Jyothi Lakshmi, veteran actress of Telugu, Tamil films, passes away aged 63

Tamil actress Jyothi Lakshmi passed away in Chennai on Tuesday, 9 August. She was 63, and had been ailing for a while. [caption id=“attachment_2944080” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jyothi Lakshmi in her heyday[/caption] Lakshmi made her debut on the big screen with the Tamil film Periya Idathu Penn in 1963. Often cast in ‘item songs’ or as a ‘vamp’, Lakshmi went on to act in over 300 films, not just in Tamil, but in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada as well. She was also part of Hindi films like Pistolwali (1972), Rani Aur Jaani (1973) and Jawab (1970). In the Telugu industry, Lakshmi was part of films like Pilla Piḍuga, Bangaru Babu, Gandharva Kanya etc. Reports about the actress claim that her popularity declined after her sister Jaya Malini entered the industry and was offered the roles that had previously gone to Lakshmi. However, she continued to act in films. In 2015, director Puri Jagannadh released a film called Jyothi Lakshmi. At the time, it was believed that Jagannadh had based his film on the life of the actress. However, Jyothi Lakshmi’s lead actress Charmy Kaur later clarified that the film was not a biopic. Neverthless, it did revive an interest in the life and career of its namesake.