Cinesprint Magazine March - 2020 Cinesprint Magazine March-2020 | Page 114

spot A star Mahesh Babu unveils statue of veteran Telugu actor-director Vijaya Nirmala in Hyderabad Telugu star Mahesh Babu and politician Talasani Srinivas Yadav unveiled the statue of late actor-filmmaker Vijaya Nirmala on her 74th birth anniversary. The ceremony was held in Hyderabad on Thursday. Nirmala was the stepmother of Mahesh Babu.Vijaya Nirmala, who starred in over 200 films and directed 44 in her illustrious career of over three decades, passed away in June 2019. Nirmala made her acting debut at the age of five as a child artist in 1950 Tamil film Machcha Rekkai, and by age of 11, she made her Telugu debut with Panduranga Mahatyam. She rose to stardom when she starred opposite Prem Nazir in 1964 Malayalam film Bhargavi Nilayam, and went on to work again with him in Udhyogastha. As a leading lady, she made her Telugu debut with Rangula Ratnam alongside Vanisri and Anjali Devi, 114 WWW.CINESPRINT.COM | MARCH 2019