Veteran actress and filmmaker Vijaya Nirmala breathed her last yesterday night at a Continental hospitals in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. According to the latest report she died of natural causes. Vijaya Nirmala was 73. She is survived by her husband and veteran actor Krishna and son and senior character artiste Naresh. The actress, director and producer Vijaya Nirmala is known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema. She has directed 44 films in Telugu. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the female director of the most films.
In 2008, Vijaya Nirmala received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contributions to Telugu cinema. She and Savitri, are the only female directors to have directed the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.
Vijaya Nirmala was born in Tamil Nadu. Her father had worked in film production. She made her acting debut with Tamil movie Machcha Rekhai at the age of seven, which was released in 1950. She debuted in Telugu Cinema with Panduranga Mahathyam in 1957. Later she tested her luck in direction field with Meena in 1971 and went on to direct 44 movies. Her last directorial venture was Neramu Siksha in 2009.
Vijaya Nirmala has a son Naresh, from her first marriage to Krishna Murthy. After divorcing her first husband, she tied the knot with Superstar Krishna.
www.tollywood.net pays homage to the veteran actress and expresses deepest condolences to the bereaved family and fans.