The Kerala government has bestowed yesteryear actor Sarada with the JC Daniel Award, the state's highest film honour for overall contribution to Malayalam cinema, for the year 2024. The award carries a purse of ₹5 lakh, a statuette, and a citation. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will present the award at a function to be held at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram on January 25.
Sarada was chosen for the award by a jury headed by Sreekumaran Thampi—also the 2017 JC Daniel Award winner—with actor Urvashi and director Balu Kiriyath as members. Chalachitra Academy secretary C Ajoy was the panel's member secretary. The actor, 80, is the 32nd film personality to receive the award. The jury noted that Sarada, for over two decades from the 1960s, became a representative of Malayali women on screen through many immortal characters in both mainstream and independent cinema.
Sarada has won the National Award thrice, of which two were for Malayalam films. She bagged her first National award for Thulabharam and followed it up by winning for Swayamvaram in 1972. Her third win was in 1977 for the Telugu movie Nimajjanam.
Sarada was born on June 25, 1945, in Tenali village, Andhra Pradesh, as Saraswathi Devi. She adopted the name Sarada when she acted in her first Telugu film, Iddaru Mitrulu. She made her Malayalam debut in 1965 with Inapravukal, written by Muttathu Varkey and directed by Kunchacko. Some of her other popular roles in Malayalam came in Elippathayam, Thriveni, Murappennu, Mooladhanam, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, and Raappakal. She was last seen in Malayalam in Ammakkoru Tharattu.
Earlier in 2019, Sarada's films were screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), becoming the first actress from Malayalam to be chosen in the retrospective category at the IFFK.