In a deeply upsetting piece of news, legendary Malayalam actress KPAC Lalitha passed away on Tuesday. She was 74. 

Lalitha was reportedly hospitalised recently because of her ill health. As per reports, she was later brought to her son actor-director Siddharth’s house at Kochi. She reported breathed her last at her son’s house.  

She was married to the late Malayalam filmmaker Bharathan. Having been a part of the film industry for years, KPAC Lalitha’s real name was Maheshwari Amma. She worked in Malayalam theatre and Malayalam cinema. In her career spanning over five decades, she was a part of over 550 films. 

Several celebrities have taken to social media to pen moving tributes to the legendary actress. Prithviraj Sukumaran took to social media to mourn her demise. Sharing a photograph of the late legendary actress, he paid her a moving tribute. “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.” Actress Manju Warrier also penned a post in her loving memory and shared a heartwarming photo to bid her adieu.

Keerthy Suresh also took to Twitter and shared a photograph of the celebrated cinema icon and wrote: “Extremely saddened to hear about the passing of the legendary KPAC Lalitha aunty. My heartfelt condolences to the family.”

Lalitha, a deeply respected name in the film fraternity, had won two National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress along with four Kerala State Film Awards. She was also honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Filmfare Awards South. Apart from her several awards, she had also served as the chairperson of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.