South actor Jayanthi passes away in her sleep: Confirms son Krishna Kumar

Veteran South actress Jayanthi, 76, passed away in her sleep at her residence in the wee hours of Monday. She was reportedly ill for a long time. 

Having worked in over 500 films across southern languages and a few in Hindi, she breathed her last at her residence in Bengaluru. The actress was well known in the industry, especially in Kannada films.

Speaking to Times of India, her son, Krishna Kumar, confirmed the news of her sad demise and said that she was recovering from illness, but eventually breathed her last during her sleep.

She was popularly known as moniker Abhinaya Sharade or the goddess of acting in the Kannada industry. The 76-year-old late actor began her career as a dancer before her acting debut with Kannada film 'Jenu Goodu' in 1963. She is popular for her work in movies such as Kalaavati, Miss Leelavathi, Thulasi, Banashankari and Anand among others.

Jayanthi worked with late actor Rajkumar in over 30 movies. She also starred in many Tamil and Telugu films. She is best known for her Tamil films like Karnan, Neerkumizhi, Ethir Neechal, Iru Kodugal and Devadhai among others.

She has won six Karnataka State Film awards (four Best Actress and two Best Supporting Actress) and two Filmfare Awards.