Kochi (Kerala): Veteran actor KPAC. Lalitha, who was ailing for a while, passed away at her house here on Tuesday night - three days before her 74th birthday, said industry sources. Lalitha was made Chairperson of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy in 2016 when Pinarayi Vijayan became the Chief Minister.
It was at the age of 10 that she first acted in a play and later joined the Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC), a prominent Leftist drama troupe. There she was given the screen name Lalitha and later, when she started acting in films, K.P.A.C. was added to her screen-name to differentiate it from another actress known as Lalitha.
In a career spanning over five decades, she had donned the grease paint in over 550 films. Debuting in Kootukudumbham, directed by ace director K.S. Sethumadhavan, in 1969, she then had no reason to look back and was Lalithachechi to all.