Malayalam Actress KPAC Lalitha Passes Away At 73 After Prolonged Illness

The last rites of the actor will be held in Kerala today.

Actor Lalitha | Credit: @PrithviOfficial

Chennai: Actress Maheshwari Amma, well-known as Lalitha, who acted in over 500 films including in Mollywood and Kollywood in a career spanning five decades died in Kochi on Tuesday night. The 73-year-old actress suffered from liver-related ailments and was earlier hospitalized in December. 

The last rites of the actor will be held in Kerala on Wednesday.

According to a report on Indian Express, Lalithaa though she was active in the industry till recently suffered from health issues for a long time now.

Initially, Lalitha started her career with the Left-oriented Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC) which was a theatre troupe in Kerala's Alappuzha. Later, Lalithaa got a break in the film industry in the year 1969 with the movie 'Koottukududumbam' directed by KS Sethu Madhavan. 

The actress from 1969 remained active for nearly five decades and acted in languages other than her mother tongue of Malayalam. 

The actress especially excelled in family roles and donned the roles of mother, sister, and daughter. She was also well-known for her comedies. 

The deceased actress also received a National award under the supporting actress category for her movies Amaram and Shantham in 1990 and 2000 respectively. 

In personal life, the actress married film director Bharathan who died in 1998. She is currently survived by her son Siddharth, an actor and director.

The Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of the actress. he said, Lalitha has become a part of the history of an era but she managed to penetrate into different generations with her impeccable acting skills.