In his career spanning three decades, Jaya Prakash Reddy was one of the most sought after character artistes in the Telugu film industry. The actor shot to fame with antagonist roles in the early stages of his career. He also won the Nandi Award for the Best Villain category for his role of Narasimha Naidu in Jayam Manadera, starring Venkatesh and Soundarya.
The actor came into the limelight with his Rayalaseema dialect through movies such as Samarasimha Reddy, Chennakesava Reddy and others which were released in the late '90s and early 2000s.
Though he had established himself in villain roles with ease, he shifted to comic roles later. He started playing the sidekick to the villain, often a relative who is ‘guiding’ them. Some of his characters showcased him as a 'retired villain' too.
In Dhee, Jaya Prakash Reddy was seen in the role of a pedanayana (father's brother) for Srihari, who plays a rowdy-sheeter and also the heroine's brother. Since he's wheelchair bound and cannot speak, the hero and heroine, played by Manchu Vishnu and Genelia respectively, would spill their secrets in front of him. Though he doesn't have a single dialogue in the film, JP managed to make the audience laugh with his reactions to the couple.
Jaya Prakash surprised the audience with his transformation in his comic roles, with his personality, attire and body language, which were completely opposite to what he was as the villain. In Kabaddi Kabaddi, JP portrayed the role of a constable with a small moustache, who rides a bicycle and goes to catch a bunch of people who were playing cards in the village. The way he makes them confess and his sarcastic dialogues and punches made the audience laugh out loud.
In a serious movie like Chatrapathi, which came under the direction of SS Rajamouli, and starred Prabhas and Shriya Saran in lead roles, Jaya Prakash was given a comic role. JP was seen as a helpless and annoyed Municipal Corporation officer, who is reluctant to sign the contracts of the hero and his team. However, he gives in to their threats and approves the contracts after a lot of complaining. When the hero and his team leave, they collect all the bombs that they had placed in the officer’s chamber, including one under JP’s seat. The fear on JP's face and his mixed reactions are hilarious.
In Nayak, JP played the role of a semi-villain who often gets confused between the dual roles played by Ram Charan. In a popular scene from the movie, where JP and Brahmanandam share screen space, JP acts as a person who lets out his frustration by making the other person eat a lot of food until they almost die. He tells them that he would otherwise lose control and kill them. The scene also makes one laugh at the helpless situation of the characters.
Some of JP’s dialogues have become ever popular GIFs and memes. His character from Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana is a famous one, where he lets out his frustration through a continuous laugh. In the movie, JP's character tries to get his daughter married off to the hero, played by Siddharth, and covers up for her mistakes. In one scene, his daughter makes halwa and accidentally uses salt instead of sugar and tries to give it to the hero. However, the father gets to taste the salted halwa and the scene that follows is hilarious.
Till recently, JP was active in his film career and also did a role in Mahesh Babu's Sarileru Neekevvaru. His other popular films include Preminchukundam Raa, Narasimha Naidu, Julayi, Ready, Kick, Jamba Lakidi Pamba, Avunu Valliddaru Istapaddaru, Gabbar Singh, to name a few. Jayaprakash Reddy also featured in Suriya’s Tamil film Aaru and Dhanush’s Uthamaputhiran.
The actor breathed his last in the early hours of September 8, reportedly due to cardiac arrest, at his residence in Guntur.