Veteran Malayalam actress KPAC Lalitha no more; succumbs to liver ailment

KPAC Lalitha, one of Malayalam cinema’s most prolific actresses passed away today at around 10 pm, following a prolonged battle with a liver-related ailment. She was 73 at the time of her passing. The wife of late director Bharathan, Lalitha is survived by her children Sidarth Bharathan, who is also a filmmaker, and Srikutty.

Lalitha, who began her acting career with the theatre troupe Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC), went on to be a part of over 500 films in a career spanning five decades. She had won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress twice (Amaram, Shantham) and the Kerala State Film Awards Second Best Actress four times, beside several other popular awards.

Born Maheshwari Amma in Kayamkulam as the eldest of five children of K Ananthan Nair and Bhargavi Amma, she was given the screen-name Lalitha when she began acting. Her film debut was the KS Sethumadhavan directed Koottukudumbam in 1969. She took a brief break from acting after marrying Bharathan in 1978, but returned to active showbiz five years later, with his film Kattathe Killikoodu.

For the past several months, the veteran actress had been battling a liver ailment, to which she eventually succumbed. Social media erupted with condolence messages once the news of her passing broke. Actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran wrote, “Rest in peace Lalitha aunty! It was a privilege to have shared the silver screen with you! One of the finest actors I’ve known. 🙏💔#KPACLalitha.”