Potpourri of titbits about cinema - K. R. Vijaya

After ‘Karpagam’, a plethora of offers followed. ‘Kai kodutha deivam’, ‘Thozhilaali’, ‘Selvam’, ‘Panam padaithavan’, ‘Idhaya kamalam’, ‘Saraswathi sabhatham’, ‘Kandan karunai’, ‘Vivasaayi’, ‘Iru malarkal’, ‘Panchavarnakkili’, ‘Raamu’, ‘Sarvar sundaram’, ‘Pattanaththil bhootham’, ‘Ootti varai uravu’, ‘Thangai’ etc. are some of her films that hit the box-office. Apart from Tamil cinema, she was equally busy with films of other languages too including Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. When she was at the peak of her career, she married industrialist Velayudham Nair and subsequently left cinema. Despite offers pouring in, she was sure that family meant to her everything and turned down all the offers.

But, when Chinnappa Devar approached her for his film ‘Akkaa thangai’ and pressured her with earnest affection, Vijaya made a re-entry into cinema with the full consent of her husband. The film released on 28-2-1969. From that day onward, Vijaya’s second innings in the celluloid field has not stopped till date.

Vijaya would follow strict diet and undertake ‘viradham’ during those days when she attended shooting for films in which she donned the role of ‘Amman’. She would herself select the crowns and attire for the role and would take care to see that the budget didn’t exceed the producer’s limit. She did challenging roles in films like ‘Thangapathakkam’, ‘Thirisoolam’ and ‘Naan en pirantheen’. In these films she excelled in performance, displaying her histrionic talents to equate with the great actors Sivaji Ganesan and MGR.

Recently, Jeppiyar honored her by awarding doctorate. Vijaya is humble and simple despite being an achiever in her career. She deserves praise and respect for her affability and pleasant disposition.