Actor Jaya Prakash Reddy, popularly known as JP, died at his Vidya Nagar residence here in the wee hours of Tuesday following cardiac arrest. He was 74. As the actor’s son and daughter-in-law are taking treatment COVID-19 in a hospital, his friends performed the last rites.
Born on May 8, 1946 at Sirivella village in Allagadda mandal of Kurnool district, Jaya Prakash Reddy started his career as a teacher of a municipal school and later had become the head master. While continuing his profession, he had also dabbled in theatre activity and got fame as a well-known stage artiste in 1980s. Later, he moved into cinema world and the Venkatesh-starrer Brahmaputrudu released in 1988 gave him a big break. Since then, he never looked back and played villain roles in a number of movies. It was the character he portrayed in Preminchukundam Raa brought him laurels. His dialogue delivery in the Rayalaseema accent in the film was well received by the audience. Flicks like Samarasimha Reddy and Narasimha Naidu, in which he played important roles had become blockbusters. The films were made in the backdrop of faction politics.
The actor took a break in the year 2019 and settled down in Guntur. But he was persuaded by director Anil Ravipudi to work for the Mahesh Babu-starrer Sarileru Neekevvaru which was also a a runaway hit. In this last movie, he played the role of an ageing faction leader and father of Prakash Raj.
Love for theatre
In one of the social gatherings, JP said that he had spent a lot of time in Rayalaseema to perfect the accent. The love for theatre brought JP back to the stage and in 2014, he began a series of plays enacted at Sri Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram in Guntur -- ‘Nela Nela JP tho’ -- which he continued for over three years.
Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy and Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu condoled the death of JP. Expressing grief over the death of JP, the Chief Minister said the actor had a special place in the film world. He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members of JP.
Mr. Naidu said that the Telugu movie industry lost a great actor.
Leading personalities in the film industry like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Venkatesh and Nagarjuna, directors and producers expressed grief over the death of Jaya Prakash Reddy.