Senior actor Jayasudha is a recipient of the Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) Award, instituted for the first time by the Telangana Government as part of the Gaddar Film Awards. It has been a long journey for Jayasudha, who made her debut in 1972 with Pandanti Kapuram. She began playing lead roles in 1974 and has kept displaying her versatility since then. Having clocked five decades in the industry, Jayasudha continues to be a happening actor with exciting projects in her lineup.
“I am very happy that the jury selected me for the ANR Award,” says Jayasudha. She shares that she is fortunate to be the only female actor of her generation who has starred alongside Akkineni Nageswara Rao in nearly 28 films. “My first film with him was Mahakavi Kshetrayya,” says Jayasudha, adding that she took baby steps towards playing the main female lead with him. “In Secretary, I played one of the female leads, but the main lead was Vanisri garu. In a few other films also, Vanisri garu was the main female lead, and I played the second lead,” says Jayasudha.
“Our combination became a super hit. Take any film that I acted in with ANR garu — most of them were silver jubilees,” recalls Jayasudha. Heaping praise on the legendary actor, she adds, “Though he was a great star, he was always down-to-earth. He never interfered in direction or gave advice to other actors. In fact, he always told us that he wanted to learn something new, so he would interact with us whenever we had break time."
Jayasudha played an important role in the second part of Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s career. Initially, both Jayasudha and ANR appeared as a lead pair with duets, and later they went on to play parents to children in films. She says one of her most memorable films of that phase was Premabhishekam, which had a year-long theatrical run. “Another good film was Megha Sandesam, which was also a big success. Though there were two female actors in the film, our pair became the most successful one.”
Talking further about ANR, she says, “He was not an introvert and was very inquisitive about what was happening around him in life. He always looked at what he could learn from others. In our conversations, I learnt a lot from him. He was very disciplined,” she said.
She fondly remembers a very touching incident and ANR’s kind gesture after the latter’s visit to Vatican City. “While looking at the souvenirs there, ANR garu's eyes fell on a cross pendant. Though he was an atheist, he was reminded of me when he saw it. After returning to India, he gifted me the cross, and I have safely kept it to this date. That’s one of the best gifts and a very memorable incident with ANR,” recalls Jayasudha.
Jayasudha reminisces another kind act of ANR in the professional space when she stepped into film production. She says that though he agreed to play the lead in the production Aadi Dampathulu, he also advised her to be careful about producing films. “Even when I started my first production, Aadi Dampathulu, ANR garu was the lead actor, and I played a role opposite him. Dasari Narayana Rao garu directed it, and the film became a super hit,” recalled Jayasudha. The film was actually a remake of the Hindi movie Ghar Dwaar. “Before the shoot, he asked me why I wanted to step into production. I told him that the production was for Nitin Kapoor. Then he agreed and asked me to be cautious with the production.”
Interestingly, Jayasudha was the Jury Chairman of the first Gaddar Film Awards Committee, and now, in the second edition, she is receiving the ANR Award. “My personal opinion is that if the government institutes an award for female actors in the name of Savitri or Bhanumathi, it would be good,” she says.
Talking about the winners of this year, she adds, “I came to know that many debutants are receiving this year’s Gaddar Film Awards, and it will definitely be a big encouragement for them. There is plenty of new talent, and these awards will be a great boost.” Jayasudha is currently acting in a Malayalam film titled I’m Game, which stars Dulquer Salmaan. “After 25 years, I am doing a Malayalam film,” she says, revealing she has also signed a Tamil web series. “The shooting is currently going on in Chennai. It is for JioHotstar,” she signs off.