Jayasudha
Jayasudha in April 2024
Member of Legislative Assembly,Andhra Pradesh
In office 2009–2014
Preceded by	Talasani Srinivas Yadav
Succeeded by	T. Padma Rao Goud
Constituency	Secunderabad
Personal details
Born	Sujatha Nidudavolu (1958-12-17)17 December 1958 (age 67) Madras,Madras State,India (nowChennai,Tamil Nadu)
Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (since 2023)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (2009–2014) Telugu Desam Party (2016–2019) YSR Congress Party (2019–2023)
Spouses	Kakarlapudi Rajendra Prasad ​ ​ (m. 1982, divorced)​ Nitin Kapoor ​ ​ (m. 1985; died 2017)​
Children	2
Relatives	SeeNidudavolu Family
Occupation	Actress, politician

Jayasudha Kapoor (bornSujatha Nidudavolu), known mononymously asJayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly inTelugu cinema. She has also worked in someTamil,Kannada,Malayalam, andHindi films.^[1] Known as a natural actress, in a career spanning over 5 decades she has received nine stateNandi Awards for her acting in works such asJyothi (1976),Idi Katha Kaadu (1979),Premabhishekam (1981),Meghasandesam (1982), andDharmaatmudu (1983).^[1]

She has garnered fiveFilmfare Awards South, for her performances inJyothi (1976),Aame Katha (1977),Gruha Pravesam (1982),Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2004), andKotha Bangaru Lokam (2008).^[1] She received theANR National Award (2008) and theFilmfare Lifetime Achievement Award - South (2010) for her contributions to Indian cinema. Jayasudha served as Member of Legislative Assembly, fromSecunderabad constituency during 2009–2014 in the erstwhile combinedGovernment of Andhra Pradesh.^[2]

Jayasudha was born as Sujatha Nidudavolu inMadras, Tamil Nadu on 17 December 1958, to aTelugu family of Nidudavolu Rameswara Rao, and actress Joga Bai known for films such asBalanandam (1954), andKalahasti Mahatyam (1954).^[3] Telugu film actress and directorVijaya Nirmala is the first cousin of her father.^[3] Jayasudha's paternal grandfather is eminent scholar and literary historian,Nidudavolu Venkatarao.^[4] Her first marriage was to film producerVadde Ramesh's brother-in-law, Kakarlapudi Rajendra Prasad. However, the marriage ended in divorce. She then marriedNitin Kapoor, cousin to actorJeetendra, in 1985 and they have two children, sons Nihar (born in 1986) and Shreayan (born in 1990).^[5][6]

She was elected asMLA from the Secunderabad constituency in2009 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections fromIndian National Congress.^[7] She later joined theTelugu Desam Party in 2016.^[8] Later in 2019 she quit the Telugu Desam Party and joinedYSR Congress Party.^[9]

Jayasudha made her film debut when she was thirteen years old with theTelugu filmPandanti Kapuram (1972). DirectorK. Balachander gave her a small role in the Tamil filmArangetram where she shared space withKamal Haasan. She acted in a number of films in Telugu and Tamil mostly under Balachander's directionSollathaan Ninaikkiren (1973),Naan Avanillai (1974) andApoorva Raagangal and inIdi Katha Kaadu withChiranjeevi. She also changed her name to Jayasudha, since there was already another actress named Sujatha. Her fame quickly spread, whereTelugu film producers were offering her good film roles.

While her debut role as a heroine in theTelugu filmLakshmana Rekha (1975) got her attention, it was really the title role inJyothi (remake of the Hindi filmMili starringJaya Bhaduri) that made her a big star in Telugu films. She was now called a successor to the great Telugu actressSavitri and performed many strong roles and showed excellent range.^[4]She is given the title "Sahaja Nati" which means "natural/realistic actress."

Her roles varied from the cute-looking teeny-bopper who wore minis inNomu (1974), to that of a tortured wife of a sadist husband inK. Balachander's filmIdi Katha Kaadu (1979) to that of a comedian who discovers that her husband wants to murder her for her wealth inMoney (1993). She performed showy roles in Telugu remakes of Hindi films, such asYugandhar (1979) (the fighter role thatZeenat Aman originated inDon),Illalu (Reena Roy's dark-shaded role fromApnapan).

In commercial cinema, she received a huge break when she starred inAdavi Ramudu (1977), which broke box office records.^[10] She also showed innovativeness and lack of vanity in original Telugu films likePremabhishekam (1981) where she played a supporting role as a deglamorized prostitute, whileSridevi played the female lead.^[11]She has acted in 300-plus feature films in a variety of roles, and in one year, she had 24 film releases.^[4]She has made her unique space in the Telugu cinema industry amidst a huge competition between her contemporary actressesSridevi andJayaprada.

Nandi Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Actress –Jyothi (1976)
• Nandi Award for Best Actress –Idi Katha Kaadu (1979)
• Nandi Award for Best Actress –Premabhishekam (1981)
• Nandi Award for Best Actress –Meghasandesam (1982)
• Nandi Award for Best Actress –Dharmaatmudu (1983)
• Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress –Swathi Chinukulu (1989)
• Nandi Award for Best Character Actress –Jailor Gaari Abbayi (1994)
• Nandi Award for Best Character Actress –Yuvakudu (2000)
• Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress –Sathamanam Bhavati (2016)

Filmfare Awards South

• Filmfare Best Actress Award (Telugu) –Jyothi (1976)
• Filmfare Best Actress Award (Telugu) –Aame Katha (1977)
• Filmfare Special Jury Award –Premabhishekam (1981)
• Filmfare Best Actress Award (Telugu) –Grihapravesam (1982)
• Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award (Telugu) –Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2004)^[12]
• Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award (Telugu) –Kotha Bangaru Lokam (2008)
• Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award - South (2010)

Other Awards

• Kalasagar Award for Best Actress –Meghasandesam (1982)
• Pride of Indian Cinema Award (2007)^[13]
• Andhra Pradesh Cinegoer's Association – Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)
• ANR National Award (2008)^{[citation needed]}

In the 2019 biopic filmNTR: Kathanayakudu, actressPayal Rajput portrayed Jayasudha onscreen.^[14]

• Janani (2000–01) (ETV)^[5]

• Jayasudha atIMDb

• Living people
• 1958 births
• Telugu people
• Indian film actresses
• Telugu actresses
• Politicians from Hyderabad, India
• Indian actor-politicians
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Nandi Award winners
• Indian Christians
• Converts to Christianity from Hinduism
• Indian former Hindus
• Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh
• Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2009–2014
• Indian child actresses
• Actresses from Chennai
• People from Secunderabad
• Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Telangana

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