Director B. Jaya (51), one of the few women directors in present-day Telugu cinema, passed away on Thursday evening. She had been suffering from some health problems for some time now and suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday.

She is survived by her husband B.A. Raju, a popular PRO and producer. Jaya started her career as a film journalist and was known to be a dynamic personality.





After marrying Raju, she started directing films, her first one being Chantigadu in 2003. She introduced Baladitya and Suhasini as the lead pair with this film and went on to make films like Gundammagari Manavadu, Premikulu, Savaal, Lovely and Vaisakham.

Mahesh Babu and Namrata were spottted paying their last respects to the late director B. Jaya at her residence.
Mahesh Babu and Namrata were spottted paying their last respects to the late director B. Jaya at her residence.

Jaya held her own as a female director in Telugu cinema. She did her M.A. in English and Psychology and started her career as a columnist with a Telugu daily newspaper. Later, she shifted to Chennai where she worked as a film correspondent.

She also started a film magazine called Superhit. Several Tollywood celebrities including Mahesh Babu and his wife Namrata personally visited her home to pay tributes to the late director and offer condolences to her husband.