KOCHI: The actor who portrayed Kunjunnooli in the cult classic Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha and Chandri in late director Bharathan’s Amaram is no more. Chitra, who shot to fame in Mollywood through the superhit movie Attakkalasham passed away on Saturday in Chennai. She suffered a cardiac arrest, reports said. She was 56.Chitra was born in Kochi on February 25, 1965, to Rajagopal and Devi. While studying at the Government Girls High School, Ernakulam, her family shifted to Mylapur. She completed her schooling at ICF School there.
She lost her mother early and married businessman Vijayaraghavan in 1990. Though she acted in a small role in the Tamil film Apoorva Ragangal (1975), she gained attention after acting alongside Mohanlal in Attakalasham (1983). The song “Naanamakunno Meni Novunno” featuring Chitra and Mohanlal was one of the superhit songs of the year.
Later, her performance in Panchagni (1986) drew wide appreciation. The song “Aa rathri maanju poyi” from the movie, in which Chitra performed to K S Chithra’s singing, too proved a huge hit. She later handled major roles in movies like Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha, Amaram, Adwaitham, Devasuram, Ekalavyan, Nagarathil Samsara Vishayam, Padheyam and Aram Thampuran.
Known as a heroine with a melancholic touch, she also featured onscreen to some superhit songs including Neelakkuyile chollu (Adwaitham) and Nanda Kishora Hare (Ekalavyan). In between, she also played a central character in an advertisement for Idhayam gingelly oil. The commercial was a huge hit during the golden days of Doordarshan. She has also acted in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu movies. The cremation was held in Chennai on Saturday. Mollywood actors.