Veteran Kannada film actress Jayanthi known as ‘Abhinaya Sharade’ bid aguie to the world today morning. The actress was 76 years old and died in her sleep, reported sources. The veteran actress’s son Krishna Kumar confirmed the news of her death to a local media room.
The veteran star was admitted to a private hospital in Bangalore on July 7 after complaining of breathlessness. Though the actress recovered she was undergoing her asthma treatment for as long as 35 years now.
Jayanthi was a popular face in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries. She was one of the most sought-after actresses in South India and had acted with the likes of MG Ramachandran and Kannada superstar Dr Rajkumar. She made her debut in Kannada cinema with a film titled Goodu and went on to act in super hit films like Kasturi Nivasa, Miss Leelavathi, Sri Krishnadevaraya, Edakallu Guddada Mele and others. Jayanthi bagged the Karnataka State Film awards seven times and the Filmfare awards twice during her career.
Jayanthi’s acting was marked unique with a unique voice and strong expression. Sharing the screen with Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh- the Sandalwood triumvirate of the era, she held her own charm with her sparkling screen presence. The actor had an eye for unusual scripts and broke all stereotypes by starring in films that spoke of female desires and questioned conservative beliefs.