KPAC Lalitha passes away: Mammootty, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, other Malayalam actors pay tribute

Celebrities have been pouring in their condolences for KPAC Lalitha, the well-known Malayalam film and stage actor, who died on Tuesday at the age of 74 in a hospital in Kochi, Kerala. She has received four Kerala State Film Awards and two National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress. In 1999, she received a national award for her performance in Amaram, and in 2000, she received a national award for her performance in Shantham.

Several celebrities, namely Mammootty, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Bhavana, Kunchacko Boban, Manju Warrier, Asif Ali, Navya Nair, Namitha Pramod, and others, took to their social media pages and remembered KPAC Lalitha and her outstanding achievements in art and cinema.

On Lalitha's death, Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, has offered his sympathies. According to his condolence statement, Lalitha has become part of the history of a period, penetrating the hearts of many generations with her acting skills.

The Chief Minister recalled her work as chairman of the Kerala Lalitha Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and stated that she has always been a supporter of progressive causes.

Lalitha had been confined to her bed for several months.

She appeared in over 550 Malayalam and Tamil films over her five-decade career. For the past five years, she has served as the Chairperson of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy. The performer, who was born Maheswari Amma in Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, had joined the K.P.A.C (Kerala People's Arts Club), a well-known theatre troupe in Kerala.

She was given the screen name Lalitha, and when she started starring in movies, she was given the tag K.P.A.C. In 1969, she made her film debut in Koottukudumbam, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan.

Her husband was Bharathan, a late Malayalam director. Her son, Siddharth, is also a filmmaker and actor in Malayalam cinema, and she also has a daughter.