The year 1959 had three big hits for
prajaa naTi Jamuna, in the form of
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu,
Illarikam, and
Maa Inti Mahalakshmi. I tried to catch up with the glamorous heroine of the time as these films complete 50 years of release, and present the excerpts of our chitchat for TeluguCinema.Com visitors:
Sri: Tell me about
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu.
Jamuna:
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu is my second film on Vijaya Productions banner in Telugu. The film was a bilingual, made in Tamil simultaneously as
Kadan Vaangi Kalyanam (starring Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in the lead, and K. Sarangabani, K.A. Thangavelu, S.V. Rangarao, T.S. Balaiah, Jamuna, E.V. Saroja, T.P. Muthulakshmi,
etc. among the main cast, and released on September 17, 1958). Actually, the Tamil version was released first and the Telugu version was released for Sankranthi of 1959. I did
Missamma when I was too young. I was only 15 when I did
Missamma in Telugu (1955) and Tamil (titled
Missiamma); I later did the Hindi version (titled
Miss Mary, starring Meenakumari in Savithri's role in Hindi).
Missamma was a big hit in all languages. After that, I did
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu for the prestigious banner.
Sri: How much was your remuneration for
Missamma (Telugu/Tamil versions)?
Jamuna: We all got cars as remuneration for the Telugu/Tamil versions of
Missamma. Actually, the producers asked us if we want cars or money, and we all opted for cars. So Savithri
akka, NTR
gaaru, and Nageswara Rao
gaaru got Plymouth cars and we got a Dodge car. For Hindi version, I was paid in cash. ...Remunerations were less amounts back then, but as you know, it was prestigious to work for the Vijaya banner! For
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu too, I got paid in cash. However, my father handled the cash transactions back then and I thus do not know all the details.
Sri: Though both films
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu and
Illarikam released in the same year, you look so very different in both the films!
Jamuna: Well, the characters are entirely different too! Leela in
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu is a role of an innocent girl, who lives under the protection of her elder brother and is sacrifices to act as a dumb girl for a part of the film to win her right to live in her husband's house. Radha in
Illarikam, on the other hand, is a proud girl who carries a lot self-respect and will not tolerate cheating or will not disclose her problems to others. ...Actually,
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu started much before
Illarikam.
Sri: Tell us about Illarikam.
Jamuna: I was hardly 19 when
Illarikam was released. Honestly, I was too young to do that role which showed all shades of a woman's character! Such roles are challenging for anyone and roles bring out the artistes' potential completely. I particularly liked the song
nEDu Sreevaariki mEmanTE paraakaa...? from the film.
