Veteran director and actress Vijaya Nirmala passed away on Thursday aged 73. She was admitted at the Continental Hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderabad where she is said to have suffered cardiac arrest and breathed her last.
Vijaya Nirmala was born in Tamil Nadu. Her father had worked in film production. 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.
She had begun her career as an actor initially, she later took on many roles in her career as a producer and a director. She had directed 44 films in Telugu. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the female director of the most number of films.
In 2008, she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contributions to Telugu cinema. She and fellow Telugu actress Savitri are credited as the only female directors to have directed the legendary actor, Sivaji Ganesan.
Vijaya Nirmala is survived by her son Naresh and husband, Ghattamaneni Krishna. The entire film fraternity is shocked by the sudden demise of the actress. Tributes poured in for the legend on social media.