27 June 2019
Hyderabad

Veteran actress and director Vijaya Nirmala (73) has breathed her last on the night of 26 June 2019 at Continental Hospitals, Gachibowli. She was born 20 February 1946 in Chennai. She made her debut as a child actress in Tamil with a film titled Matsyarekha. She made her debut in Telugu at the age of 11 with Panduranga Mahatyam film. She has acted in over 200 films so far. She made her debut as a director with a film titled Meena in 1971 and went on to direct 44 films. She created a world record by becoming the lady director with maximum number of films to her credit. She has started a production house Vijayakrishna and produced over 15 films.

Her first film with superstar Krishna was Sakshi (directed by Bapu) and she acted with him in 47 films. She married him at a later point. She has a son Naresh (popular film actor) through her first marriage. She is admired and revered as finest director of Telugu cinema and for being the torchbearer of women in cinema.