Vijaya Nirmala Passes Away

Hyderabad, June 27 (Maxim News): Veteran actor-director G Vijaya Nirmala passed away on Thursday after a prolonged ailment. The actor was admitted to Continental Hospital, Gachibowli, where she breathed her last.

Vijaya Nirmala began her career as a child artiste in Tamil and later entered Telugu film industry and played many roles. She also directed 44 movies in Telugu and produced some. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first female director. In 2008, she received the prestigious Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contribution to Telugu cinema. She and her senior Telugu actor Savitri are credited as the only female directors to have directed the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.

Vijaya Nirmala was born in Tamil Nadu. Her father worked in a film production company. She made her debut at the age of seven as a child artiste with a Tamil movie Machcha Rekhai (1950). She debuted in the Telugu industry in the film Rangula Ratnam. In 1964, she starred opposite Prem Nazir and rose to stardom with the Malayalam hit Bhargavi Nilayam. In 1967, she starred again opposite Prem Nazir in Udhyogastha directed by P. Venu.(Maxim News)