Sarada wins JC Daniel Award for lifetime contribution to Malayalam cinema

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Actress Sarada has been named the recipient of the JC Daniel Award for 2024 for lifetime contributions to Malayalam cinema. Minister Sajii Cherian announced this through a press release. The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation, and a memento, is the highest film honour given by the Kerala government. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will present the award at the Kerala State Film Awards ceremony to be held on January 25 at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram.

The selection was made by a jury chaired by Sreekumaran Thampi, the 2017 J.C. Daniel Award winner. Actress Urvashi and director Balu Kiriyath were members of the jury, with Chalachitra Academy Secretary C. Ajoy serving as the member secretary.

The jury noted that Sarada showed extraordinary talent as an actress and brought two National Film Awards for Best Actress to Malayalam cinema. From the 1960s over two decades, she successfully portrayed the life of the Malayali woman on screen. Her restrained and powerful performances captured the struggles and suffering of women of that period.

Sarada won her first National Film Award in 1968 for the film Thulabharam. She later received national recognition for Swayamvaram (1972), directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and for the Telugu film Nimajjanam (1977). Through films like Thriveni, Murappennu, Mooladhanam, and Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, she created many unforgettable characters. The jury stated that she fully deserves the state’s highest film honour.

Sarada was born on June 25, 1945, in Tenali village, Andhra Pradesh, as Saraswathi Devi, daughter of Venkateswara Rao and Satyavani Devi. She adopted the name Sarada when she acted in her first Telugu film, Iddaru Mitrulu. She entered Malayalam cinema in 1965 with Inapravukal, written by Muttathu Varkey and directed by Kunchacko. She later became a favourite of Malayalam audiences through films like Murappennu, directed by Vincent with a script by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, and Iruttinte Athmavu, directed by P. Bhaskaran, also written by M.T.

Sarada has acted in more than 125 Malayalam films, including Udyogastha, Yakshi, Adimakal, Asuravithu, Koottukudumbam, Nadi, Ennippadikal, Elippathayam, and Rappakal.
She was also the first Malayalam actress to have her films selected for the retrospective section at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).