# Vijaya Nirmala
**Vijaya Nirmala** (విజయ నిర్మల; 20 February 1944 or 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, producer, and director who worked mainly in [Telugu cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/telugu-cinema) and held the Guinness World Record as the most prolific female director, with 42 feature films credited since 1972[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director). She acted in more than 250 films across Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, and was married to the Telugu superstar Krishna[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Guinness record | Most prolific female director: 42 feature films directed since 1972; the record page is dated 1996, and she entered the Guinness Book in 2002[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/) |
| Acting career | Debut at age seven in Matsya Rekha; more than 250 films in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director) |
| Direction | Directorial debut with Meena (released 1973), followed by Devadas (1974); Telugu sources credit her with 44 films directed[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director) • [3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) |
| Marriage | Married actor Krishna in 1969 after meeting on the set of Saakshi (1967); they appeared together in 47 films and she directed him in more than 30[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms) |
| Family | Mother of the actor V.K. Naresh from her first marriage to Krishna Murthy[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/) |
| Honors | Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contribution to Telugu cinema, 2008[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms) |
| Death | 27 June 2019, Continental Hospital, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, after a heart attack, aged 73 by that account[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/) • [3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) |
## Early life and acting career
Vijaya Nirmala was born in [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu); her birth year is given as 1944 by IMDb and as 1946 by Filmibeat Telugu and the Times of India, a disagreement the sources do not resolve[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/) • [3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Vijaya-Nirmala/filmography). Her father was from Chennai and her mother from Narasaraopet in [Guntur district](https://www.edgepedia.org/guntur-district)[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html).
She entered films as a child artist at the age of seven in the Tamil film Matsya Rekha (also spelled Machcha Rekhai), released in 1950[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director) • [7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/6-tollywood-celebrities-you-probably-didnt-know-set-guinness-book-of-world-records/amp_etphotostory/80371048.cms). Her Telugu debut came at age 11 with *Panduranga Mahatyam* (1957), in which she appeared briefly as the child Krishna; she appeared as Seeta in a song in *Bhookailas* (1958)[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [8](https://www.ghantasala.info/tfs/cdata38d1.html). Her first Telugu role as a heroine was in *Rangula Ratnam* (1967), and *Saakshi* (1967) was her first Telugu release in an adult role[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [8](https://www.ghantasala.info/tfs/cdata38d1.html).
**The name change.** She worked as "Nirmala" until 1965, when she began using Vijaya Nirmala in tribute to the Vijaya movie studio, which gave her first starring role[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/). The Tamil film *Enga Veettu Penn* (1965), her first film as a leading lady and a remake of the Vijaya studio's *[Shavukaru](https://www.edgepedia.org/shavukaru)* (1950), prompted producer Chakrapani to prefix the studio's name to distinguish her from other actresses then using the name Nirmala[9](https://www.chitrajyothy.com/2025/tollywood/how-the-name-vijaya-nirmala-comes-61166.html). Early in her career she had also acted under the name Neeraja[9](https://www.chitrajyothy.com/2025/tollywood/how-the-name-vijaya-nirmala-comes-61166.html).
## Direction and production
During the making of *Saakshi*, in which she played the heroine, she decided to pursue directing, and made her directorial debut with *Meena* (released 1973), followed by *Devadas* (1974)[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director). Guinness credits her with 42 feature films directed since 1972, all made in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director); Telugu-language sources give the higher figure of 44 films directed[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms). Her directed films include *Meena*, *Kavita*, *Devadasu*, *Devudu Gelichadu*, *Roudi Rangamma*, *Kiladi Krishnudu*, *Ram Robert Rahim* (a remake of *Amar Akbar Anthony*), *Bezawada Bebbuli*, and *Mukhyamantri*[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms).
She also produced more than 15 films under her own banner, Vijaya Krishna Movies[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html). A History Research Journal article identifies her as the first woman director in [Malayalam cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/malayalam-cinema)[10](https://thinkindiaquarterly.org/index.php/hrj/article/download/9517/5266/), and the Guinness record page describes her as the first woman director in India[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director).
## Marriage to Krishna
She met the actor Krishna on the sets of their 1967 film *Saakshi*; both were married at the time, she to Krishna Murthy, with whom she had a son, the actor V.K. Naresh[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/). After her divorce she married Krishna in 1969[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms). The couple had no children together, and Krishna raised [Naresh](https://www.edgepedia.org/naresh-actor) as his own[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms). During her acting career she appeared with Krishna in 47 films, and she directed him in more than 30[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director).
## Recognition and later years
In 2002 she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the female director with the most films[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms). In 2008 she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, the highest honor for service to Telugu cinema[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms) • [3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html). The Times of India notes that, apart from Savitri, she was the only female director to have directed [Sivaji Ganesan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sivaji-ganesan), in *Bezawada Bebbuli* (1983)[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms).
She had been unwell for some time and died of a heart attack on the night of 27 June 2019 at Continental Hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderabad[3](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/).
## References
1. [Most prolific female director, Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71453-most-prolific-female-director)
2. [Vijaya Nirmala – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632560/bio/)
3. [విజయ నిర్మల biography, Filmibeat Telugu](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/vijaya-nirmala.html)
4. [RIP Vijaya Nirmala: Lesser-known facts about the trailblazer of Telugu cinema, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/rip-vijaya-nirmala-lesser-known-facts-about-the-trailblazer-of-telugu-cinema/articleshow/69972393.cms)
5. [The heroine who blazed a trail and shattered the glass ceiling in Tollywood, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69975555.cms)
6. [Vijaya Nirmala filmography, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Vijaya-Nirmala/filmography)
7. [6 Tollywood celebrities who set Guinness Book of World Records, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/6-tollywood-celebrities-you-probably-didnt-know-set-guinness-book-of-world-records/amp_etphotostory/80371048.cms)
8. [Vijaya Nirmala film list, ghantasala.info](https://www.ghantasala.info/tfs/cdata38d1.html)
9. [How the name 'Vijaya' Nirmala came about, Chitrajyothy](https://www.chitrajyothy.com/2025/tollywood/how-the-name-vijaya-nirmala-comes-61166.html)
10. [History Research Journal article on women in cinema](https://thinkindiaquarterly.org/index.php/hrj/article/download/9517/5266/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Indian and South Asian film directors › Telugu cinema directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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