijaya Nirmala. She got a role in the Telugu filmSatyam-Sivam (1981), the cast of which includedN. T. Rama Rao andAkkineni Nageswara Rao.

Initially she played many character role like sister, daughter and then after a couple of inconsequential movies camePellichoopulu (1983), which brought recognition to her as a star. This was a remake ofK. Bhagyaraj's Tamil filmThooral Ninnu Pochchu. Her breakthrough movie wasNeti Bharatam (1983), and from there she started acting in women-centric roles, teaming up withT. Krishna. He spotted her on the sets of his friend Madala Rangarao'sNavodayam. He saw her perform and predicted that she would turn out to be a good actress. In 1985,Pratighatana, one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, won her accolades and a stateNandi Award for the first time. She delivered a powerful performance in the song "Ee Dhuryodhana Dusshasana", penned by legendary lyricistVeturi and powerfully sung byS. Janaki. In K. Viswanath'sSwayam Krushi, where she acts as an illiterate woman who falls in love with a cobbler. Her dialogueAtta Soodamakayya is highly applauded along with her performance inSwayam Krushi.

In 1992Mondi Mogudu Penki Pellam was a huge success. Vijaya Shanthi played a bold lady speaking Telangana slang and delivered the career-defining song "Laloo Darwaja Laskar". In 1994 it was remade into Hindi asMeri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin. In the 1990s, Vijayashanti was the highest-paid heroine in India and her remuneration was equal to her co-starsRajinikanth andAmitabh Bachchan.^[22] Her collaboration withChiranjeevi (19 films) andNandamuri Balakrishna (17 films) were huge hits at the box office. She starred alongsideRajinikanth as the antagonist in the filmMannan, and withKamal Haasan as an investigative reporter inIndrudu Chandrudu. She acted in two movies with Malayalam superstarSuresh Gopi,Yuvathurki andKallu Kondoru Pennu. She produced the filmNippu Ravva (1993), starringBalakrishna, under the banner Yuvarathna Arts.

In 1989, she was introduced to Hindi cinema byK. Viswanath alongsideAnil Kapoor in the filmEeshwar, a remake of his Telugu filmSwathi Muthyam. Her second Hindi film wasMuqaddar Ka Badshaah, a remake of the Telugu filmAswaddama. In the Hindi version, she acted with another National Award-winning actress - Shabana Azmi. Her other starrers areApradhi, in which she is co-starring withAnil Kapoor andTejaswini, a remake ofKarthavyam, directed byN. Chandra. Another Bollywood movie of hers isGundagardi (1997), starringDharmendra in an action role. In 1996, she was paired oppositeAmitabh Bachchan inZamaanat, directed byS. Ramanathan,^{[citation needed]} but the film was shelved.

In a carefully nurtured career, Vijayashanthi reached the status of a "HERO" at box office parlance. In the blockbuster movieKarthavyam (1990), her performance as a tough cop under the direction of Mohan Gandhi won her theNational Film Award from theGovernment of India and anAndhra Pradesh State award for best actress. ActorRavi Teja was introduced in the film as a side artist. The film was made with a budget of about 90 lakhs and grossed over 7 crores in southern territories alone.^[23] The film was screened at the 14thInternational Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.^[24] She was the third woman from Telugu cinema to win the award afterSharada andArchana.

The success of this movie saw her moving away from glamorous roles and limiting herself to woman-oriented roles. "There were people who questioned how can a Heroine attain the image of Hero & charge highest remuneration. But, I had overcome all the hurdles and answered critics with successful films," she answered.

Vijaya Shanthi didn't rely on stunt doubles for performing risky stunts in many films. There were times when she jumped from a height of 30 feet and she hardly cared about the injuries.^[25]

In 1990,Karthavyam was dubbed into Tamil asVyjayanthi IPS and its success brought her fame in Tamil cinema. (It was also remade in Hindi asTejaswini, with herself playing the lead role. This, too, did very well at the Hindi box office.) The film inspired the then 10-year old C. Indhumathi to take up the civil services exam; she cleared the UPSC exam and bagged 151st rank and placed in Madurai.^[26]Vyjayanthi IPS ran for 50 days in Vetri theater in Chennai. This record was broken by a dubbed version ofBaahubali in August 2015.^[27]

A. M. Ratnam, Vijaya Shanthi's personal make-up man, turned out to be a money-making producer. As an executive producer for Vijaya Shanthi, he made the award-winningKarthavyam on the banner of Sri Surya Movies. On the same banner, she produced and acted inAashayam released in 1993, which had a decent run. InPolice Lockup she played a dual role, directed byKodi Ramakrishna, for which she won anotherFilmfare Award for Best Actress. Later she continued her career in action roles. InOsey Ramulamma (1997), she played a downtrodden woman who rose against her oppressors. Directed byDasari Narayana Rao, this was the biggest blockbuster of the year, giving Vijaya Shanthi her fourthNandi Award and sixthFilmfare Award for Best Actress.^[28] This film gave her another name, called as "Ramulamma/Ramulakka" by the people. The music of this film, composed by Vandemataram Srinivas, also won the Nandi Award.

Later, she appeared in women oriented movies likeAdavi Chukka andRowdy Durbar, directed byDasari Narayana Rao.

Vijayashanthi has also worked for many commercials like Chandana Bros., and Power Detergent soap. She was the first actress to be first featured in aSaree commercial.

Vijaya Shanthi returned to cinema after a sabbatical of 13 years, starring in the 2020 filmSarileru Neekevvaru whereMahesh Babu played the main protagonist.^[29]

Her last seen movie isNayudamma, released in 2006.Anil Ravipudi shared a welcome picture on Twitter on 12 August 2019 announcing her return to films with a makeup mirror placed in front of her. He wrote "After 13 years.. It's make up time for Vijayashanthi garu.. Nothing has ever changed in all these 13 years. Same discipline, same attitude and same dynamism. Welcome on-board".^[30][31] She was paid 4 crores for her re-entry filmSarileru Neekevvaru. 2025 marks her second re-entry filmArjun S/O Vyjayanthi is scheduled to release on April 18, herself starring in a powerful cop role alongsideNandamuri Kalyan Ram.

In 1998, Vijaya Shanthi joined theBharatiya Janata Party and was soon made the secretary of BJP's Women's Wing (Bharateeya Mahila Morcha).^[32] In 1998, her first public meeting was held at Nellore, a big hit in support of BJP.^[33] During the1999 general election she was named BJP's contestant from the Cuddapah Lok Sabha seat againstSonia Gandhi ofCongress(I). However, she withdrew from the race after Sonia Gandhi decided to contest fromBellary. In 1996, Vijaya Shanthi, who is pro-BJP, vowed her support to theAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and was a star campaigner for then ChiefJayalalithaa.^[34] Vijayashanti is the star campaigner for BJP Lok Sabha Polls in Tamil Nadu along with CricketerSrikkanth.^[35]

She started her own political party, Talli Telangana, in January 2005, which she merged intoBharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) due to lack of strength and support. From 1999, her movie appearances decreased as she focused on her political career. By 2004, she had stopped signing up for new films. In the2009 general election, she won as a Member of Parliament from theMedak constituency from BRS.^[36] In June 2009, she resigned from the post of secretary general of BRS, expressing solidarity with the resignation ofKalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao.^[37]

In 2011, she submitted her resignation as anMP along withKalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao in agitation of Telangana movement. The resignation was later rejected by the speaker of the house, as it was not in the proper format. Later, she actively participated in politics for separateTelangana State (region), in which she played a key role.

Vijaya Shanthi joined the Indian National Congress party in February 2014 after a split withTRS chief KCR.^[38] She contested in the assembly elections fromMedak in the 2014 general elections from Indian National Congress party and lost asMLA. After some inactive years, in 2018AICC presidentRahul Gandhi appointed Vijaya Shanthi as star campaigner and adviser to the election campaign committee ofTelangana PCC.^[39]

Vijaya Shanthi in March 2019, started a controversy after she compared Narendra Modi to a terrorist and claimed he was “ruling like a dictator”. She made these statements at a rally in Telangana's Shamshabad village inRanga Reddy district.^[40] Vijaya Shanthi said, “He is appearing like a terrorist. Instead of loving his people, he is scaring them. And said this is not a characteristic of a prime minister.^[41]

She resigned from the Congress in November 2020 and rejoined theBharatiya Janata Party on 6 December 2020 in the presence of Home MinisterAmit Shah.^[42]

In November 2023, she left BJP and rejoined Congress on 17 November 2023, in the presence of Congress president,Mallikarjun Kharge.^[43]

She was unanimously Elected as Member of Telangana Legislative Council on 13 March 2025.^[44][1]

On April 7, 2025,Vijayashanti has taken oath as elected Member of Legislative Council (MLC) from Congress along with Addanki Dayakar and Shankar Nayak.

Vijaya Shanthi is married to Moturi Venkata Srinivasa Prasad in 1988.^[21] He does real estate business around Chennai and Hyderabad. He is a nephew toDaggubati Purandeswari.

• Vijaya Shanthi atIMDb
• Vijaya Shanthi atBollywood Hungama
• Vijaya Shanthi onTwitter

• 1966 births
• Living people
• Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Telangana
• Indian National Congress politicians from Telangana
• Bharat Rashtra Samithi politicians
• Actresses from Telangana
• Women in Telangana politics
• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Best Actress National Film Award winners
• Indian actor-politicians
• India MPs 2009–2014
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
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• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Nandi Award winners
• Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh
• 20th-century Indian actresses
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• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• Women members of the Lok Sabha
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• Members of the Telangana Legislative Council

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