Sarada wins Kerala government's JC Daniel Award; 80-year-old actor turns the 32nd film personality to be conferred

Veteran actor Sarada has been chosen for the prestigious JC Daniel Award for 2024. This is the highest award in cinema conferred by the Kerala government for an individual’s lifelong contributions to Malayalam cinema. The award carries a purse of ₹5 lakh, a statuette, and a citation. Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian announced the annual award on Friday.

Sarada becomes the 32nd film personality to win the honour

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, will present the award to actor Sarada on January 25, at a function to be held at the Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram. The 80-year-old actor is the 32nd film personality to be conferred with this prestigious honour.

Sarada was chosen for the prestigious award by a jury headed by lyricist and filmmaker Sreekumaran Thampi, who was also the recipient of the award in 2017. Veteran actor Urvashi, filmmaker Balu Kiriyath, and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy secretary C Ajoy (member secretary) were also part of the jury that chose her for the award.

All about Sarada’s illustrious career

For over two decades from the 1960s, Sarada became a representative of Malayali women on screen through numerous immortal characters in both mainstream and independent cinema, the jury said.

Born on June 25, 1945, in Tenali village, Andhra Pradesh, as Saraswathi Devi, she adopted the stage name Sarada after entering movies. She changed her name during her debut film titled ‘Iddaru Mitrulu’, a Telugu film. She ventured into Malayalam cinema in 1965 with ‘Inapravukal’, written by ace Muttathu Varkey and directed by Kunchacko.

The veteran actor has won the Sarada National Award thrice. Two of these National awards were for her Malayalam films. She won the first National award in 1968 for her role in the film ‘Thulabharam’ directed by A Vincent. She bagged her second National award in 1972 for the globally acclaimed film ‘Swayamvaram’ helmed by iconic filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. She won the third National award in 1977 for ‘Nimajjanam’, a Telugu film.

Sarada’s films were screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2019. She became the first actress from Malayalam cinema to be selected in the retrospective category at the IFFK.

Some of her other popular films in Malayalam include ‘Elippathayam’, ‘Thriveni’, ‘Murappennu’, ‘Mooladhanam’, ‘Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam’, and ‘Raappakal’. Her last outing in Malayalam is ‘Ammakkoru Tharattu’ released in 2015.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”