B Jayamma

B. Jayamma was a Kannada actress and singer, who dominated both in theater and cinema. Working since she was just a child, Jayamma gained fame and popularity throughout her long and prosperous career which spanned well over five decades. She was born in the Chikmagalur district in the state of Karnataka, she was the oldest daughter of TN Mallappa, a police officer, and his wife B. Kamalamma, Both of whom originally hailed from Balepet in Bangalore. Jayamma’s mother along with her sisters Sundaramma, Rudramma, and Kittamma was involved in theater. When Jayamma was seven years, her father passed away, and from there on, she grew up under the influence of her aunts, leading her to develop an intense passion for acting.

Her teachers at Balepet School, where she studied, also nurtured her talent for acting and singing, encouraging her to audition for a theater piece called Seeta Kalyana. As a result, she appeared as Seeta in the play, at the tender age of 9, in the year 1924. Having tasted success in theater, Jayamma left school and followed in the footsteps of her aunts to join the profession. She went on to star in plays like Kabir and Ramayana, where her performances were well received. Jayamma moved further on and enrolled in the reputed Balasavegowda Nataka Company, where she performed as the female lead in all of her plays. She gained stardom with her lead roles in Sadarame, Gulebakavali and Manmatha Vijaya. She later joined Gubbi Theater Company for a salary of 30 rupees per month.

Her first performance here was in Veera Narasimha Chaitra, which earned her honor from both her peers and seniors. At this point in her career, Jayamma returned to finish her school education and passed matriculation. Meanwhile, her roles such as Bandana Devi (in Shivajalandhara), Savithri (in Sati Savithri) and Satyabhama (in Shri Krishna Parikatha) kept her in the limelight. She also appeared in Rajabhakti as Rani Mrinalini. The next step for Jayamma was celluloid. She starred in the 1931 silent film Harimaya in the role of Jambavati. In the same year, she worked alongside Gubbi Veeranna Gubbi Veeranna was a veteran theater personality w >> Read More... , the owner of Gubbi Company, with whom she had often worked before, to produce the movie His Love Affair, a story about two young lovers. The movie was a success, and also beginning of a romantic relation between Jayamma and Gubbi Veeranna.

Soon after, they got married. In the meantime, Jayamma learned to play the violin and trained in Hindustani music, besides helping her husband run the company. Unlike her contemporaries, despite her cinematic success, Jayamma did not neglect theater and delivered a hit play called Kurukshetra in 1934, where she played the role of Draupadi with her husband appearing as Duryodhana. Following this, she acted in successful films like Subhadra (1941), Jeevana Nataka (1942) and Swarga Seema (1945). Her 1946 movie Tyagayya was an international hit.

In addition to Kannada cinema, she also starred in several Tamil and Telugu films. In 1971, her last film Sakshatkara came out, after which she retired from acting. She had total of 28 movies under her belt. She soon involved herself in social service, working for the welfare of financially weak artists. She also got elected to the Karnataka State Legislative Council in 1981. She died on 20th December 1988, at the age of 73. Honoring her valuable contribution towards Kannada Theater and cinema, the centenary of her birth was marked with a donation of 10 Lakh rupees by the government of Karnataka, towards Department of Kannada and Culture.