THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Late KPAC Lalitha was one of the few legendary actors who would leave the audience in awe, making them wonder if she was performing before a camera or was her own self.
The shade and length of characters never seemed to be a botheration for Lalitha in any phase of her five decade-long acting career as she could swiftly transform into a greedy mother-in-law, curious neighbour, lovely mother, showy spinster, hardcore feminist, gabby marriage broker, gentle homemaker or a destitute woman on screen with ease and grace.
As she breathed her last on Tuesday night and bid adieu to the tinsel town forever after acting in over 550 movies, the social media platforms were flooded with tributes saying she was just 'irreplaceable.
' Barring a deliberate career break which she took during the 1970s, Lalitha had always been part of the cinema and theatre since she ventured into acting at a tender age.
Born to photographer K Ananthan Nair and Bhargavi Amma on February 25, 1947 in Alappuzha District, Lalitha was originally named as Maheshwari Amma.
A school drop out and a skilled dancer since childhood, Lalitha always cherished her dream of becoming a theatre actor and be a part of the famed Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC), a prominent leftist theatre collective of the time.
Though her father was reluctant to allow her to pursue her acting dreams initially, the twists and turns in life finally made her take it up as a profession after he became bedridden and she had to shoulder the responsibilities of her family.
Though she debuted in the theatre through a play titled "Bali" by Changanassery-based Geetha Arts Club, she later became part of KPAC, her dream theatre platform.
Theatre thespian Thoppil Bhasi christened Maheshwari Amma as Lalitha and thus she later came to be knows as 'KPAC Lalitha' due to her association with the drama group.
The theatre itself paved way for her eventful journey in the tinsel town as "Koottukudumbam", one of the plays in which she enacted a major role, was adapted into a movie under the same title The 1969 film was helmed by K S Sethumadhavan and produced by the famed Udata Studios.
Lalitha married legendary filmmaker Bharathan in 1978.
Interestingly, she bagged her first National Award through Bharathan-directed "Amaram" in 1991.
Jayaraj's 2000-movie "Shantham" won her second national award for the best supporting actress besides four state awards in the years 1975, 1978, 1990 and 1991 for the stellar performance in various movies.
She also appeared in television serials later and the 74-year-old actor was very much active until the illness and physical difficulties affected her recently.
Condolences and tributes poured from the Malayalam cinema for the acting genius since the tragic news broke on Tuesday night.
Super stars Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi among others paid their tributes, sharing their glowing memories with Lalitha through their social media accounts.
Her mortal remains were kept at Layam Koothambalam in Tripunithura in Kochi for the public to pay tributes, adhering to COVID protocol.
The funeral would be held at the premises of her home in Wadakkancherry in Thrissur district in the evening, film sources said.