KPAC Lalitha, the veteran Malayalam actor, died in Kochi on Tuesday night. She was 74.
The actor had been undergoing treatment for liver-related ailments for a long time. According to an Onmanorama report, Lalitha died at her son Siddharth Bharathan’s home in Kochi on Tuesday night.
Lalitha who acted in more than 500 films in a career spanning over five decades, was the recipient of two National Awards in the supporting actress category for her performances in the films Amaram (1990) and Shantham (2000). She also received four Kerala State Film Awards and was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Filmfare Awards South.
Lalitha was born as Maheshwari Amma on February 25, 1947, in Kayamkulam, Kerala. She was popularly known as KPAC Lalitha because she began her career on the stage, performing with the Kerala People’s Arts Club. She also worked as a dubbing artist and lent her voice to actors Sharada and Nanditha Bose. Lalitha was also the chairperson of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, a cultural institution functioning under the Culture Ministry of the Kerala Government. Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi’s Vice Chairman Xavier Pullat had in November told Silverscreen India that Lalitha had been active in her duties as the Akademi chairman until before she fell ill.
Apart from Malayalam films, Lalitha had also acted in Tamil films such as Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), Kireedam (2007), and Ullam Ketkume (2005) and in some television serials. She was last seen in the critically-acclaimed Malayalam comedy-drama #Home (2021).
In October 2021, Lalitha was admitted to a hospital in Thrissur and was later shifted to Kochi’s Aster Medcity hospital. At the time, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists’ (AMMA) Secretary Edavela Babu said that Lalitha was “highly diabetic” and suffered from health-related issues due to it. He added that the doctors will decide whether to perform a liver transplant on her, based on her age and health condition.
The Kerala state government also later decided to bear the costs of the veteran actor’s medical treatment. The actor’s daughter Srikutty Bharathan had also sought help online from people willing to donate a part of their liver for the latter’s surgery. However, over the months, her health condition deteriorated, leading to her demise.
Following her demise, several artists and technicians from the Malayalam film industry, including, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Santosh Sivan and Asif Ali, among several others paid their respects on social media.
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Prithviraj in his post 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.”
Condoling the actor’s demise, Kerala Chief Minister Pinnarayi Vijayan in a Facebook post said “With her social commitment and social interventions, she gained a place in our hearts.”
KPAC Lalitha is survived by her son Sidharth and daughter Sreekutty.