Jyothi (1976 film)

Jyothi is a 1976 Telugu-language film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It is based on the story of an innocent girl "Jyothi." Jayasudha won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her titular performance. She later credited the film's success for making her a famous actress in Telugu films. It is inspired by the Hindi film Mili (1975), though the storyline is completely different from the original except for the heroine suffering from a deadly disease.

Plot
Jyothi (Jayasudha), a teenage girl who is in love with Ravi (Murali Mohan), suddenly marries Rajayya (Gummadi), an old man who is about her father's age. Everyone thinks she married him for the old man's property that she inherits after the marriage, but truth is different. The secret behind this unexpected marriage forms the rest of the gripping family story.

Cast

 * Murali Mohan as Ravi
 * Jayasudha as Jyothi
 * Gummadi as Rajayya
 * Chaya Devi
 * Giribabu
 * Rao Gopala Rao
 * J.V. Somayajulu
 * Krishna Kumari
 * Kaikala Satyanarayana
 * Shubha
 * Chidatala Appa Rao
 * Jayalakshmi

Production
Despite Raghavendra Rao's debut film Babu (1975) becoming a failure, Kranthi Kumar had confidence in him and assigned him to direct Jyothi.

Accolades

 * Filmfare Awards South
 * Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu - Jayasudha
 * Filmfare Special Award for Excellent Performance - Gummadi