HYDERABAD/KOCHI: Malayalam film actor Kalpana Ranjini, known as Kalpana, passed away in Hyderabad in the wee hours of Monday.
Kalpana, 50, was in Hyderabad to attend the inaugural IIFA Utsavam awards. She was found unconscious in her hotel room and rushed to the Apollo Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead. According to hospital sources she suffered a massive heart attack in sleep. She is survived by her daughter Sreemayi. Born to actor-couple Chavara V P Nair and Vijayalakshmi on October 5, 1965, Kalpana made her mark in Mollywood as a comedian before leaving her inimitable footprint in other South Indian movies, particularly in Tamil. Urvashi and Kalaranjini, her sisters, are also actors.
Kalpana received the national award for the best supporting role in 2012 for the portrayal of Razia Beegum in Thanichalla Njan. Kalpana made her debut as a child artist in Vidarunna Mottukal. She turned heroine for the first time in G Aravindan’s Pokkuveyil in 1981. Kalpana has around 300 films to her credit, with the latest being Charlie. Her character Queen Mary in that movie fetched rich accolades.
Her last film will be Nagarjuna-Karthi’s upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual Oopiri. According to PVP Cinemas, the film’s makers, she had already completed her part. The entire unit of Oopiri, including actors Nagarjuna and Karthi, paid tribute to the actor. In Tamil cinema, Kalpana is remembered for diverse roles in Kamal Hassan movies like Sathi Leelavathy and Pammal K Sambandam. She entered Tamil filmdom through Bhagyaraj’s Chinnaveedu.