Veteran Malayalam actress Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name KPAC Lalitha, passed away on Feb 22 at the age of 74 in Kochi. She was hospitalized for multiple health issues in November but later shifted to her son Sidharth’s residence in Kochi as her health was improving. From black and white movies to colour, film to digital, classics to realism, KPAC Lalitha has been part of Malayalam cinema’s transition. She made her acting debuted at the age of 10 with plays and later joined the KPAC (Kerala People's Arts Club), a prominent drama troupe from Kerala. She made her debut in the Malayalam film industry with the 1969 release ‘Kootu Kudumbam’, wherein she played a character named Saraswathi. Later she essayed major iconic roles in films like ‘Postmane Kananilla’, ‘Ponnapuram Kotta’, ‘Gandhinagar 2nd Street’, ‘Manu Uncle’, among others. In her career spanning over five decades, KPAC Lalitha has worked in over 550 films. From the prostitute Kalyani in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s ‘Swayamvaram’ to the lovely Omana in ‘Kanalkkattu’ to the serial actor Akashavani in the recent ‘Varane Avashyamund’, KPAC Lalitha has breathed life into numerous characters. She has bagged the National Film Award for the best-supporting actress for the film ‘Amaram’ in the year 1990 and in the year 2000 for the film Shantham. The actress has also won the Kerala State Film Award for the second best actress for the films ‘Neela Ponman’, ‘Aaravam’, ‘Amaram’, ‘Kadinjool Kalyanam’, ‘Godfather’ and ‘Sandesham’. She was the wife of filmmaker late Bharathan. Her son Sidharth Bharathan is also an actor and has directed a few films. For more news and updates, stay tuned to ETIMES.